保健医療経営大学紀要 № 3 43 ～ 53（2011） ＜研究ノート（Research Note）＞ Miscellaneous Findings in The Chronicles of Narnia A trial to find correlations between the life and the works of C. S. Lewis 小手川巧光 * Introduction noticeable to think about his unique way of his works’ I have been trying to find the differences of the overlapping with his life. ways each author puts his/her philosophy into their Lewis wrote seven volumes of CN . I will introduce works, especially being interested in the authors in each subject along with the publishing order of The modern British literature like D. H. Lawrence, J. R. Chronicles except for The Magician’s Nephew (MN ) R. Tolkien and so forth. Though each author has because MN will be used for my next thesis as a something to do with Christianity because each of them central piece of material to correlate the miscellaneous is born and raised in Western Culture where Christian findings with each other. influence is thick enough to inevitably overshadow their lives, he/she has a unique way to develop the The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe (LWW) influence. When it comes to the influence on their works, it is even wonderful to see how much variety of How the Christian doctrines are woven into the story the appearance of such effects reflects. C. S. Lewis is one of the authors from modern Why did Lewis decide to weave together the British literature who had such interesting writing embedded doctrines in the story without using activities that you would like to look into how he had explicitly Christian terminology? Was it only for the been changing ways to put his thoughts into his works. purpose of allowing people to read without caring about He is known as one of the most powerful Christian the religious issues it contained? For example, in LWW , apologists in the 20th century and at the same time he there are a series of scenes in which Aslan the Lion left notable fantasy novels like Space Trilogy (ST )1 and is sacrificed, or ritually killed, on the Stone Table by The Chronicles of Narnia (CN )2. He had been shifting the White Witch in substitution for Edmund, who has not only his thoughts about religious matters but also committed a sin of betrayal, and after that He, Aslan, his ways of reflecting the thoughts onto his works. is resurrected. It is clear that this depicts the very In his earlier Christian years, he developed Christian central Christian doctrine of Christ’s redemption. apologetics mainly in the form of essays and theses. Moreover, by the advent of Aslan the Lion, spring has However, he eventually turned into a fantasy novelist finally come to the long and cold winter of Narnia and to introduce orthodox Christian doctrines and even the thick snow and ice are being melted gradually and his unique thoughts about religion saying“because a various frozen beings revive. That scene may represent children's story is the best art-form for something you how the gospel brought by the advent of Christ frees have to say”.3 For the time being, my work will be the society locked in by the control of Old Testament concerned mainly with researching what“something” legalism. You can find many such things related to in the remark is. In this research note, though, I would Christianity and the Bible which are too many to fully like to find as many conspicuous things in CN as enumerate here. Most of them are worked in without possible. So I will show you some subjects which I find the use of direct religious terminology through natural * 保健医療経営大学保健医療経営学部 助教，修士（英文学・経済学） E-mail：[email protected] ― 43 ― 小手川 巧 光 imagery for example. One of the possible reasons for left behind in Narnia 1000 years ago.〔LWW (202)〕It is this is that CN belong to the genre of children’s the very horn that she was given by Santa Claus〔LWW literature. When one writes a story for children, it is (118)〕and with it one never fails to get help if he/she quite necessary to avoid dull exposure of the sources blows it in need. In Chapters 5, 7 and 8, it is revealed or a tedious lecture and to concentrate on making it little by little. First, Doctor Cornelius reveals the secret enjoyable and dramatically exciting better stimulates of the horn when he gives to Prince Caspian,“It is children’s imagination. Lewis, however, did not write the magic horn of Queen Susan herself which she left it simply to flatter children. He preferred to call himself behind her when she vanished from Narnia at the end “an imaginative man”.4 So you may think it natural of the Golden Age.”(63) A Narnian dwarf, Trumpkin, that his desire to put into a story what he had been also tells the Pevensies a long story all the way from imagining in images was the driving force for him to Chapter 4 to Chapter 8 about how Caspian reached the produce CN . Before writing CN , he had concentrated situation in which he could not help blowing it. Finally, on Christian apologetics in The Screwtape Letters he tells them about the things which happened when it and Mere Christianity, which suggests that what he was blown. had intended was to transpose his thoughts about the Christian doctrines to children’s literature. I’d been plugging away for many hours when One more possible reason is that Jesus also left there came a sound that I’d never heard the many parables, most of which are told without offering like of in my born days. Eh, I won’t forget that. any explanation. Jesus could be looked upon as another The whole air was full of it, loud as thunder but person making the best of imagination who used far longer, cool and sweet as music over water, parables very effectively for the uneducated people of but strong enough to shake the woods. And I his day. Lewis’s children’s literature is, I think, used said to myself,“If that’s not the Horn, call me effectively to express Christian doctrine in the same a rabbit.” And a moment later I wondered why manner. he hadn’t blown it sooner ―” “What time was it?” asked Edmund.“Between Prince Caspian (PC) nine and ten of the clock,” said Trumpkin. “Just when we were at the railway station!” said 1)Impressive correlation with other volumes: the magic all the children, and looked at one another with horn and the talking mouse shining eyes.(PC , 103-04) What I was first amazed at is the impressive In this way, the first volume, LWW and the second correlation with other volumes. This volume is the volume, PC , are impressively linked by the image of second one in the publishing order next to LWW . As the horn. In the first volume, this horn is given to in LWW , the four Pevensie children are drawn into Susan by Santa Claus, who appears just before the Narnia by a magic power and Lewis develops an control of the Witch over Narnia begins to collapse, and action-packed story. The literary device by which they so it becomes one of the symbols of Narnian liberation. are drawn into Narnia is interestingly different inPC . In the second volume, it is again used symbolically When they are sitting on a bench at a railway station to emancipate Narnia from the Telmarine invaders. I on their way to their boarding schools after a long think the beauty and power of that image is expressed vacation, an uncanny power suddenly begins to work very well in the words of Trumpkin quoted above. As on them and they find themselves standing in a dense to Lewis’ writing order, it is said that LWW is the forest, that is, in the forest of Narnia, but more than first novel and PC the second. According to Kathryn 1000 years later from the time when, in the Lion, the Lindskoog, Lewis was going to publish only the first Witch and the Wardrobe, they were kings and queens one.5 If that is the case, I wonder at what point he had building up the Golden Age. Though at this point they the idea of connecting the two worlds with the motif do not know how the magical power works, they later of the horn. I also wonder how the horn reached the know it was triggered by the magic horn which Susan hands of Doctor Cornelius 1000 years after Susan had ― 44 ― Miscellaneous Findings in The Chronicles of Narnia left Narnia the first time; about this Lewis remains understand, Nikabrik,” said Trufflehunter. “You silent. Dwarfs are as forgetful and changeable as the At the end of the story, after the war against Humans themselves. I’m a beast, I am, and a Telmarine invaders ends up in victory, there is also Badger what’s more. We don’t change. We an interesting scene in which Reepicheep, a talking hold on. I say great good will come of it. This mouse, is humiliated. Let me quote what Aslan says in is the true King of Narnia we’ve got here: a conversation with him. true King, coming back to true Narnia. And we beasts remember, even if Dwarfs forget, that You have conquered me. You have great hearts. Narnia was never right except when a son of Not for the sake of your dignity, Reepicheep, Adam was King.”(71) but for the love that is between you and your people, and still more for the kindness your As I mentioned above, this speech may not only preach people showed me long ago when you ate away about the value of steadfastness of faith〔“But now the cords that bound me on the Stone Table (and he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body it was then, though you have long forgotten it, through death to present you holy in his sight, without that you began to be Talking Mice), you shall blemish and free from accusation ― if you continue in have your tail again.(223-24) your faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope held out in the gospel.( NIV , Colossians 1:22-23) 〕 Thus, this episode makes another associative allusion but also criticize the history of Christian distrust and to the first volume, LWW , which helps to give the turmoil:“You Dwarfs are as forgetful and changeable whole Chronicles more interest and depth.