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That's it!
Oct. 7th, 2013 10:06 pmOkay, I have had it. Susan did not get excluded from Narnia because she wore lipstick. Good grief. Nor, I submit, because she had become a sexual being.
“My sister Susan,” answered Peter shortly and gravely, “is no longer a friend of Narnia.”
“Yes,” said Eustace, “and whenever you’ve tried to get her to come and talk about Narnia or do anything about Narnia, she says ‘What wonderful memories you have! Fancy your still thinking about all those funny games we used to play when we were children.’” *
Susan didn’t end up in the true Narnia with her siblings for one reason: she denied the existence of Narnia in any form.
Think about it. The Pevensie children experienced an extraordinary, magical, vivid adventure--in Peter’s and Susan’s case, twice. They lived an entire life, or at least a reasonable lifespan, in the world of Narnia--ruling a kingdom, traveling, going to war and forging peace, growing up and into their own power. And when that was over and done, they got to go back--not for long, but they did get a second run.
It was so important to them, so central, that they formed a group with others who’d been there so that they could speak of it amongst themselves and remember.**
And somewhere along the way, Susan turned her back on it.
We don’t get told why, and I do think it’s hard on the character to be the one left behind. But for whatever reason, she decided that all of that magic and wonder and delight hadn’t happened. That she and her siblings had just made it all up as a game. In the face of what they all knew, that shared experience, and the experiences of Digory and Polly and Eustace and Jill, she denied it.
“Grown-up, indeed,” said the Lady Polly. “I wish she would grow up. ... Her whole idea is to race on to the silliest time of one’s life as quick as she can and then stop there as long as she can.”*
Here’s the incriminating statement (it’s Jill who lists lipstick and nylons and invitations). It comes from the mouth of an elderly woman who has lived a long life and seen a great deal of change, from Victorian times to post-WWII, and probably sees most youth as silly. It’s a character’s statement, not a narrator’s; the opinion is Polly’s, not necessarily C.S. Lewis’.
The Last Battle is heavily allegorical (see note below). But I don’t think Lewis was using Susan’s interest in adult female pastimes as a analogy for sexual awareness. He was far more likely using it as an analogy for worldly things, as opposed to spiritual or heavenly things. Remember, Lewis was one of the foremost Christian apologists of the twentieth century, and the comparisons are obvious.
“Oh Susan!” said Jill, “she’s interested in nothing now-a-days except nylons and lipstick and invitations.”* The key word here is “nothing”. Susan gave up Narnia and focused on ephemera, exclusively. Remember, The Last Battle takes place in the early 1950s at the very latest. Peter was no doubt beginning to focus on whatever he might have chosen as a career; as a girl, Susan was expected to be interested in preparation for marriage. But that was all she was doing; she had turned away from everything else. How could she go back to something she only considered a childish game?
Also, I take issue with the notion that she never did get to the true Narnia. One can argue that Lewis was using her as an example, just as he did the Dwarfs who wouldn’t come out of the stable.*** But just because Susan isn’t in Narnia at the time of the story doesn’t mean she didn’t get there later. Mr. and Mrs. Pevensie were there on the other side of the valley,**** and they had presumably never even heard of Narnia.
Note: The Chronicles are often referred to as an allegory, and certainly The Last Battle is an obvious one; as a Christian, I enjoy it a great deal, but that’s a personal thing. However, Lewis stated that when he began The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe he wasn’t trying to create an allegory; he was just writing a story for a little girl he knew. He also pointed out that the sacrificed and resurrected god is found in many faiths, not just Christianity.
* The Last Battle, Chapter XII
** The Last Battle, Chapter V
*** The Last Battle, Chapter XIII
**** The Last Battle, Chapter XVI
“My sister Susan,” answered Peter shortly and gravely, “is no longer a friend of Narnia.”
“Yes,” said Eustace, “and whenever you’ve tried to get her to come and talk about Narnia or do anything about Narnia, she says ‘What wonderful memories you have! Fancy your still thinking about all those funny games we used to play when we were children.’” *
Susan didn’t end up in the true Narnia with her siblings for one reason: she denied the existence of Narnia in any form.
Think about it. The Pevensie children experienced an extraordinary, magical, vivid adventure--in Peter’s and Susan’s case, twice. They lived an entire life, or at least a reasonable lifespan, in the world of Narnia--ruling a kingdom, traveling, going to war and forging peace, growing up and into their own power. And when that was over and done, they got to go back--not for long, but they did get a second run.
It was so important to them, so central, that they formed a group with others who’d been there so that they could speak of it amongst themselves and remember.**
And somewhere along the way, Susan turned her back on it.
We don’t get told why, and I do think it’s hard on the character to be the one left behind. But for whatever reason, she decided that all of that magic and wonder and delight hadn’t happened. That she and her siblings had just made it all up as a game. In the face of what they all knew, that shared experience, and the experiences of Digory and Polly and Eustace and Jill, she denied it.
“Grown-up, indeed,” said the Lady Polly. “I wish she would grow up. ... Her whole idea is to race on to the silliest time of one’s life as quick as she can and then stop there as long as she can.”*
Here’s the incriminating statement (it’s Jill who lists lipstick and nylons and invitations). It comes from the mouth of an elderly woman who has lived a long life and seen a great deal of change, from Victorian times to post-WWII, and probably sees most youth as silly. It’s a character’s statement, not a narrator’s; the opinion is Polly’s, not necessarily C.S. Lewis’.
The Last Battle is heavily allegorical (see note below). But I don’t think Lewis was using Susan’s interest in adult female pastimes as a analogy for sexual awareness. He was far more likely using it as an analogy for worldly things, as opposed to spiritual or heavenly things. Remember, Lewis was one of the foremost Christian apologists of the twentieth century, and the comparisons are obvious.
“Oh Susan!” said Jill, “she’s interested in nothing now-a-days except nylons and lipstick and invitations.”* The key word here is “nothing”. Susan gave up Narnia and focused on ephemera, exclusively. Remember, The Last Battle takes place in the early 1950s at the very latest. Peter was no doubt beginning to focus on whatever he might have chosen as a career; as a girl, Susan was expected to be interested in preparation for marriage. But that was all she was doing; she had turned away from everything else. How could she go back to something she only considered a childish game?
Also, I take issue with the notion that she never did get to the true Narnia. One can argue that Lewis was using her as an example, just as he did the Dwarfs who wouldn’t come out of the stable.*** But just because Susan isn’t in Narnia at the time of the story doesn’t mean she didn’t get there later. Mr. and Mrs. Pevensie were there on the other side of the valley,**** and they had presumably never even heard of Narnia.
Note: The Chronicles are often referred to as an allegory, and certainly The Last Battle is an obvious one; as a Christian, I enjoy it a great deal, but that’s a personal thing. However, Lewis stated that when he began The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe he wasn’t trying to create an allegory; he was just writing a story for a little girl he knew. He also pointed out that the sacrificed and resurrected god is found in many faiths, not just Christianity.
* The Last Battle, Chapter XII
** The Last Battle, Chapter V
*** The Last Battle, Chapter XIII
**** The Last Battle, Chapter XVI