The Spatialization of London’s East End and Irishness in C. S. Lewis’s The Chronicles of Narnia

( Seongeun Jin ) 21세기영어영문학회 2018 영어영문학21 Vol.31 No.1

The mythic aspects in C. S. Lewis’s The Chronicles of Narnia have mainly attracted critics to discuss Lewis’s view of theology. Nevertheless, his birth origin of Anglican Irish seems to complicate the sense of masculinity and nobleness in Narnia in relation to Englishness and gender. Hitherto, many critics have asserted that whiteness in Narnia reinforces the lost power of Christianity in England. Yet Englishness in Narnia still calls into question many cultural reflections of nationhood, class, and gender. More specifically, in this paper I explore a gendered notion of Irishness and veiled references to the excluded locality of London’s East End in The Chronicles of Narnia. Social mobility of the urban poor and neglected female positions are related to the historical site of the East End and occupational changes among Irish women during the World Wars. Thus, Lewis’s background of Northern Ireland unveils his backward or nostalgic portrayals of a utopian world in Narnia. I suggest that otherness and ambivalent Englishness should further display the long history of exclusion of Irish people and the evolving values of class and gender in English society in Lewis’s The Magician’s Nephew and The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.

Whiteness and Racism in C. S. Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia

Jin, Seongeun(진성은) 새한영어영문학회 2015 새한영어영문학 Vol.57 No.1

Many critics have discussed the idea that C. S. Lewis advocated the regressive aspects of nostalgia by imposing the epitome of Plato’s ideal state into Narnia. Underneath the fantasy narrative, eugenics seems to reinforce the conventional Western view of race in The Chronicles of Narnia. The extreme “either/or” dichotomy between white and black in The Chronicles of Narnia has mainly emphasized the two different entities between good and evil. Moreover, in the biblical narrative the good simply triumphs over the evil, and at the same time it reflects that whiteness is superior to blackness. Due to the dominance of white imagery in the paradise, Narnia is considered to be a healthy and supreme place until an exceptional dark-skinned character enters the country. Metaphorically, Narnia signifies the integrity of the English society after eliminating all inferior races from the utopia. In the mid-twentieth century, the fears of immigration and other races coming into England impacted the society enormously. Hitherto, critics have discussed the inclusion of a Muslim, Emeth, in Narnia only as a mere exception and Lewis’s view of universalism. However, I suggest that it also displays Lewis’s keen awareness of different layers of whiteness due to his Irish position. Although the dichotomous division between white and black in Narnia tends to obscure the imperialist concept of Englishness, the Emeth case questions the ideology of pure race in England. Along with the context of the imperialist attitude in the white protagonists’ fantasy in The Chronicles of Narnia, I will explore the complex ideology of white supremacy along with Lewis’s perception of Irish whiteness and the historical context of race and eugenics in the mid-twentieth century.

Whiteness and Racism in C. S. Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia

진성은 새한영어영문학회 2015 새한영어영문학 Vol.57 No.1

Many critics have discussed the idea that C. S. Lewis advocated the regressive aspects of nostalgia by imposing the epitome of Plato’s ideal state into Narnia. Underneath the fantasy narrative, eugenics seems to reinforce the conventional Western view of race in The Chronicles of Narnia. The extreme “either/or” dichotomy between white and black in The Chronicles of Narnia has mainly emphasized the two different entities between good and evil. Moreover, in the biblical narrative the good simply triumphs over the evil, and at the same time it reflects that whiteness is superior to blackness. Due to the dominance of white imagery in the paradise, Narnia is considered to be a healthy and supreme place until an exceptional dark-skinned character enters the country. Metaphorically, Narnia signifies the integrity of the English society after eliminating all inferior races from the utopia. In the mid-twentieth century, the fears of immigration and other races coming into England impacted the society enormously. Hitherto, critics have discussed the inclusion of a Muslim, Emeth, in Narnia only as a mere exception and Lewis’s view of universalism. However, I suggest that it also displays Lewis’s keen awareness of different layers of whiteness due to his Irish position. Although the dichotomous division between white and black in Narnia tends to obscure the imperialist concept of Englishness, the Emeth case questions the ideology of pure race in England. Along with the context of the imperialist attitude in the white protagonists’ fantasy in The Chronicles of Narnia, I will explore the complex ideology of white supremacy along with Lewis’s perception of Irish whiteness and the historical context of race and eugenics in the mid-twentieth century.

The Spatialization of London’s East End and Irishness in C. S. Lewis’s The Chronicles of Narnia

진성은 21세기영어영문학회 2018 영어영문학21 Vol.31 No.1

The mythic aspects in C. S. Lewis’s The Chronicles of Narnia have mainly attracted critics to discuss Lewis’s view of theology. Nevertheless, his birth origin of Anglican Irish seems to complicate the sense of masculinity and nobleness in Narnia in relation to Englishness and gender. Hitherto, many critics have asserted that whiteness in Narnia reinforces the lost power of Christianity in England. Yet Englishness in Narnia still calls into question many cultural reflections of nationhood, class, and gender. More specifically, in this paper I explore a gendered notion of Irishness and veiled references to the excluded locality of London’s East End in The Chronicles of Narnia. Social mobility of the urban poor and neglected female positions are related to the historical site of the East End and occupational changes among Irish women during the World Wars. Thus, Lewis’s background of Northern Ireland unveils his backward or nostalgic portrayals of a utopian world in Narnia. I suggest that otherness and ambivalent Englishness should further display the long history of exclusion of Irish people and the evolving values of class and gender in English society in Lewis’s The Magician’s Nephew and The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.

기독교 아동문학의 가능성: C.S.루이스의 동화적 상상력을 중심으로

추태화 ( Tea Wha Chu ) 한국어린이문학교육학회 2001 어린이문학교육연구 Vol.2 No.1

루이스의 동화 나르니아 연대기 는 전체 7권으로 이루어져 있으며, 루이스를 문서선교사, 또는 아동문학가로 불릴만한 명예를 안겨주었다. 일반 동화와는 달리 루이스는 화자(Narrator)로서 독특한 기능을 하고 있는데, 그것은 독자로 하여금, 객관적 사고나 윤리적 사유를 도출할 수 있도록 한다. 이 연대기 동화는 무엇보다도 기독교적인 구원론을 종교적 상상력으로 묘사하고 있다. 루이스는 이성적인 서술만으로는 세계를 표현하는데 한계를 느껴, 신화, 마법, 동화적인 기법을 활용하고 있다. 그의 작품에는 특히 상징적 대립구도와 성경적 인유(Biblical Allusion)가 눈에 뜨이는데, 이로서 기독교적 성향이 두드러진다. 루이스 동화는 이야기 교육학의 일환으로 포스트모던 시대에 걸맞는 표현기법을 동원, 많은 독자들을 기독교적 대화의 장으로 초대하고 있는 것이다. C.S.Lewis wrote many books as a professor, literature-critic, poet, autobiographor, and apologist. In this thesis we will look at him as a literary missionary, because he tried with his various works, to express and to confess the basic christian faith. As the author of the Narnia Chronicles for children he is famous in the whole world. This thesis will look at some charateristics of the Christian Childrens`s Literature which C.S.Lewis wrote. Narnia Chronicles belong to Fairy Tale, and is full of religious and mythical Imagination. Lewis` Role as Narrator in his works let the reader think rationally and morally. The Writer speaks with his reader, to get objective reflection. In Narnia Chronicles allegorical and symbolic dualism are constructed: the good power and the bad, civitas Dei and civitas diaboli, moral and immoral action, etc. And many figures are characterized in this direction. Further more biblical allusions show reader Lewis` intention: In the Silver Chair he wrote, If you are thirsty, you may drink. (p.16). This sentence can compared with the Bible; Jesus stood and cried out, saying, if any man is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. (John 8:12). We observe in Narnia Chronicles: 1) Lewis teaches us a narrative pedagogy, a new method for children`s education with fairy tale. 2) Lewis express religious imagination in postmodern times in which man is searching. 3) Lewis as Narrator will be messenger of the christian faith. 4) Lewis indicated the zero zone between the christian and the nonchristian. The Narnia Chronicles should be a model for not only children`s literature and but also for literary works in generally.

연대기적 속물주의, "심오한 주문", 그리고 시간 -『나니아 연대기』가 천착하는 과거의 중요성

백정국 ( Jung Kook Paik ) 21세기영어영문학회 2015 영어영문학21 Vol.28 No.4

This essay attempts to show that The Chronicles of Narnia is a fictional embodiment of C. S. Lewis``s unique conception of time in which the past overrides the present as the dominant referential locus of truth. To Lewis the present as opposed to the past was potentially deceptive. This deep trenched suspicion of the present with its ethos being best captured in those words “chronological snobbery” was like a life-long mantra for Lewis and is pervasive throughout many of his writings and memorably in Narnia. In order to give a solid shape to his extraordinary re-envisioning of the cherished past, Lewis integrated into the novel diverse elements of Norse and Greco-Roman mythologies, biblical stories, and some of the ancient philosophical perception of the world within an extremely complicated and confusing time-scheme. And he highlighted the strong political implication of Narnia: the present regime is wicked and thus ultimately subject to recuperation under the guidance of Aslan. The apparently radical, bewildering end of the story in which the authenticity and integrity of Narnia is declared as being eternal in its totality, regardless of its visible physical destruction, is hardly reductive. Rather, it suggests that it was a final maneuver on the part of the author not only to cut off the tiring, if not vicious, circle of corruption and restoration, wickedness and goodness but also to perpetuate the glorious past into the future, a terminal blow on the ugly face of the deceptive present.

기독교 아동 문학을 활용한 인성 교육의 가능성 탐색: C.S. 루이스의 『나니아 연대기』를 중심으로

송애리 한국인격교육학회 2023 인격교육 Vol.17 No.3

Traditionally, literature-based character education programs have been widely used for children’s character development. The purpose of this study is to reveal the character educational value of Christian children's literature, which has not received much attention despite the high correlation between religion and morality, and to explore ways to utilize it for character education. As a theoretical foundation for character education using Christian children's literature, drawing on Aristotle's virtue ethics, the content of virtue, which is the foundation of desirable character, was identified first, and the essence and role of virtue that aids in the realization of human nature was highlighted. To supplement the limitations of Aristotle's virtue ethics, this study proposes the integration of the self and identity based on a transcendental narrative by relying on the moral identity theory and narrative approach. In addition, being inspired by Aquinas' virtue ethics, this study suggests the pursuit of telos based on common grace while acknowledging the need for God's grace in the pursuit of happiness through the realization of virtue. Subsequently, the curriculum and educational effects of the UK's Narnian Virtues project using C.S. Lewis' The Chronicles of Narnia were introduced, and the possibilities and limitations of character education using Christian children's literature were explored. 전통적으로 문학 작품은 인성 형성을 위한 교육적 소재로 널리 활용되어 왔다. 본 연구는 지금까지 종교와 도덕의 높은 연관성에도 불구하고 크게 주목받지 못했던 기독교 아동 문학이 지닌 인성 교육적 가치를 밝히고 그것의 교육적 활용 방안을 탐색하는 것을 목적으로 한다. 기독교 아동 문학을 활용한 인성 교육의 이론적 토대로서 먼저 아리스토텔레스의 덕 윤리에 근거하여 바람직한 인성의 토대가 되는 덕의 내용을 파악하고, 인간 본성의 실현을 돕는 덕의 본질과 역할을 조명하였다. 아리스토텔레스의 덕 윤리가 지닌 한계를 보완하기 위해, 도덕적 정체성 이론과 내러티브적 접근을 토대로 초월적 내러티브에 기반한 자아와 정체성의 통합을 제안하고, 아퀴나스의 덕 윤리에 착안하여 일반 은총에 힘입은 텔로스의 추구를 제안하였다. 이어서 C.S. 루이스의 『나니아 연대기』를 활용한 영국의 나니아 미덕 프로젝트의 커리큘럼과 교육적 효과를 소개하며, 기독교 아동 문학을 활용한 인성 교육의 가능성과 한계를 조망하였다.

창작교육적 관점에서 본 판타지의 서사 방법 -『반지의 제왕』 『나니아 연대기』 『해리포터』 『드래곤 라자』를 중심으로

김종태 ( Jong Tae Kim ),정재림 ( Jae Rim Jeong ) 한국현대문예비평학회 2009 한국문예비평연구 Vol.- No.30

『나니아 연대기』와 「쾌활한 사람」, 「사색하는 사람」에 구현된 세례받은 상상력

이인성,한유준 한국중세근세영문학회 2008 고전·르네상스 영문학 Vol.17 No.2

Regardless of time difference of three hundred years, John Milton and C. S. Lewis share a similar literary code in their ideas and philosophy on the issue of “myth.” As Milton who lived in the English Renaissance period focused on the ideas of history, culture, and nation, Lewis as one of the twentieth century famous writers and scholars also taught the same topics in the Medieval and Renaissance literature at the Cambridge and Oxford University. Furthermore, they both acknowledged their identity as Christian writers whose aim is to produce and spread the discourse of Christianity. Among several similarities, their fascination with the Greek-Roman mythology and the use of pagan elements in their literary texts are worthy of attention, not because they are regarded themselves as Christian writers, but because they employed the Greek-Roman myth as fictitious elements in comparison with Christian ideas as the factual truths. Thus, this paper aims at analyzing the literary aspects of the “myth” embodied in both Milton’s “L’Allegro” and “Il Penseroso” and Lewis’s The Chronicles of Narnia in order to understand the in-depth meanings and insights about these writers’ ideas of Christianity. This paper also shows that a classical text like Milton’s could be reincarnated in a popular literature like Lewis’s works in the contemporary times. The first part examines how Milton and Lewis represent the real world the Renaissance and World War II respectively. The second part analyses how Milton and Lewis discover the limitations of the mythical world. These limitations lead them to search the ultimate imaginative mythical world. The third part explores Miton and Lewis’s understandings of the “Baptized Imagination” that is the knowledge of Reality which could help human beings avoid the “human dilemma,” the knowledge about Reality, and introduce to the ultimate imaginative mythical world. The final part investigates the concepts of the “Baptized Imagination” and the “Myth became Fact” that are represented in the texts of Milton and Lewis. As Milton and Lewis embody the progress of the “Myth became Fact,” the conclusion discusses how they achieve their goals in which the readers experience complete and ultimate mythical world. Regardless of time difference of three hundred years, John Milton and C. S. Lewis share a similar literary code in their ideas and philosophy on the issue of “myth.” As Milton who lived in the English Renaissance period focused on the ideas of history, culture, and nation, Lewis as one of the twentieth century famous writers and scholars also taught the same topics in the Medieval and Renaissance literature at the Cambridge and Oxford University. Furthermore, they both acknowledged their identity as Christian writers whose aim is to produce and spread the discourse of Christianity. Among several similarities, their fascination with the Greek-Roman mythology and the use of pagan elements in their literary texts are worthy of attention, not because they are regarded themselves as Christian writers, but because they employed the Greek-Roman myth as fictitious elements in comparison with Christian ideas as the factual truths. Thus, this paper aims at analyzing the literary aspects of the “myth” embodied in both Milton’s “L’Allegro” and “Il Penseroso” and Lewis’s The Chronicles of Narnia in order to understand the in-depth meanings and insights about these writers’ ideas of Christianity. This paper also shows that a classical text like Milton’s could be reincarnated in a popular literature like Lewis’s works in the contemporary times. The first part examines how Milton and Lewis represent the real world the Renaissance and World War II respectively. The second part analyses how Milton and Lewis discover the limitations of the mythical world. These limitations lead them to search the ultimate imaginative mythical world. The third part explores Miton and Lewis’s understandings of the “Baptized Imagination” that is the knowledge of Reality which could help human beings avoid the “human dilemma,” the knowledge about Reality, and introduce to the ultimate imaginative mythical world. The final part investigates the concepts of the “Baptized Imagination” and the “Myth became Fact” that are represented in the texts of Milton and Lewis. As Milton and Lewis embody the progress of the “Myth became Fact,” the conclusion discusses how they achieve their goals in which the readers experience complete and ultimate mythical world.

터키쉬 딜라이트와 사자 아슬란: C. S. Lewis의 『나니아 연대기』에 나타난 세속과 초월

김일구 ( Il Gu Kim ) 한국영미문화학회 2007 영미문화 Vol.7 No.1