Questions tagged [c-s-lewis]
Questions about the British author C.S. Lewis (1898 – 1963), or any of his works, most famously his fantasy series 'The Chronicles of Narnia'.
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What sort of bookshops sell The Works of Aristotle?
In the beginning of The Great Divorce, C.S. Lewis' narrator states:
However far I went I found only dingy lodging houses, small tobacconists, hoardings from which posters hung in rags, windowless ...
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What is the symbolism of Ransom's heel wound?
In Perelandra, the second book of CS Lewis's planets trilogy, the protagonist Ransom is wounded in the heel by the Un-Man/Weston. We learn in the third book, That Hideous Strength, that the wound ...
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What are "smoking-room stories"?
I recently started reading C.S. Lewis's book That Hideous Strength, the third in his Space Trilogy (and I'm devouring it - what a story!) The following passage, from when Mark first meets Miss "...
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Did "The Fox" hold to Stoic philosophy?
Till We Have Faces says the following about "The Fox" (the Greek slave who was a tutor):
He had all sorts of sayings to cheer himself up with: "No man can be an exile if he remembers that all the ...
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What evidence do scholars offer on both sides as to the authorship of "The Dark Tower"?
The Dark Tower is an incomplete manuscript posthumously attributed to C. S. Lewis. There has been widespread controversy about whether it was actually written by C. S. Lewis.
What evidence do ...
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Was C. S. Lewis condemning nuclear weapons in The Magician's Nephew?
Aslan says the following in The Magician's Nephew:
"It is not certain that some wicked one of your race will not find out a secret as evil as the Deplorable Word and use it to destroy all living ...
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Did C. S. Lewis ever intend to write about any of the other universes in The Magician's Nephew?
The Wood Between the Worlds has numerous pools. We're told about where three of them lead: our world, Narnia, and Charn. Evidently, each pool leads to a separate universe in the Chronicles of Narnia ...
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How does Emeth's presence in Aslan's Country in The Last Battle fit in with the rest of C. S. Lewis's theology?
In The Last Battle, Emeth was a soldier from Calormene who worshiped Tash. Apparently, he thought that Tash was basically like Aslan, so Aslan interpreted Emeth's worship of Tash as actually being ...
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Why didn't The Last Battle mention Susan's reaction to her family's death?
In The Last Battle, several of Susan's close relatives (including all of her siblings) were killed on the same day in a train crash. The book merely mentions that she was no longer a friend of Narnia, ...
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How long did the Pevensies rule in Narnia?
The books imply that the Pevensies were in Narnia for years (or perhaps even decades) in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. Is there any indication of exactly how long they were gone?
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Why did people appear to remember what was going on at the time they left England when they returned from Narnia?
Very closely related: Why don't people in the Chronicles of Narnia have trouble "transitioning" back to their old life after extended times in other worlds?
When the Pevensies ...
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What happened to Frank and Helen in England?
Frank and Helen are some of the few people recorded to have entered Narnia and stayed permanently. That being said, most people return to England the exact moment that they left, and most other people ...
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Why is the Emperor Beyond the Sea named that?
Closely related: Why does the Emperor-Over-the-Sea play such a small role in the Chronicles of Narnia?
Why is the Emperor Beyond The Sea in The Chronicles of Narnia named that? What sea is he beyond, ...
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Why does the Emperor-Over-the-Sea play such a small role in the Chronicles of Narnia?
The Emperor-Over-the-Sea is referenced at several points during the series. The Stone Table, Deep Magic and the Deeper Magic were all set in motion by him, and he is the father of Aslan.
At the same ...
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Why don't people in the Chronicles of Narnia have trouble "transitioning" back to their old life after extended times in other worlds?
In The Chronicles of Narnia, people often spend weeks, months, or even decades in other worlds. They return to their old life at the exact instant that they left as if they were never gone. For ...
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Why are the bears bulgy?
Among the diverse characters introduced in Prince Caspian during Caspian's tour of the Old Narnians are three bears known as the "Bulgy Bears". What exactly does it mean for them to be bulgy? It's not ...
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Does Uncle Andrew consider himself an Übermensch in The Magician's Nephew?
The philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche rather prominently includes the idea of the Übermensch ("overman" or "superman"), who were exempt from the ordinary rules of morality in some sense. Is this what ...
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Does Puzzle the Donkey have an allegorical relationship with any entity in the Book of Revelation or the Bible at large?
C.S. Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia are a great children's series which present an allegory the New Testament and Biblical history. That said, Lewis sometimes put in things that don't necessarily reflect ...
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Why does the Czech translation of "Till we have faces" mean the opposite?
The title of the book Till we have faces by C. S. Lewis is translated into Czech language as Dokud nemáme tvář. I would translate that into English literally as "While we don't have a face" or "Until ...
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Does C. S. Lewis support annihilationism in The Last Battle?
C. S. Lewis's The Last Battle includes a scene of what amounts to the Last Judgment (I don't recall the exact chapter, but it's toward the end of the book):
The creatures came rushing on, their ...
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Is Deeper Magic something more than God (the Emperor beyond the Sea) in Narnia?
When Aslan is asked why he has to die in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, he answers something in the sense that there is a "deeper magic" that he has to obey.
What exactly is this &...
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What suggests Edmund might be gay?
While I was doing some research, looking for an answer for Are Frog and Toad more than just friends?, I found this article listing 15 fictional characters the author thinks are probably gay. Some of ...
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Did C. S. Lewis support the Ransom Theory in the Chronicles of Narnia?
Some critics have claimed that the explanation of Aslan's sacrifice in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe supports the ransom theory of the atonement. (Edit: There's also a much briefer definition ...
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Was CS Lewis referencing the uncanny valley?
I recently learned about the concept of the uncanny valley, and it immediately reminded me of the following passage from The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, Chapter 8 (emphasis mine):
"No, no, ...
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Is Judaism represented in the Narnia books?
In C.S. Lewis's Narnia books, it's very clear that the Narnians are meant to represent Christianity, with Aslan symbolising Jesus (in fact, Aslan is literally Jesus in-universe), while the Calormenes ...
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Was Neil Gaiman's Stardust influenced by C.S. Lewis?
A central theme in Neil Gaiman's fantasy novel Stardust is that stars, when they fall from the sky, take on the shape of human beings. One of the main characters is a fallen star who ends up living on ...
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Was Susan ever able to return to Narnia?
At the end of The Last Battle, Peter states that Susan has become 'too grown up' to return to Narnia. However, we do see grown-ups coming to Narnia, or Aslan's country - we see their parents. Also, it ...
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Is the giant who carved the "Under Me" line Time?
In The Silver Chair, Rilian, while enchanted, said:
Though under Earth and throneless now I be,
Yet, while I lived, all Earth was under me.
From which it is plain that some great ...
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Do all old stars get their own private island and a magical buffet table?
In The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, the crew of the Dawn Treader lands on the island of Ramandu, who is a retired star1.
"I am a star at rest, my daughter," answered Ramandu. "When I ...
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