Lewis says that his works featuring Narnia were not intended
to become allegorical. They should not
be read that way nor analyzed too harshly because they are children’s
stories. (They are not children’s
stories in that they are unworthy of adult attention, but in that children are
merely his intended audience. Some children do not like the stories, and some
adults do.)
Yet, despite Lewis’s goal of specifically not writing an
allegory, that is how the story is perceived by most who know the real Story. Because of this, they encourage the reading
of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
from this preconceived notion. While I
do not think that the story should be read with the goal of teaching a point (it should be read for the story alone), the
story obviously has similarities with reality.
Of course, every sort of fantasy is ultimately going to reflect the
Bible. The Bible is, after all, the
Ultimate Story – and, what’s more, is True.
Where can authors draw ideas from, other than from reality and Truth? The Bible happens to be True.
While perhaps adults should not impose a certain way of
reading The Lion, the Witch, and the
Wardrobe on children, I think it is to their credit that children should – on
their own – draw parallels. It means they
are capable of seeing patterns. However,
if they do this with one story, they should try to do so in other stories. But,
of course, the way The Lion, the Witch,
and the Wardrobe is laid out
makes it very simple to see elements of the Ultimate Story in the story. Regardless of whether Lewis intended to
create an allegory or not, because his story was written by a human for a
human, there will be elements and characteristics that will be clear and in
some ways parallel to reality. I think
that if a person can pick these out – not in an obsessive and over-analytical
way – they are well grounded and have not lost themselves in a secondary
reality. Rather, they are venturing into
it with one foot while leaving the other in their own reality.
No comments:
Post a Comment