Narnia and Christmas celebration: have we forgotten the joy?

The following was originally posted as a two-part article on the now defunct Examiner.com December 24, 2009.

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe book cover

There is a painting by Pauline Baynes that graced the front of the paperback version of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe for years in Great Britain. (This cover was not available on American editions until recently. See picture.) The scene is just after Aslan is resurrected and Lucy and Susan are dancing with him.

This passage in The Lion (near the end of Chapter 15) is reminiscent of the New Testament account of the resurrection, as well as other events in the life of Jesus Christ. The loud cracking of the Stone Table is like the earthquake and splitting of the Veil in the Temple. After realizing Aslan is real, Lucy and Susan “flung themselves upon him and covered him with kisses.”  In Luke 17 a woman anoints Christ’s feet and keeps kissing His feet. On Easter morning, Mary clings to Jesus when she realizes He is not just the gardener. (John 20:17 NKJV, NASB)

After Aslan tells the girls about the Deeper Magic, the “romp” begins. Chasing, leaping, scrambling – “whether it more like playing with a thunderstorm or playing with a kitten Lucy could never make up her mind.” The romp only takes up one paragraph, but it would have taken up a few minutes on film, if the writers of the Walden/Disney adaptation of the book had chosen to put it into the movie. They probably felt that the film needed to move on at that point. After all, a battle is going on, and Aslan has work to do.

So the movie bypasses the Romp and goes straight to the Roar and the restoration of the Narnians at the witch’s castle. (Aslan’s Roar is used in both The Lion and Prince Caspian to indicate he is about to act and restore things to what they were.)

Aslan’s Romp in Prince Caspian takes up much more than one paragraph. It begins after the Roar which restores the trees. Strangely, after the trees are awakened, Aslan is joined (in the book – not the movie) by an exotic group led by a young boy with a wild face, who is followed by “wild girls” and a fat man on a donkey.

Lucy and Susan soon recognize that the boy is Bacchus, whom they had learned about from Mr. Tumnus long ago. The fat man is Silenus. (If you've seen the original 1940 version of the Disney movie Fantasia, you may recall the scene of the fat man on a donkey during Beethoven’s Pastoral Symphony. Disney basically morphs Bacchus and Silenus.

Sivenus and young Bacchus from Feast of the Gods (Bellini) Wikipedia

Why is Lewis introducing the Greek god of wine and his drunken teacher into Prince Caspian?

At the very end of Chapter 11, Susan makes the comment she “wouldn’t have felt safe with Bacchus and all his wild girls if we’d met them without Aslan.” The inclusion of Bacchus was an attempt at “redeeming” the pagan myths, as Lewis often did in his fictional works.

As he explains in his autobiographical book, Surprised by Joy, mythology was one of the things that awakened a sense of Joy in Lewis during his early life. Lewis defines this “Joy” in Chapter 1 as “an unsatisfied desire which is itself more desirable than any other satisfaction.” It is a desire for something other and outer, that he later finds only to be fulfilled in a relationship with God.

Prince Caspian is perhaps the most personal of the Chronicles for Lewis. Devin Brown asks in the title of an article for Christianity Today Movies, “Is Caspian Really C. S. Lewis?” The parallels between Lewis and Caspian are striking. The relationship of Lewis and his nurse, who told him Irish folktales, mirrors Caspian’s nurse, who told the Prince about the Old Days of Narnia.

When we leave Lucy and Susan at the end of Chapter 11, we follow the boys and Trumpkin to Aslan’s How. “The Sorcery” must be dealt with. Lewis believed that sin is trying to fulfill legitimate desires in an illegitimate way. The desire for restoration of enchantment to Narnia was a good thing. But will the Narnians trust Aslan and wait for him, or seek power elsewhere? Lewis had a fascination for the Occult, which he had to deal with in his personal life. The Specter of the White Witch must be dealt with at Aslan’s How.

Lewis was also concerned that the ideals of chivalry had been lost in the modern world. Thus we have Peter’s challenge to Miraz to monomachy – a fight to the death to establish who will be the rightful king. Peter demonstrates the chivalrous attitude throughout the fight, but the Telmarines are intent on treachery. They did not count on the awakened trees, however, and are soundly defeated. They have to throw down their arms as they try to flee back across the river and find the Bridge of Bernuna has disappeared.

The last half of Chapter 14 tells about how Bacchus helps destroy the bridge and then goes on another Romp through the town. As people join them, the group is described by Lewis as “divine revelers.” This is not the drunken debauchery usually associated with Bacchus, but a celebration of the liberation of Narnia from an oppressive regime.

The freedom extends even to the schools in town. Students are freed from the “sort of ‘History’ that was taught in Narnia under Miraz’s rule [which] was duller than the truest history you ever read and less true than the most exciting adventure story.”

A girl from one of the schools joins the group, and they “helped her take off some of the unnecessary and uncomfortable clothes she was wearing.” Lewis is not here promoting lasciviousness, like Bacchus of old would have. The girl is not being lewd, but is breaking free from the stuffy uniform that was worn by students in that day, including “ugly tight collars round their necks and thick tickly stockings on their legs.” In Chapter 2 of Surprised by Joy (”Concentration Camp”), Lewis describes what a school uniform was like for the boys.

Now I am choking and sweating, itching too, in thick dark stuff, throttled by an Eton collar, my feet already aching with unaccustomed boots. I am wearing knickerbockers that button at the knee. Every night… I am able to see the red, smarting imprint of those buttons in my flesh when I undress. Worst of all is the bowler hat, apparently made of iron, which grasps my head.

Part of what Lewis is trying to convey is that committed Christians can have fun without having to be drunk – or worse. You don’t have to be a “stuffed shirt” in order to follow Christ. There is a liberation that Christians know which allows us to celebrate life. Unfortunately, many who call themselves Christians have not discovered that freedom in Christ. With all that Christ has done for us, the Christian life should be one of celebration.

As you gather around the Christmas tree this year, note (or, if there are no children present, remember) the joy on the children’s faces as they open their gifts. Their enthusiasm might even be seen in a little romping. What a wonderful way to celebrate Christ’s birth.

Especially at this time of year, we could all use a little redeemed Bacchus in our lives.

Divine Revelers: The god of wine helps awaken Narnia

Note: This Blog entry was published earlier as a book review on Hollywood Jesus in a slightly altered form.

There is a painting by Pauline Baynes that graced the front of the paperback version of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe for years in Great Britain. (This cover was not available on American editions until recently.) The scene is just after Aslan is resurrected and Lucy and Susan are dancing with him.

This passage in The Lion (near the end of Chapter 15) is reminiscent of the New Testament account of the resurrection, as well as other events in the life of Jesus Christ. The loud cracking of the Stone Table is like the earthquake and splitting of the Veil in the Temple. After realizing Aslan is real, Lucy and Susan “flung themselves upon him and covered him with kisses.” On Easter morning, Mary clings to Jesus when she realizes He is not just the gardener. (John 20:17 NKJV, NASB) In Luke 17 a woman anoints Christ’s feet and keeps kissing His feet.

After Aslan tells the girls about the Deeper Magic, the “romp” begins. Chasing, leaping, scrambling–”whether it was more like playing with a thunderstorm or playing with a kitten Lucy could never make up her mind.” The romp only takes up one paragraph, but it would have taken up a few minutes on film, if the writers of the Walden/Disney adaptation of the book had chosen to put it into the movie. I am sure they felt that the film needed to move on at that point. After all, a battle is going on, and Aslan has work to do. So the movie bypasses the Romp and goes straight to the Roar.

Aslan’s Romp in Prince Caspian takes up much more than one paragraph, although it begins after the Roar. Strangely, after the trees are awakened, Aslan is is joined (in the book) by a exotic group led by a young boy with a wild face, who is followed by “wild girls” and a fat man on a donkey. Lucy and Susan soon recognize that the boy is Bacchus, whom they had learned about from Mr. Tumnus long ago. The fat man is Silenus. (If you have seen the original version [1940] of the Disney movie Fantasia, you may recall the scene of the fat man on a donkey during Beethoven’s Pastoral Symphony. Disney morphs Bacchus and Silenus into one person.) Why is Lewis introducing the Greek god of wine and his drunken teacher into the story?

At the very end of Chapter 11, Susan makes the comments that she “wouldn’t have felt safe with Bacchus and all his wild girls if we’d met them without Aslan.” The inclusion of Bacchus was an attempt at “redeeming” the pagan myths, as Lewis often did in his fictional works. As he explains in his autobiographical book, Surprised by Joy, mythology was one of the things that awakened a sense of Joy in Lewis during his early life. Lewis defines this “Joy” in Chapter 1 as “an unsatisfied desire which is itself more desirable than any other satisfaction.” It is a desire for something other and outer, that he later finds only to be fulfilled in a relationship with God.

Prince Caspian is perhaps the most personal of the Chronicles for Lewis. Devin Brown asks in the title of a recent article for Christianity Today Movies, “Is Caspian Really C. S. Lewis?” The parallels between Lewis and Caspian are striking. The relationship of Lewis and his nurse, who told him Irish folktales, mirrors Caspian’s nurse, who told the Prince of the Old Days of Narnia.
When we leave Lucy and Susan at the end of Chapter 11, we follow the boys and Trumpkin to Aslan’s How. “The Sorcery” must be dealt with. Lewis believed that sin was trying to fulfill legitimate desire in an illegitimate way. The desire for restoration of enchantment to Narnia was a good thing. But will the Narnians trust Aslan and wait for him, or seek power elsewhere? Lewis had a fascination for the Occult, which he had to deal with in his personal life. The Specter of the White Witch must be dealt with at Aslan’s How.

Lewis was also concerned that the ideals of chivalry had been lost in the modern world. Thus we have Peter’s challenge to Miraz to monomachy– a fight to the death to establish who will be the rightful king. Peter demonstrates the chivalrous attitude throughout the fight, but the Telmarines are intent on treachery. They did not count on the awakened trees, however, and are soundly defeated. They have to throw down their arms as they try to flee back across the river and find the Bridge of Bernuna has disappeared.

The last half of Chapter 14 tells about how Bacchus helps destroy the bridge and then goes on another romp through the town. As people join them, the group is described by Lewis as “divine revelers.” This is not the drunken debauchery usually associated with Bacchus, but a celebration of the liberation of Narnia from an oppressive regime. The freedom extends even to the schools in town. Students are freed from the “sort of ‘History’ that was taught in Narnia under Miraz’s rule [which] was duller than the truest history you ever read and less true than the most exciting adventure story.”

A girl from one of the schools join the group, and they “helped her take off some of the unnecessary and uncomfortable clothes she was wearing.” Lewis is not here promoting lasciviousness, like Bacchus of old would have. The girl is not being lewd, but is breaking free from the stuffy uniform that was worn by students in that day, including “ugly tight collars round their necks and thick tickly stockings on their legs.” In Chapter 2 of Surprised by Joy (”Concentration Camp”), Lewis describes what a school uniform was like for the boys.

Now I am choking and sweating, itching too, in thick dark stuff, throttled by an
Eton collar, my feet already aching with unaccustomed boots. I am wearing
knickerbockers that button at the knee. Every might … I am able to see the red,
smarting imprint of those buttons in my flesh when I undress. Worst of all is
the bowler hat, apparently made of iron, which grasps my head.

Part of what Lewis is trying to convey, I think, is that committed Christians can have fun without having to be drunk–or worse. But you don’t have to be a “stuffed shirt” in order to follow Christ. There is a liberation that Christians know which allows us to celebrate life. Unfortunately, many who call themselves Christians have not discovered that freedom in Christ. With all that Christ has done for us, the Christian life should be one of celebration. We could all use a little redeemed Bacchus in our lives.

A Mid-Summer Night's Dream for Venezuela

Summer Solstice. What they used to call Mid-Summer. This Mid-Summer night, the latest Chronicles of Narnia Walden/Disney film, Prince Caspian, opens in cines throughout Venezuela. Mid-Summer is mentioned in the book (in the middle of Chapter 15), but not in the movie.

The Christmas Season certainly was appropriate for The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Some have thought that summer was the wrong season for Prince Caspian, but perhaps it is a bit of providence that it is playing this time of year. Michael Ward, the author of Planet Narnia, may have been incorrect when he suggested that the month "Greenroof" was equivalent to our month of March. It seems to me that June, the time when the trees are completing their Green Roof over the forests, is probably the correct seting for the book. Plus, early apples might be found in June, but never in March. (Of course, this one small objection does not negate all the fine work Ward has done.)

Some have suggested that Lewis's reference to Mid-Summer is somehow Satanic. This is despite the fact that Chapter Twelve ("Sorcery and Sudden Vengeance") is obviously an admonishment against occult practices. (For my view on Bacchus, see Divine Revelers: The god of wine helps awaken Narnia.)

God Himself is the One who gave us Mid-Summer. This goes back to the beginning when he created everything. Genesis 1: 14-18 (NKJV) declares:

Then God said, "Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to
divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs and seasons, and for
days and years; "and let them be for lights in the firmament of the
heavens to give light on the earth"; and it was so. Then God made two great
lights: the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the
night. He made the stars also. God set them in the firmament of the heavens
to give light on the earth, and to rule over the day and over the
night, and to divide the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was
good.

The placement of the Sun and Moon and Stars is God's idea. Recognizing the cycle of the seasons is (or should be) recognizing Him.

Happy Mid-Summer!

Narnia Nostolgia Part 6: Radio Plays Part 2

The following are reviews of both Radio play versions of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (BBC Radio 4 version)

So, do mothballs falling on a wardrobe floor really sound like marbles being dumped out on a Formica counter-top? That’s just one of the sound effects in this presentation which interferes with the suspension of unbelief. But it is certainly not the worst.

While the story itself is well written, the performance suffers from skimping on the technical aspects of the audio. And it’s not like the effects people are not capable. The sounds used to enhance the spring thaw are quite well done. They must have recorded actual birds singing, and, with headphones on, the buzzing bee sounds like it is flying around your head.

But the talking animal noises were created by the actors themselves. The snarls of the wolves are quite unbelievable, and the hoots and howls of the evil beasts and ghouls at the Stone Table make it difficult to take the scene seriously.

The roar of Aslan is just plain lame. After Aslan roars, he says, “My, but that was good.” But most listeners will be thinking, or even saying out loud, “No, it wasn’t.” Would it have been so difficult to include the roar of a real lion and blend it in with the actor’s voice?

With all these annoyances, it is surprising how well the actors are able to convey the story. Credit must be given again to Brian Sibley for a good script, and to the actors for being able to “get into” their roles.

Devoted fans will also appreciate the little details that are included. For example, the video versions of the story (See Narnia Nostalgia: Part 1 and Part 2.) omit the Robin which leads the Pevensies from Tumnus’ home to Mr. Beaver. The Focus on the Family Radio Theater version (See below.) also omits it. The Robin is author C. S. Lewis’s first hint that the eternal winter has been broken and that spring is on the way. But the BBC Radio play is the only dramatized recording that includes the bird.

What is missed, though, is the sense of joy and wonder that is found in the book. The Radio Theater version may be missing the bird, but it captures that sense.

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (The Focus on the Family Radio Theater version)

The FotF presentation combines a great script (arguably even better than the BBC version) with good acting and absolutely brilliant sound effects. It also emphasizes the joy and wonder of the book. Not only can you sense Lucy’s awe of Narnia as she visits it for the first time, but the joy of the place before the Witch took control, and after Aslan returns, is accentuated better than in any of the dramatizations (audio or video) of the work from the other studios.

Tumnus’ description of the feasting and bliss of Narnia before the White Witch imprisoned it in perpetual winter is superb. And he is not afraid to mention Silvanus and Bacchus – characters which the other presentations avoid. (See this review of the book Prince Caspian for the characters’ significance: Divine Revelers.) There is also an obvious joy in Aslan’s camp at the Stone Table when the three children are brought there.

The creators of the Walden/Disney movie missed the joy and wonder by interjecting the thought that the Pevencies would have needed to be convinced to stay. In the book, Lewis assumes the children would be caught up in the magic and excitement of Narnia, their predilection for adventure having already been established. (They are excited about exploring outdoors, and resort to exploring the house when it rains.)

In the movie, the adventures they get caught in often seem more inspired by a video game (i.e. riding ice in the river) than any “magic” based on what Lewis wrote. The spirit captured by the FotF production is much to be preferred to any action/adventure presented on the big screen.

The climax of this Radio Theater episode is the sacrifice of Aslan on the Stone Table and his subsequent resurrection. The use of Lewis’s narrative, enhanced with sound effects and dramatic music, is “spot on” in capturing the significance of the scene.

In his excellent review of this dramatization, Greg Wright of Hollywood Jesus concludes that the prolonged death scene is not exactly “family friendly.” However, following FotF’s guidelines (“Not Recommended for children Under the Age of 8″ ) parents should not have to worry.

Another inventive touch comes at the end of the movie when the children re-immerge from the wardrobe back in England – but that should be saved as a surprise for the first-time listener.

Narnia Nostalgia Part 8: Radio Plays Part 4

The following article reviews both Radio play versions of Prince Caspian. “RT” indicates the Focus on the Family Radio Theatre version, and “BBC” the British Radio 4 version.

Warning: Mild Spoilers

The Walden/Disney movie of Prince Caspian begins with an agonizing cry and the birth of a child. Those who had seen the first movie, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, must have been scratching their heads at that point. It is a full eight minutes into the film before we see any of the characters from the first film.

When Prince Caspian was published in 1951, it was the second book* in the series and was better known by its subtitle, Return to Narnia. As C S Lewis step-son Douglas Gresham reminds us in his introduction to the RT version, the author wasted no time in getting the Pevensies back.

Those who have adapted Prince Caspian for the stage, TV, movies, or radio, have had to decide how to deal with the story within a story. (Chapters four through seven in the book are the telling of the life of Prince Caspian to the point when the Pevensies arrive in Narnia.) Walden chose to begin with Caspian fleeing, while the BBC TV version begins with Caspian in the courtyard of King Miraz. In contrast to the their video counterparts, both Radio Play versions reference Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy immediately.

The BBC version begins with Caspian’s nurse telling him the story of the King Peter, Queen Susan, King Edmund, and Queen Lucy – a sort of reversal of what happens in the book, where the Pevensies are told Caspian’s story. Scriptwriter Brian Sibley decided to deal with the “story within a story” by alternating between the two story lines.

Since the Pevensies are not called to Narnia until late in Caspian’s story, switching back and forth between story lines causes the story to be unbalanced. The Walden movie solved this by putting the call to Narnia near the beginning of the story. The BBC Radio version adds an additional scene at the professor’s home, but most of the story is about Caspian until the Pevensies show up in Narnia half way through the production.

Paul McCusker, who wrote the script and directed the RT production, decided to buck the trend and used the story line as it is laid out in the book. The children are immediately returned to Narnia, and the details about the prince are added when they meet up with Trumpkin, the Dwarf. This actually works very well, and is much easier to follow. Perhaps Lewis knew what he was doing after all.

The RT running time of three hours and twenty minutes also allows time for some details that are missing in all the other recorded dramatizations of the book. Lewis, perhaps mindful of the criticism that his first book did not explain how foodstuffs were provided in a Narnia where it was always winter, was careful to include how food was obtained for the Pevensies’ trip to Aslan’s How. RT includes the apples and the bear meat.

Lewis’s theme of joy also comes through in the RT version by including the celebrations. As in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, they are not afraid to mention Bacchus and Silenus.

Both Radio versions do a fabulous job of portraying Lucy’s first meeting with Aslan. The importance of following what is right despite what others think is an important theme, and both productions give this scene the weight it deserves.

For comments on the relative production quality of the plays, please refer to the last two articles in this series below.

_________________

*For why Prince Caspian is now numbered as book 4, see the Examiner.com article, The order of the Narnia chronicles.

 

Image credit: https://www.storyslant.com/post/remembering-narnia-a-family-celebration

Feast or Famine?

In chapter 15 of Prince Caspian, C S Lewis describes the abundance of Narnia after the defeat of Miraz as "pyramids and cataracts of fruit." This wonderful turn of phrase is much more delightful to the ear than the earlier phrase, "feasts on the poop," where the Pevencies are describing their adventures at see during their first time in Narnia. Of course, the reference is to a ship's deck, not the American slang for feces. I doubt Lewis would even have had that in mind, but American readers, especially children of a certain age, would. 

Which goes to show that language can be a tricky thing. The difference between pleasant feasting and famine fodder is very broad, but the same phrase can evoke both thoughts. Which is why, separated as much as we are--culturally and chronologically--from the writers of the Bible, it is easy to misconstrue what they were thinking. The Telmarines, divorced as they were from what Narnia was meant to be, had negative thoughts and feelings about "Old Narnia." Many of them did not recognize Aslan's abundance when it was set before them. 

How like today when people read the accounts of Jesus and His followers from the New Testament. the thought, though usually not expressed, is that Jesus certainly was not serious in what He said about how we should live. And certainly living the generosity that was shown early in the book of Acts, and what James and Peter taught in their epistles, couldn't apply to our lives here in 21st century America. 

I have a feeling many Christians today would rather take the offer of being transported to an island where we can do our thing, than live in Narnia with the strange creatures Aslan loves. The thought of feasting with Bacchus (See my post on this.) seems about as appealing as feasting on poop. But what a wonderful thing we miss when we reject those who Jesus loves to live a stilted life in seclusion.