05-004 The Chronicles of Narnia

05-004
The Chronicles of Narnia

Every morning, I need to wake up at 6 to catch the morning bus to school with my kids. It is never an easy task. To make life easier, I will switch my TV on, play some children programmes and the kids will wake up quite automatically.

Mid-November is the exam week of my kids. In this week, I used The Chronicles of Narnia film series as the “wake up” movie, hoping that my kids can get some blessings from Aslan. As I am now re-watching the movies every morning, I think after King Arthur, I should also write something about Narnia.

So, where to start? Let me talk about Narnia in general and how popular Narnia is in my city. Then, I will talk about those screen adaptations.

7 books, some 17 years ago 

I do not have much time to read books. The Chronicles of Narnia is an exception. I have read all of its seven books. I also enjoy those screen adaptations. Its medieval settings with knights and swords, castles and kings, dragons and others mystical creatures, witchcraft and magic, backed by different old legends, Narnia is exactly my cup of tea. I just like epic fantasy.

"Wrong will be right, when Aslan comes in sight,

At the sound of his roar, sorrows will be no more,

When he bares his teeth, winter meets its death,

And when he shakes his mane, we shall have spring again."

 

It is also not a secret that there are a lot of Christian symbolism hiding inside Narnia. C. S. Lewis is a devoted Christian. Christianity is also my religion. But this is not the reason why I have finished reading all the books of The Chronicles of Narnia but not those of the Harry Potter or The Lord of the Rings. It is just because Narnia is not as long as the other two. And the main reason is, I was reading them before I got married. Men can be very efficient when their wives or kids are not around. 

Aslan, do you know his identity in our world?
Image source: IMDb

Wikipedia said, “The Chronicles of Narnia is considered a classic of children's literature and is Lewis's best-selling work, having sold over 100 million copies in 47 languages.” I think this statement is quite true, at least in the Western world. I found in one of the Chinese translations of The Chronicles of Narnia, there is a quote from J.K. Rowling. In the quote, Rowling said she decided to write 7 books for Harry Potter is because when she was a kid, she read a children story that comes in 7 books. Literally, she was referring to Narnia. I am not sure if the quote is truly from Rowling. I cannot find any source of the saying. But she definitely has admitted Narnia is one of the books that has inspired her creation of Harry Potter.

Peter Pevensie, High King Peter the Magnificent Emperor
Image source: IMDb

Narnia may have inspired many modern-day epic fantasy works. However, it was not widely heard in my culture. My first heard of Narnia is because of the Disney movie that premiered in 2005. Some churches uphold a strong opposition to Harry Potter, saying Rowling was promoting witchcraft to our next generation through her work. Some Christian schools in Hong Kong ban their students bringing any Harry Potter to school. And when Narnia came to the big screen, those passionate church leaders were overjoyed. “Finally, there is something that can fight with the devil. An epic fantasy movie based on the story of our beloved C. S. Lewis! We should encourage our kids to turn away from the satanic Harry Potter to the godly Narnia!”

Susan Pevensie, Queen Susan the Gentle Marksman
Image source: IMDb

My church did not say that. I personal do not think this argument makes any sense at all. If magic and witchcraft are big no-no, then there are also magic and witchcraft in Narnia. Anyway, every Christian bookstores at that time were flooded with The Chronicles of Narnia. Other bookstores are following, hoping to make another fortune following the hit of Harry Potter. 

King Edmond the Just
Image Source: IMDb

Years passed. Hope vanished. After 3 movies, The Chronicles of Narnia film series terminated. The hit has gone completely. Narnia is almost a dead IP now. And Harry Potter went on till, at least, 2022. In the west, Narnia is at least a classic that many children have read the books. There are still a group of Narnia fans. In my city, Narnia was totally forgotten. But my kids like it. They have not heard of Narnia in school or from their friends. But when I played the DVD, they liked. I am happy to find someone sharing my interest. 

Queen Lucy the Valiant
Image Source: IMDb

Published Order vs. Chronological Order 

The Chronicles of Narnia is one of the first novel series to introduce the idea of prequel. For those who are not familiar with The Chronicles of Narnia, here are some explanations. 

7 books were published from 1950 to 1956, at an interval of 1 book per year. Their published order are as follows: 

1. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
2. Prince Caspian
3. The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
4. The Silver Chair
5. The Horse and His Boy
6. The Magician's Nephew
7. The Last Battle

However, their chronology order is different. To follow the storyline of Narnia, the 7 books should be read in this order: 

1. The Magician's Nephew
2. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
3. The Horse and His Boy
4. Prince Caspian
5. The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
6. The Silver Chair
7. The Last Battle

The first book in the chronology order is the sixth published book, The Magician’s Nephew, took place in year 1900 of the “real world”. It is a story of Digory Kirke, who wandered into the Wood between the Worlds, using his uncle’s magic rings. He witnessed the creation of Narnia.

You can consider Narnia as a parallel universe, different from our own world. And The Magician’s Nephew took place in year 1 of Narnia.

Digory Kirke, his own story was not told until the 6th book
Image source: IMDb

Then it comes the first published book, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. The story took place in year 1940 of the “real world”. At that time, Narnia has passed 1000 years. The 4 children of the Pevensie, Peter, Susan, Edmond & Lucy were evacuated from London in 1940, to escape the Blitz, and sent to live with Professor Digory Kirke at a large house in the English countryside. There, they entered Narnia through the wardrobe. Digory Kirke is the only connection between The Magician’s Nephew and The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. 

Jadis the White Witch, the main antagonist from The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
Image source: IMDb

The fifth published book, The Horse and His Boy, does not take part in our “real world” but solely in Narnia. The story is a set happening during the last chapter of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. It is more or less a standalone story with minor connections to the Pevensies. 

Prince Caspian
Image source: IMDb

Then it comes to the second published book, Prince Caspian. Story took place in 1941 while London was still at war. The Pevensies went back to Narnia and found that Narnia has passed another thousand years. It was year 2303 in Narnia and all Narnians appeared in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe were long gone. The story surrounds a new character Prince Caspian and the Pevensies. 

Eustace Scrubb and Reepicheep on the Dawn Treader

Image source: IMDb

Story then follows by the third published book, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. Only 3 years have passed in Narnia. It was year 2306 and this time, only Edmond and Lucy went back to Narnia. But they brought along his “lovely” cousin, Eustace Scrubb. They met Prince Caspian in the middle of the sea and the story started from there. 

Jill Pole, in a 4:3 small screen
Image source: BBC

The fourth published book, The Silver Chair, happened in 1952 of our “real world”. 50 years has passed in Narnia and Prince Caspian became an old man. None of the Pevensies appeared in the story but Eustace. He also brought his classmate Jill Pole there. 

The last book in the publication order is also the last book in chronology order. It was year 2555 in Narnia. Everyone came back for The Last Battle, except Susan Pevensie. And they all … well, you read the book.

If you are not familiar with The Chronicles of Narnia, I hope this post can give you a brief idea of this marvelous work. I also told you how I walk with Aslan in all these years. 

In the next post, I will talk about the screen adaptations of The Chronicles of Narnia.

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