(The Inklings Series is a monthly series featuring the works of my two favorites, J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis, or books about them. But I don’t want it to be just me chatting about these books, so that’s where y’all come in! I’ll announce the book at least four weeks in advance of when the discussion post will go live, so you have plenty of time to get the book and read it. Then, the following month, I’ll post a discussion post and let the fun begin!!)
I’m going to start off with a very serious question.
WHY CAN’T NARNIA BE REAL?
Now that that is out, let’s move forward and chat about the book instead. It helps you know? 🙂 I’ll start by saying, like the ending of Narnia/beginning of the true Narnia, the beginning of this young Narnia is so beautiful. I absolutely adore of Lewis’ use Aslan and music to create. It is such a reminder that God is the Master Artist and it makes me heart beat a few extra beats.
I’ll start off by sharing a couple of my favorite scenes and quotes:
“Narnia, Narnia, Narnia, awake. Love. Think. Speak. Be walking trees. Be talking beasts. Be divine waters.” I love that after awakening, Aslan commands them to love.
“The earth was of many colors; they were fresh, hot and vivid. They made you feel excited; until you saw the Singer himself, and then you forgot everything else. It was a Lion. Huge, shaggy, and bright, it stood facing the risen sun. Its mouth was wide open in song and it was about three hundred yards away.” ASLANNNNNNNNN!
If there was one book episode I would want to be real and that I would get to be a part of, I think it might be this scene:
“In the darkness something was happening at last. A voice had begun to sing. It was very far away and Digory found it hard to decide from what direction it was coming. Sometimes it seemed to come from all directions at once. Sometimes he almost thought it was coming out of the earth beneath them. Its lower notes were deep enough to be the voice of the earth herself. There were no words. There was hardly even a tune. But it was, beyond comparison, the most beautiful noise he had ever heard. It was so beautiful he could hardly bear it. The horse seemed to like it too; he gave the sort of whinny a horse would give if, after years of being a cab-horse, it found itself back in the old field where it had played as a foal, and saw someone whom it remembered and loved coming across the field to bring it a lump of sugar.”
I thought it would be fun to chat about some of the characters this month too, so here are a few more of my thoughts:
Polly
She has some sass (and loved it!), but also loved her friendship with Digory. Sorry I don’t have a quote for her (except when she called Digory an ass for his antics when he first saw Jadis, I call that a win), but I promise, she’s fabulous.
Digory
Before he went for the apple, I loved this scene with Aslan:
“The Lion drew a deep breath, stooped its head even lower and gave him a Lion’s kiss. And at once Digory felt that new strength and courage had gone into him.”
Then this scene. In case y’all ever forget: Friends and friends forever….!!
“You needn’t take the little girl back with you, you know.” That was where the Witch made her fatal mistake. Of course Digory knew that Polly could get away by her own ring as easily as he could get away by his. But apparently the Witch didn’t know this. And the meanness of the suggestion that he should leave Polly behind suddenly made all the other things the Witch had been saying to him sound false and hollow.”
Reading this makes me appreciate the Professor all over again in the following books.
Uncle Andrew
Hello Shady McShadyson. But the good news with Uncle A, is his character reminds us that not all is lost and sometimes it requires a bit of humility before we can change.
“The commercial possibilities of this country are unbounded.” Oh Uncle A…
I also loved how Lewis changed Uncle Andrew to not be able to understand Aslan or the animals. How easily we humans convince ourselves of believing in something glorious because of fear (or pride or a many other things).
“And the longer and more beautiful the Lion sang, the harder Uncle Andrew tried to make himself believe that he could hear nothing but roaring. Now the trouble about trying to make yourself stupider than you really are is that you very often succeed.”
Empress Jadis
This reaction is so fitting for Jadis (during the creation of Narnia)
“There was soon light enough for them to see one another’s faces. The Cabby and the two children had open mouths and shining eyes; they were drinking in the sound, and they looked as if it reminded them of something. Uncle Andrew’s mouth was open too, but not open with joy. He looked more as if his chin had simply dropped away from the rest of his face. His shoulders were stooped and his knees shook. He was not liking the Voice. If he could have got away from it by creeping into a rat’s hole, he would have done so. But the Witch looked as if, in a way, she understood the music better than any of them. Her mouth was shut, her lips were pressed together, and her fists were clenched. Ever since the song began she had felt that this whole world was filled with a Magic different from hers and stronger. She hated it.”
Anything good she would obviously hate. And the scene with the apple tree? Umm…we know all about this and I’m glad Digory remembered and trusted in Aslan’s mission over her lies. I also loved when Digory went back to Aslan and how it was true that the apple would heal, would do what it was meant to do, but if done with the wrong intentions or at the wrong time, it would turn out in ways not expected (and not in a positive way).
Finally, this little gem at the end…how The Wardrobe came to be? I’ll keep checking ones I find y’all because PLEASE BE REAL.
“However that might be, it was proved later that there was still magic in its wood. For when Digory was quite middle-aged (and he was a famous learned man, a Professor, and a great traveler by that time) and the Ketterleys’ old house belonged to him, there was a great storm all over the south of England which blew the tree down. He couldn’t bear to have it simply chopped up for firewood, so he had part of the timber made into a wardrobe, which he put in his big house in the country. And though he himself did not discover the magic properties of that wardrobe, someone else did.”
Discussion Questions (if you so wish!)
1. Who are your favorites from this novel?
I’m a fan of the Cabbie, who while his role came later in the novel, was a great character to make King. Humble, yet willing to take on the privilege.
I’m a fan of Digory (and his journey) and Polly too.
2. What are some of your favorite scenes and/or quotes?
3. How does this compare to the other Narnian novels?
Further up and further in friends!
