C. S. Lewis, His Life, and Mythology
The mythology C.S. Lewis enjoyed as a child and a young adult appears to be a big influence on his writing, especially in the Narnia books. He was an avid reader as a child and his imagination was filled with animals and other strange creatures. However, this does not truly show who he was as a person, nor can one really interpret what the writer was saying in his various stories. To do so could actually be a misinterpretation of the person and the message they were trying to convey. It could very well be a complete misinterpretation or seeing something different as one follows the finger.
Some people appear to make more out of Narnia than it really is, stating that various symbols and characters are that of Christianity or even witchcraft, but given all the mythology intertwined within the Narnia stories, it could very well be possible that C.S. Lewis was creating his own mythological story for children. The connotations could be nothing than that of a great writer playing with the fantasies from his childhood dreams and books from a distant past. After all, Lewis said he had a dream about a lion and the Narnia stories all fell together.
Thus, we go back into Lewis's childhood, where "nothing was forbidden" from him to read, only to find all the animal, mythical, and ancient stories he read that influenced his writing (SBJ, 10). In Surprised By Joy Lewis stated that he developed a liking for Quo Vadis, Darkness and Dawn, The Gladiators, and Ben Hur (35). Then we go back further into his childhood and we see fascinating animal stories such as Beatrix Potter books and his vivid imagination creating an Animal-Land of his very own. He states, "In my daydreams I was training myself to be a fool; in mapping and chronicling Animal-Land I was training myself to be a novelist" (15). Obviously he was doing the latter or we would not have the fascinating world of Narnia full of mythical creatures like Mr. Tumnus and wonderfully alluring animals such as Aslan.
Later he puts aside his dreams of childhood and adolescence for the mystical world of mythology. In the place of animals was the odyssey of Greek, Roman, and Norse gods, which begun with a book that sat on someone’s drawing room table called Siegfried and the Twilight of the Gods (75). These stories of mythological lore seemed to have contributed heavily to the Narnia chronicles.
In The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe Lucy enters a mystical and mythical world full of fascinating animals and legendary creatures. Some of the animals could have come out of Lewis's childhood imagination of Animal-Land, while the more unusual creatures were more notably from various mythologies of the past.
The first "person" of Narnia she met was Mr. Tumnus, which one could hardly compare to Shakespeare's Puck in Midsummer Night's Dream, except that they both lived in the woods and were Fauns. Even so, both were much related because they originated from the Greek god Pan who was the god of nature or even more so the Roman god Faun, given that Tumnus was called a Faun and lived in the woodland of Narnia. Thus, Roman mythology played a strong role in the very beginning of the story as Lewis blended in the Biblical human origins in Genesis by calling Lucy the Daughter of Eve.
Like Puck and very characteristic of Fauns, Tumnus tried to play a trick on Lucy, but could not bring himself to do such mischief to a Daughter of Eve, no matter what the witch said. While not all tricks that Fauns play are necessarily mean, this one he could not do, especially when Fauns also watch shepherds and their flocks. It is one thing to play practical jokes on humans, but to put their lives in mortal danger was not something Fauns or Pans do. Therefore, poor Mr. Tumnus cries that he is a bad faun because he almost broke one of the cardinal rules of Fauns and Pans (The Lion 17-19). Not even Puck would have harmed a human intentionally with his pranks, and as Tumnus pointed out to Lucy, his father would not have done it either (19). To redeem himself as a god who watches over the shepherds, he guides her safely back to the light post.
Next we meet the witch, who like Medusa from Greek mythology, could turn people into stone if she was "extra and specially angry" (20). Even the beavers tell the children that the witch's castle is full of statues of "People she's turned"- "Turned to stone" (78). Medusa, unlike her sisters, was mortal, at least in looks before her death, much like the witch. The other thing that was different about the witch was that she had magical powers, and unlike Medusa, Aslan did not cut off the witch’s head. Instead, she meets her demise during a "Clash of the Titans"-like scene towards the end of the story.
Mr. and Mrs. Beaver were definitely something out of Lewis's Animal-land and very adorable talking creatures who care for and help the children after they all four arrive in Narnia. While there, the beavers tell the children about that all great, powerful, and numinous Aslan and very fittingly he is a strong and notable feline. This lion, well known as the king of the animals and found in mythology, as well as in Biblical stories, is all-powerful in Narnia. The beavers not only call him the King, but also Lord of the whole wood and King of Beasts (78-79). He is the King of kings and Lord of Lords, which is quite fitting for the One who represents Christ. What nobler animal in human history, with so much strength, courage, and a crown of glory could better represent a Saviour than an all-powerful and all-awe inspiring creature? It was one that even the Egyptians could worship, not to mention there is a saying that states, "Cats were once worshipped as gods and have never forgotten this". Just as Isis chose her mate well when she chose Arensnuphis, so did Lewis when he chose the magnificent lion to represent the Saviour of Narnia.
Other talking animals appear in the Chronicles of Narnia, such as foxes, squirrels, dogs, and leopards, as well as more mythological creatures as the Minotaur, Centaurs, and Satyrs, all from Lewis's inner fantasies and intertwined with some Biblical symbolism. This talented author blends them all together in a cataclysmic battle with giant against dwarf, Centaur against Minotaur, and dog against cat until Aslan pummels the witch and crushed her beneath him (175-177). No longer a frigid hell of misery and slavery, Narnia once again had new life and was once again alive and beautiful thanks to the bravery of the transcendent Aslan.
The Chronicles of Narnia show Lewis's amazing creative ability to blend various stories of the past in to several marvellous children’s stories, but they do not really convey who he was a person. At best, the reader can only follow his finger and "look at that" which he has created. Anymore than that, would be putting too much into what he meant and who he was. No one can assume every detail is a Christian message, evil witchcraft, or nothing but myth. Rather his writing shows his astonishing and awesome imagination as well as his wonderful gift as a writer.
Works Cited
Lewis, C. S. The Lion, the Witch, and The Wardrobe. New York: Harper Collins, 1950.
Lewis, C. S. Surprised By Joy. Orlando: Harcourt Books, 1955.
© Mriana April 2007