Setting Time in Motion

A story's setting, both the time and place, plays an important role in every narration. To fantasy, it is not only important, but essential, for it most follow the rules of escapism. Therefore, the setting of The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe is not only important but absolutely essential to the effectiveness of the book's fantasy genre.

The story begins during World War II in England -- the primary world in both time and place. When Lucy finds the Wardrobe, she realizes that she is able to escape her physical setting of England and enter into a place where her primary world is not recognized. She does not seem, however, to be able to escape her time and enter into "a long time ago". In fact, after returning to the primary world, Lucy finds that almost no time has passed since her adventure commenced. She seems to pick up exactly where she left off from in both time and place. 

Here we see a serious break in our previously defined terms for fantasy -- the removal of both place and time (defined by both Tolkien and the dictionaries of fantasy terms). Interestingly enough, however,  if time stops in the primary world while visiting this secondary world, there is a definite element of timelessness to the story (indeed, in the most literal sense). What Lewis seems to be drawing attention to in this story is that the children are still able to escape their setting entirely: the physical setting of England and the restrains of time. 

Because the Pevensie children enter into the secondary world through a portal, it is very difficult to set the story "a long time ago" without disrupting Narnia's relationship to the primary world. Instead, Lewis allows the time to cease altogether so that the children can escape into a truly timeless state. Indeed, then, it is not "a long time ago" that makes a story fantastical in nature -- it is the ability to throw of the restraint of time itself.