Suddenly I See...

So I wrote a journal a while ago talking about how I didn't understand why Susan didn't make it along with her siblings to the "other side". I was pretty upset about it all those years reading the Narnia books, but now that I read a couple of quotes and arguments from other writers, I now get a sense of why she didn't make the cut.

Susan was always one of my favorite characters in the Narnia books. In fact, the order of my favorite Pevensies went like this-Edmund, Susan, Lucy, and Peter. (Susan and Lucy were equivalent to each other.) I never really enjoyed Peter as much as others did because he didn't seem to have much depth to me. He was the big, macho older brother who lead the group. Edmund always appealed to me. It kind of made me upset that everyone was all about Peter during the whole Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe movie thing. Out of rebellion, I loved Edmund.

But I'm getting off topic here. Anyway, it always bugged me that Susan was the one who didn't get in because she liked mature things. I thought it was always because she decided to grow up and act like a woman. That's one of the reasons I thought CS Lewis was sexist. However, reading deeper, I understand that it wasn't because she grew up.

Peter and Edmund grew up, but they still remained loyal to Narnia. They believed that their childhood adventure was real. Even Lucy, who was seventeen, remembered it. Seventeen is an age when you're letting go of the last of all your childish habits, but Lucy remembered. Susan dismissed it as a game they played.

Now, the whole background of the books are religion. Aslan was a metaphor for God-he was creator of Narnia, God created the world. Aslan died without sin to save others; Jesus died to save others too and both were brought back to life. I think you catch my drift.

At the end of Prince Caspian, Aslan mentions how Susan and Peter must come to know him in their own world. That basically means that they must come to know God. Once a king or queen of Narnia, always a king or queen of Narnia. Narnia, in it's own way, represents faith. Peter, Edmund, and Lucy looked at Narnia and believed. Susan saw it and dismissed it. That basically means that she gave up her faith for her new life.

It was never about pantyhose and lipstick-it was because she was trying to act so grown up, she gave her faith away.

That kind of takes away the pity I had for her originally. However, since Lewis left the books open, that makes me wonder what ever happened to Susan.

Suddenly, I see...
October 5th, 2009 at 04:08am