Comments | m_magdalene: Back to Narnia

black_magdalene in m_magdalene

Back to Narnia

Feb 05, 2006 12:26

I just finished rereading (listening to) _Prince Caspian_ by C.S. Lewis. There is reaffirming evidence for the symbolic representation of the Magdalene in Lucy. In one part in particular, I could not stop thinking about it. Yes, this is a ( SPOILER )

Comments 5

babydraco February 6 2006, 07:06:29 UTC

That's a really neat observation. Mind if I quote it in the finished version of my Lucy-as-Magdalene essay thingy?

essay black_magdalene February 6 2006, 07:39:18 UTC

Go for it. If you need my real name, it's Christi Underdown. Thanks for the honour.

mistress_moogle February 6 2006, 08:08:50 UTC

Do you like this whola Narnia/Christian allegory? I have some trouble with it... man is good and woman is evil... Difficult for me to appreciate, even with Lucy's role in it.

allegory black_magdalene February 6 2006, 08:25:44 UTC

I believe it goes with the traditional Eve is to blame and also Lewisesque timely view of the sexes. No, I am not too pleased that Jadis, a powerful & strong woman, is portrayed as being a very Lilith-like ambitious and evil witch. [Watch also my pagan beliefs twitch at the demeaning view of witches & hags as being black magicked and dark.] At the same time, Susan & Lucy get to stand tall alongside their brothers as Queens of Narnia. They do have less "active" roles, letting the boys do the fighting, but they are two little girls in the 1930s-40s. Peter (oh, look another allegorical figure) does also become High King to rule over the other three children, but he is the oldest.
Overall, it is not a perfect fit or model and it's not supposed to be. The Chronicles can be read as a beautiful fantasy story, with or without deeper meaning. I have an Literature degree, so I love to delve into things like this.

Feminine divine in Aslan, Jadis, Lucy and Susan ostara_child May 13 2006, 07:17:48 UTC

It's been a long time since I read the whole series but...

I have a bizzare left field pagan/taoist view of the Jadis-thing for you if you'll hear me out...(sorry, I'm stuffing several ideas into a few minutes time, so it's not an orderly presentation)

Jadis is compost-like, fertilizer for Aslan...she is the doorway to his rebirth. Jadis and Aslan are cyclical and need each other, one not being whole without the other, each being an important component in the other's self definition. Yes, Jadis may represent the dark female, and Aslan the light, BUT isn't the divine both male and female.

Female is traditionaly receptive and passive; just because SHE (represented by Lucy and Susan) isn't given the "high monarch" title doesn't mean her role is less important. They have their own roles to fullfill. If we see them as less than their brother because of a title, that says more about us than it does about them.