An Exploration into the Use of the Biblical Narrative of the Fall within the children’s series The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis and His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in English by the University of Canterbury By Rebecca Maree Fisher University of Canterbury 2008 Table of Contents Abstract Introduction I: Alternative Versions of the Fall Narrative as presented within The Chronicles of Narnia and His Dark Materials 1.1: Lewis’s Alternative Vision of the Fall Narrative within The Chronicles of Narnia 2.1: Pullman’s Reinterpretation of the Traditional Understanding of the Fall Narrative within His Dark Materials II: The Roles of Childhood and Adulthood within The Chronicles of Narnia and His Dark Materials and how each relates to each author’s personal understanding of the Fall narrative. 1.2: Lewis’s Portrayal of Childhood and Adulthood, and his dependence on the Fall narrative in order to shape the distinct differences between the two states 2.2: Pullman’s Treatment of Childhood and Adulthood, and how his Reinterpretation of the Fall Narrative inflects his Representations of each State III: The Definitions and Presentation of Good and Evil within The Chronicles of Narnia and His Dark Materials 1.3: Lewis’s Use of Aslan as the Definition of Goodness 2.3: Pullman’s Use of Dust to Redefine the Fall narrative and its Understanding of Good and Evil 3.3: The Origins of Evil according to Lewis and his Interpretation of the Fall Narrative 4.3: Pullman’s Understanding of the Origins and Nature of Evil based on his Reinterpretation of the Fall Narrative Conclusion 2 Abstract In this thesis, I explore the uses to which children’s authors C.S. Lewis and Philip Pullman put the major biblical theme of the Fall (with passing commentary on Temptation, the precursor to the Fall) in their seminal children’s series The Chronicles of Narnia and the His Dark Materials trilogy. I argue that each author uses the subject of the Fall as a central theme in his series in order to inflect the dominant message of this biblical story (that humanity has fallen from perfection into sin) with their personal opinions on fundamental human questions concerning the nature of God, the difference between good and evil, and the metaphysical ‘rules’ that structure the universe and mankind’s place in it.1 In exploring these issues, I point out the ways in which Pullman and Lewis, in their drastically differing opinions as to the legitimacy of the worldview implicit in the original Bible story, are nevertheless both heavily dependant on the overwhelming influence that the Fall narrative has had on Western culture. 1 The terms “humanity” and “mankind” are used throughout this thesis, and are to be viewed as solely as imperfect terms of designation to refer to the complex categories of sentient life. 1 Introduction To explain my aims in this thesis, I must first articulate the primary purpose of myths and stories, which besides providing simple entertainment, the passing on of knowledge and morality, and attempting to explain natural, social and cultural phenomena, have been told in order to grant humanity a sense of purpose and meaning. Stories are created and told in order to grant cultures a sense of order and structure in a world that often seems chaotic and random. All of these traits are to be found in the story of the Judeo-Christian Fall from grace, as recorded in the first book of the Old Testament.2 Eric Smith describes the Fall as a great aetiological myth central to the Western imagination, and according to him the story persists because it contains the perennial concerns of man, an explanation that is akin to Anne-Marie Bird’s declaration that its prevailing influence on Western culture is due to the fact it answers a series of the most basic and profound questions humanity has posed to itself.3 The Fall narrative includes explanations as to how the universe was formed, how humanity was created, and why suffering and death entered the world. It discusses God’s intentions for his creation, the nature of consciousness, growing up, even the gender relationship and Western culture’s 2 All biblical citations are taken from the King James Version. 3 Eric Smith, The Myth of the Fall of Man in English Literature (London: Croom Helm, 1973), xiii Anne-Marie Bird, “Without Contraries is no Progression: Dust as an All-Inclusive, Multifunctional Metaphor in Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials,” Children’s Literature in Education, Volume l.32, Number 2, (2001): 111 2 aversion to snakes. It affects the way childhood is perceived, how evil is defined, and gives instructions on how lives should be led, effectively shaping mankind’s view of itself. Its strength comes from the fact that whether one believes it is literal truth (as millions around the world do) or simply metaphorical, the story explains the flawed state of mankind and the reasons behind its history of war, suffering, disease, poverty and death, all of which all seem to prove that the human state as we know it is one that is fatally, undeniably flawed. Finally, the Fall is part of a major storytelling theme that is common to civilizations throughout the ages from the Ancient Greeks’ idea of a former ‘Golden Age’ to our own sense of nostalgia for ‘the good old days’: that of an entropic descent from perfection. However, this thesis is not concerned with the psychological influence that the Fall has had throughout history on either civilizations or individuals. My argument rests on the assumption that the story’s great influence in Western culture allows it to act as a central theme around which Lewis and Pullman can discuss a range of issues within their seminal children’s series The Chronicles of Narnia and the His Dark Materials trilogy. Both Lewis and Pullman have each crafted for themselves worldviews based on this notion of the Fall that encompass a range of philosophical issues (such as good and evil, life and death, God and humanity) within the context of their secondary worlds. By “secondary worlds” I am referring to the worlds that exist parallel to each author’s representation of the “real” world; specifically Lewis’s realm of Narnia and Pullman’s myriad of other universes, particularly his alternative version of Oxford. The terms “primary” and “secondary worlds” were originally coined by J. R. R. Tolkien in his essay “On Fairy Stories,” in which fantasy worlds with inner consistency were described as 3 “secondary worlds,” and their authors’ as “sub-creators.”4 Although Tolkien refers to the “primary world” as the real world, for the purposes of this thesis, I shall be using the term in order to refer to the real world as it is represented within the texts of Lewis and Pullman themselves. Although each author establishes the “real” (or primary) worlds in their novels, it is within the scope of their secondary worlds that they can explore their individual worldviews in more detail, by implementing fantasy elements (such as Lewis’s character of Aslan, or Pullman’s concept of Dust) to better illustrate aspects of their personal beliefs. However, attention will also be given to the representation of the Fall narrative in the primary worlds, as in each case, the authors’ primary world contains knowledge and understanding of the Fall as it appears in its original biblical context.5 My thesis explores how aspects of the Fall are adapted by each author, as well as how each author uses it and its message to shape the drastically opposed worldviews apparent in their stories, with Lewis following the traditional understanding of the Fall, in which it is treated as an undesirable fall from perfection following an act of disobedience toward God, whilst Pullman reshapes its meaning entirely in order to present it as a story of growth from preconscious innocence to self-awareness and independence. Throughout, I argue that the overwhelming influence of the ‘Fall’ deeply influences the structure of each set of primary and secondary worlds, to the point where the concept is essential to both plot formation and the creation of meaning within each series. The story of the Garden of Eden coherently explains the creation of man, the coming of evil and suffering into the world, and the separation of mankind from God, a 4 J.R.R. Tolkien, “On Fairy Stories,” Tree and Leaf (London: Unwin,1964) 5Lewis’s primary world is his child protagonists’ home-world that frames the beginning and end of all but one of the Narnia novels; for Pullman, it is the world that Will and Mary Malone inhabit, first seen at the beginning of Subtle. 4 human condition that is alleged to endure even to this day. Although the book of Genesis begins with the creation of the universe and ends with the sojourning of the Israelites in Egypt, the story of the Creation and the Fall is its most famous narrative, explaining that God created the Earth over a period of seven days, during which He created man in His own image from the dust of the ground. Adam, the first man, was given the Garden of Eden to work, being warned that: “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden, but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die.”6 Out of one of Adam’s ribs God creates the first woman, Eve, as a helpmate for Adam.