I Wax Parenthetical On the Topic of Narnia

Hiya guys.

Didn't really know whether to put this on here or on my book blog, (cue shameless self promotion here) but my book blog's had more attention from me lately, so I'll put it here.

I own a tonne of Narnia themed books (there's a little section on my bookshelf where they hang out) and I've just acquired another one: The Narnia Code. Despite the incredibly lame title - which is actually an appropriate one, unlike most books with Da Vinci Code parody titles - it is pretty good and I am looooving it so far. Author Michael Ward's got a unique and fascinating thing to say.

Anyway... it got me thinking about Narnia in general and one particular Narnian controversy - Susan.

I never really liked Susan all that much - to be perfectly honest with you, I always prefered Peter and Edmund to their sisters... which isn't just to say that I had a little tiny crush on Peter growing up (heh heh, of course not...) or that I adored Edmund for growing up 'graver and quieter' and having that long bromancy chat with Eustace about their respective experiences of redemption. (And yes, I have lost my train of thought! Um...)

Lucy I always wished I could relate to more, chiefly because she's got such faith and such a close connection with Aslan. To my lasting regret I'm probably more of a Susan in some ways - not least because of the serious case of 'eldest sister syndrome' we've both got going. And I'm pretty sure that Aslan would be telling me "You have listened to fears, child," rather than "Now you are a lioness". Damn my insecurities!

Something secular adult readers usually have a problem with when they read Narnia is the way Susan develops (or rather doesn't develop) throughout the series. They say things like 'Lewis punishes Susan for growing up' and 'the author's issues with sexuality are blatantly shown in his portrayal of Susan'. Neil Gaiman apparently wrote a whole short story about the issue called The Problem of Susan (and if I learn that the title was meant to be a swipe at Lewis's book The Problem of Pain I think I shall be violently ill). I haven't read The Problem of Susan and I don't plan to; having read that there are disgusting violent and sexually explicit scenes involving Aslan. THAT IS IN NO WAY OK AT ALL EVER. (I just accidentally read the excerpt from a reviewer of the story. There is bile in my mouth.) GO RUIN YOUR OWN CHILDHOOD, YOU SICK SON OF A BACHELOR.

I say, if you want to read C. S. Lewis writing female characters badly, go read That Hideous Strength and leave Narnia alone. It's fine. But let me elaborate on that.

Susan's sin is not 'growing up'. All four Pevensie children actually grow up twice (I always wondered how they would feel about that - seems like a bit of a mixed blessing to me) - once when they're kings and queens in Narnia and once when they're back in 'our world'. And nothing negative is said or hinted about their transitions into adulthood either time - except perhaps for Susan. I grant you, she is a bit silly for considering Rabadash as a suitor in The Horse and His Boy, but I'm sure that's a mistake a lot of girls would make about a dashing foreign prince. And there are at least two other strong female characters in that book anyway, all you feminist Narnia bashers! What Susan gets called on is her retreat into superficiality. When Jill says 'she's interested in nothing now-a-days except nylons and lipstick and invitations' she means that Susan has become wrapped up in a chase for surface beauty and a desire to fit worldly standards. A bit of an easy trap for the 'pretty one of the family', I guess. When Jill does say that Susan 'always was a jolly sight too keen on being grown-up', Polly corrects her with 'Grown up indeed... I wish she would grow up. She wasted all her school time wanting to be the age she is now, and she'll waste the rest of her life trying to stay that age.' Which is also a pretty good description of the whole of the modern attitude on age and beauty!
C. S. Lewis isn't attacking Susan's femininity. His sympathetic and human portrayal of Jill (I don't particularly like Jill, but she's very realistic and empathetic) shouts down any claims of misogyny from people who don't like Lucy or Aravis or Polly or any of the other fully fleshed out girls in the series.

And it is horrible for Susan that her whole family died together and left her alone - but I always saw that as a sort of hopeful thing: she doesn't end up cast out into utter darkness, she doesn't die lying to herself about her girlhood adventures and ignoring the rich spiritual life she knows she could have, so far as we know. I think that the loss of her entire family might just be the only thing that could jerk her away from the trap of superficiality. I mean, I could be wrong, but that's just how I like to think of it. There's still hope for Susan.