Summer Challenge 2019 - MN Sharing thread

[Ajnos]

I've been keeping up with the readings but, alas, haven't had a chance to write more journal. Instead, some comments on other people's posts going back to Day 3:

Swan: Missed your poem about the wax figures the first time - so thought provoking. "Handy Brandy Dandy Andy" made me smile. I also noticed the fact that Jadis could turn things to dust in her world with a word but needed a wand to do so in Narnia and could only turn them to stone. It strikes me that Charn was a world where words were especially powerful in a way that they aren't in others. But it's also a somewhat encouraging thought that Jadis' power was still diminished in Narnia, even in the 100 year winter when it seemed she had it under her sway - her power was still limited and less than what it had been. It's as though Aslan allowed her a degree of power (for reasons we don't understand), but limited it both in degree and time till he would come back and intervene. (Reminds me a bit of when God gives the devil some control over Job's life but sets a limit on that).

Cleander: I love your Charn poem!! It reminds me of something Tolkien-ish.

Hobbit: Your pictures are amazing, as usual. The winged monster is probably my favourite, but I like all of them. Jadis is great (look at those bare arms that drive Aunt Lettie mad!). I also like how your pictures have an anime-ish feel to them while still recognisably drawing on the Baynes images. Polly, in particular, gives me a mixed feeling of traditional and modern.

Ariel: Yes! Is Frank not a dear!? His telling them all to shush when he's trying to hear the music is just great. And the scene in today's chapter just shows why he's the best choice to be King.

Luthien: Great to have you joining us and I love your points. The comparisons to Beowulf and Rings are really good. The use of rings is an interesting choice. There's always the obvious suggestion that he was inspired by Tolkien but it does make sense that they were both drawing from Anglo-Saxon imagery. Of course, you get the whole idea of a great lord seeming to gift rings but having ulterior motives in the Lord of the Rings back-story. But what Lewis does here is distill that rich imagery down into a more domestic setting of an amateur magician with delusions of greatness gifting his rings to two children whom he believes will serve his purpose. Your point about a great leader being the first into battle gets made even more strongly in today's reading (and really contrasts Andrew with Frank)

"...would you be the first in the charge and the last in retreat?"
"Well, sir," said the Cabby very slowly, "a chap don't exactly know until he's been tried...I'd try - that is, I 'ope I'd try - to do my bit."

------

Some general comments by me on today's readings and a few early things:

I meant to say on Day 2, when we were reading the WbtW chapter, how much it reminded me of the descriptions of Aslan's country. It's as though Lewis were already playing with ideas of a perfect, untouched world (reminiscent Plato's Ideal Forms) which he perfects in the Last Battle.

Something that never struck me before, is the age difference Uncle Andrew and Jadis. I've always thought of them both as adults contrasted with the kids. But for some reason Uncle A being quite a bit older than her (in appearance) has struck me more this time. (No wonder Lettie was scandalised!) I say "in appearance", of course, because Jadis' story suggests she has already lived a very long time and seems to age slowly (either because of her race or by magic).

Chapter 11 is really one of the greatest chapters (though they're all great). It starts with the hilarious scene of the animals trying to work out what Andrew is and ends with that beautiful scene between Aslan and the Cabby. The Andrew-scene might be comic relief, but has some really powerful messages. I really like the the way Lewis works-in warnings about how easy it is to delude ourselves that something is (or is not) true until we start to believe our own lies. (A very poignant message in today's "post-truth" age). Also, Andrew here belongs very much to the same category as "the dwarfs who refuse to be taken in" in LB.

I also really like the idea of the animals not being able to understand what Andrew is because of their unfamiliarity with certain concepts and how their lack of knowledge leads to them not knowing how to interpret what is hair or a face or clothes. Or even whether the is animal or plant and which way up he goes. I feel that there's a strong message about misunderstandings and misinterpretations here.

Also, from today's readings, I love the three conversations with Aslan: Aslan and Frank I've already mentioned and makes me smile so much. I love that Frank's first thought is to his wife and that Aslan doesn't even take a moment's hesitation or pause to make a comment before he grants him his request to have her by his side. Aslan and Digory's conversation is a powerful confession/repentance scene where Aslan makes Digory confess all he has done wrong, but does not reprimand him harshly but with kindness and mercy. (It's also notable that Aslan forgives Digory but requires him to do what he can to right his wrongs. I'm not suggesting that he has to work for his for his salvation/forgiveness but I think it is an important lesson that once we are forgiven we should do what there is in our power to do to right the wrongs - like Jesus requested of Zacchaeus). And then I love how Aslan' asks Fledge if he wants to be a winged horse before making him one. Even though the should of already known the answer, I really like that token of him asking his permission first.

Also Rooiman ("Redman")'s name is now Vleuel ("Fledge")! (You pronounce it something like "Flew-el")

And that ended up being longer than a journal entry

[cleander]

It's funny how Aslan gets the truth out of Digory. He knows everything already, but rather than openly contradict Digory, he lets Digory do the talking. An interesting reminder that we know most of the truth about ourselves already; God simply wants us to come to terms with it and/or deal with it, and leads us to do so.

I'm not sure if a crowd of wild animals swarming around me would be a very comfortable experience, so Andrew has my understanding, if not my sympathy.
The scene where Alsan cries is perhaps my favorite Aslan moments in the series. Not unlike Jesus at the tomb of Lazarus. He's not just some faceless, all-knowing guru-overlord; he feels for Digory and wants to help him, but at the same time reveals that his duty (and Digory's duty of healing the wrong) is more important than feelings. For some reason I hear Iain Glen's voice for Alsan when I read this passage, IDK why.

[hobbit_of_narnia]

@Ajjie: Aww, thank you! I've never heard anyone describe my art style as "anime-ish", but when you said that I looked back and yeah, I guess that occasionally some of that style does slip in...
Also I absolutely agree on the misunderstanding thing, with the animals! It's humorous but thought-provoking at the same time.

@Cleander: Being surrounded by a crowd of animals would be a dream come true for me.


As for my own thoughts, as usual I had a lot but they're a bit piddling except one: I noticed how one of the first things we hear from Uncle Andrew is scorn at little boys obeying rules and whatnot. There is a great deal of him calling Digory "naughty", "wicked", and the like for not coming back when Uncle Andrew himself calls him. What a glaring double standard.

I have my drawings for chapter 7, 8, 9, and 10. I managed to keep most of them smaller this time, so that I didn't fall even more behind today...




(I drew the Aslan one right after getting back from seeing Lion King; it was perfect timing because I really felt like drawing lions that evening.
Also the naiads?? *shivers* Those were......let's just say this: I hope I never have to draw one again with just pencils. Digital art would probably be way easier, but with pencil their "hair-waterfall dresses" I had to half give up on midway through the drawing because they were much more difficult than I'd anticipated.)

[Swanwhite]

Chapter 11.

I love the crowning of the cabbie. I’m particularly struck this reading by how much disdain both Jadis and Uncle Andrew have for common people, and I think the raising of Frank to kingship is the perfect answer to their attitude. Frank is a sort of Sam Gamgee. He’s the honest, hard-working everyman who doesn’t think too highly of his own merits.

I think Cleander’s brother is probably right in considering him to have been a Christian, (though his line “A chap has nothing to worry about if he’s led a decent life” makes me think he has something still to learn about grace.) His impulse is to sing thanks to God when he finds himself in a dark hole, and he is immediately enraptured by the goodness and glory of God displayed through creation.

Frank and Helen’s story is an excellent example of the “Last will be first” principle. They were considered unimportant people in England, but now they are the founders of a dynasty and legacy that will shape the world of Narnia.


Chapter 12.

The newborn strawberry foal is getting his legs under him, learning how to walk, breaking into a prance, an awkward dance, tumbling into straw. All the world is bright and new and splendid. The first day out to pasture he sees a sparrow taking off from a fence post, and is captivated by its wings. The dream of flight takes root.

[Ariel.of.Narnia]

I'm doing yesterday's reading now as I was busy all day yesterday. So here we are, chapters eleven and twelve.


(Completely unimportant, but I just have to say that the little exchange between the Elephant and the Bulldog about noses always makes me smile.)

I think there ought to be something said about Digory's boldness. He doesn't know a thing about Aslan apart from His name, His majesty, and His role as creator, and yet, even two out of the three should have maybe informed Digory that his request was perhaps a bit out there. It's not like he's just marching up to Aslan to ask for magic fruit. It's not even like he fully expects to get it (though he hopes for it "desperately"). He even stammers trying to address Aslan properly and politely. He knows he's approached Someone great. And yet, he still boldly (but with humility) makes his request. It reminds me of Hebrews 4:16: "Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need." Combine that with Mark 10:14-15: "... 'Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God. Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein.'" Digory, whether or not he realizes it, is acting on faith that his request may be met. He's not arrogant in his boldness and not ignorant in his innocence. He hopes to get a "yes", fears the chance of a "no", and has no way of guessing which he'll get, but he still asks anyway. That's an encouraging reminder that we can do the very same.
Speaking of faith and boldness, Helen seems to have a measure of her own. She answers Aslan's call (we don't know how, only that she did), and, whatever it sounded like in our world, she went for it anyway. In Narnia, she probably has a lot of questions, but simply accepts it. When Aslan states that she'll be queen, she blushes (I imagine, like Caspian, over how insufficient she is for the role) but makes no argument. And then, with even less information than Digory, asks Aslan about Polly wanting to journey with Digory.

It's already been mentioned how Aslan draws the truth out of Digory, so I'll be brief: it reminds me of how sometimes we lie to ourselves and God in hopes of not having to come clean about everything. Of course God knows. And usually we do too. But sometimes He has to nudge us with, "How did that happen in the first place?", and, "Is that really how that went down?", and, "Do you really think that's what was going on?", just to prompt us to be honest to Him and ourselves.


"Up till then he had been looking at the Lion's great feet and the huge claws upon them; now, in his despair, he looked up at its face." This line has chosen to stand out to me this reading. It's just so beautiful. "... in his despair, he looked up at its face. I don't even want to comment on it. Just let it sink in.

"I'm not a very clever horse." This is Strawberry's self-assessment. Even Frank says something to the same effect when he mentions that he hadn't much "eddycation". And yet, Aslan elevates Fledge and crowns Frank. Reminds me of I Corinthians 1:25-29: "Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men. For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: That no flesh should glory in his presence." Aslan could have created a winged horse separate from Fledge and He could have chosen a more qualified ruler (from an earthly perspective) to be king. But He didn't. Just like God doesn't always choose the "logical" candidates to do His will: He often chooses the least of the world and glorifies Himself through His work in them.

That bit about how Aslan knows but still likes to be asked always gets me. Even in a children's story that's not at all meant to be allegorical, here's a reminder that prayer isn't pointless.

Interesting that Digory, Polly, and Fledge all know the "signs" of their journey and destination, and that they recite them to each other. Contrast that to Jill, Eustace, and Puddleglum. Digory and Jill received their instructions equally personally, but they went about it differently: Digory shared it and Jill didn't. Or, since Puddleglum seems to know at least something of the signs, it's Digory's and Jill's companions that treat the signs differently: Polly and Fledge know them just as well as Digory, while Eustace and Puddleglum didn't pay such close attention.

[hobbit_of_narnia]

I don't really have any comment-worthy thoughts from today's chapters, so I'll just skip straight to the drawings. I have also never, as far as I can remember, drawn a bulldog in my life. I had to use reference for him and the Jackdaw because birds are the bane of my drawing career.

[Ajnos]

Day 7.

I’m still behind on Andrew’s journal - I do want to do more of it but it’s so cold this week and I’ve got my heater on but it’s making me sleepy and I still have lecture prep. But I did get through todays reading and by the end of Ch 14 I nearly wanted to cry it was so beautiful and touching. (I’ve been reading aloud so I can concentrate on the Afrikaans better and practice my pronunciation and I think it struck me more because of that).

This line in particular was really powerful:

“but at the same time he knew that the Lion knew what would have happened, and that there might be things more terrible even than losing someone you love by death”

What really struck me in the garden scene is that it’s as though Digory gets a second chance. Not just a chance to make things better, but chance to resist temptation a second time. We discussed whether not ringing the bell would have really made Digory mad, and I think we get the answer here that it may have pained him at the beginning, but he was really using the draw of the “magic” as an excuse to give in. And actually he’s tempted twice, or three times here. First, when he smells the fruit, the physical temptation to try it is really strong, just as strong if not stronger than the temptation to ring the bell. Then Jadis tries to tempt him through reasoning - first arguing for his own sake, and when that doesn't work through his love for his mother. I’m so proud of Digory in this scene - especially when you realise that, as far as he can see, he has given up all help of helping his mother. I really like how it was thinking about what his mother would think that helped him make up his mind. That was something that Jadis couldn’t understand.

The Uncle Andrew scene also gave quite an important message. As I said before, Uncle Andrew is very much like the Dwarfs Who Refused to be Taken In. Polly asks Aslan to help him just like Lucy does with the dwarfs. And Aslan’s response is pretty much the same - that he has made himself unable to hear Aslan or receive from his goodness. Such a stark warning.

“And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says: ‘Hearing you will hear and shall not understand, And seeing you will see and not perceive; For the hearts of this people have grown dull. Their ears are hard of hearing, And their eyes they have closed, Lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, So that I should heal them.’” ‭‭Matthew‬ ‭13:15‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

And finally, on a completely arbitrary note, I’ve been wondering about the spelling of (the nickname of) Frank’s profession. I thought I had spelled it wrong because they use a different word in the Afrikaans, but then I looked in my English version and it has “cabby”. Is it different in the US edition and what is the more normal spellng where you live? I don’t really know which spelling is more common here because it’s not a word we use much.

[hobbit_of_narnia]

@Ajjie: About the spelling of the cabbie/cabby...since I grew up reading a lot of American AND British books, including both versions of Narnia, I'm not even sure which spelling of cabbie/cabby is which (I often don't even notice the differences in spelling anymore and personally use a mix, to the frustration of everyone who reads my writing). Usually in America you say "taxi driver"...?

[cleander]

@ Swanwhite: Yes, I guess the question of Frank's Christianity would rest on what exactly he means by a "decent life"; but if he uses it in the traditional sense, I'd have to agree with you that he needs to learn some things about grace!
@ Ariel: Great points about Aslan (and God) choosing the weak and humble folks to accomplish his purposes! It seems the less one sees oneself fit for a task, the more God does- because He knows you won't just rely on yourself.

In the final chapters, it seems that Digory is almost playing the role of a second Adam. He has to undo the wrong that Adam's race (albeit also represented by Digory himself) has committed. It's almost as if Aslan is sending Digory on this quest to live out a sort of veiled prophecy of the ultimate healing of harms which would come later; although, true to his promise, Aslan sees that the worst does indeed fall on himself. Digory undergoes a temptation similar both to the serpent's temptation in Eden and the temptation of Jesus in the desert, and like Jesus, he conquers, and plants a seed, which, like Adam's seed, can crush the serpent's head.
I believe this is the second instance of Lewis making one of his characters play the role of Christ in a certain situation while not being a straight-up portrait or representation of Christ in the main story. (The first would be Lucy's rescue of the helpless race of Dufflepuds in order to bring them back into fellowship with Coriakin, whose punishment seems to be something along the lines of learning a little bit about what it's like to be God.)
Just curious- how would you explain the fact that Frank and Helen's cockney, Modern-English accents somehow gave way over time to medieval English?

[kristi]

Hi, just here playing catch up after a busy long weekend.

Looking at Ajnos' comments on Chapters 3-4, when she mentions how Lewis didn't feel it was necessary to show the argument between Digory and Polly in the Wood. Lewis does this a lot and I cna't imagine a modern day editor letting him get away with it. He does the same thing with the majority of the battles, cutting away. We get the first Battle of Beruna in recap from Peter after spending the actual battle time with Aslan and the girls. We get Peter's fight with Miraz largely through Edmund's commentary. We cut away from Shasta during the battle of Anvard to get reports from a foggy pool from the Hermit. Modern editors would insist he was leaving out the most exciting parts. What do you think?

Here's a couple more haikus:

The sleeper awakes.
Terrible and fierce, her Word
Blotted out a world.

She has come to earth.
The weak Magician's folly
Bears fruit unforeseen.

Reacting to Cleander's statement about Digory sensing the magic, we know that that was something Peter could sense when the Horn was calling them in Prince Caspian. Of course the Pevensies had greater experience with magic. But even in our world, there are those who have the gift of discerning of spirits, a gift given to some believers. And I think most of us have been places or seens things where we could say, without perhaps knowing how we knew, that something was off on a spiritual level.

Regarding the unstruck bell driving Digory mad, it tickles my mind that there's another story, or several, where someone
is driven mad by the 'what-ifs' but I can't seem to bring it to mind. Can anyone else?

Ariel, the storyboards for The Magician's Nephew cartoon had some Charnian architecture, but I think it may have been cut and pasted from actual buildings.

Your drawing of Digory and Andrew is amazing, Hobbit. I love Digory's expression, like he's about to explode, and Andrew
is totally oblivious.

I love your poem about Uncle Andrew's relatinship with Jadis, Swan.
And the fish! Hurrah for the fish!

Wow, Cleander, that's some great addition to my Charn headcanon.

@Ariel, it's a good point regarding how reliable a narrator is. Frankly, the story of the fall of Charn could play out
in two very different ways, probably more. Most likely it was a fight between two evil sisters, as we know the royal house
had deteriorated till nearly everyone was wicked. But--what if it wasn't? What if the other sister was good, fighting for
restoration of an earlier, less corrupted way? We may guess from Aslan's later words and from the hall of statues that
Charn began well enough, but some seed of evil, likely infecting the world at its birth, began to progressively corrupt.
Possibly the sister was trying to reach backward to a better time. The faces were there for her to see. Can you imagine a
child of the royal house walking that hall and considering the future? Who would you want to turn out like? We don't even know which sister was older or the rightful queen, or if they were twins. If the sister broke her vow (made upon the Altars of the Dawn) not to use Magic, then it would support the idea that she was wicked, but without knowing how reliable Jadis' narrative is, it's hard to tell for sure. As an aside, the only art of her i've ever seen is in the graphic novel of MN.
(Wish they'd done the other five books.)

Regarding the way Jadis' magic works diffrently in different worlds, I seem to remember one of the major fanfiction authors explored that, using the magic of the Deplorable Word and finding a way to channel it into her wand...things like that.

@Hobbit Now that you mention it, I don't think I had noticed how much the pair fought. Kind of answers the question of
why they don't wind up married to each other despite a unique life experience, and the reader's tendency to pair up characters.

Baynes did an illustation of the fountain. Hobbit's is better.

The Cabby seems to me like a slightly lapsed/misinformed Christian. Clearly he was raised in church because he knows the
hymn, but I'm not sure if he attends church anymore or not. Probably most people did at this time? Helen needs somewhere to wear her ugly hat. But his theology is off when he says that a chap will go to heaven if he's lived a good life.

@daughterofeve3 Very cool! What program did you use?

@Ariel There's something rather exciting about disaster, particularly when it's not happening to you personally. It gives
us something to talk about at the water cooler and whatnot. Hopefully Sarah would not have been having quite had fine a day had Letty actually broken her back.

Aunt Letty and Morwen, Hurin's wife, need to form a Society of Formidable Women. (Paige of Archenland, Peridan's eventual mother-in-law on NarniaMuck, must be included too...she's terrifying.) Any other nominees?

I love Frank.

@hobbit Wonderful drawings again. I love the way Jadis and the children are standing.

Yeah you almost feel like Jadis has a romantic streak when she tells her little story of the magician seeing her
face in his looking-glass and calling her into his world. But is it just me or even before she sees Andrew is it pretty
clear she's not interested? The way she talks about him keeping his throne if he treats her properly doesn't really come
off as a romantic pair co-ruling. But maybe that's just me. What's your take? Is she open to romance if it's the right
suitor?

@Ajnos Oh goodness, that all Andrew can think of is that he would have had two sick sisters to care for. >.<

@Luthien Interesting points about the rings. I don't know why they should be rings. It doesn't seem to have very much
practical purpose, as they only need to be touched to be used, rather than worn, and only for brief periods, unlike, say
Bilbo's ring which would cause very inconvient visibility if one lost contact with it.

@swan What a beautiful clay piece (so colorful!) and doodle!

@Ariel Regarding Andrew wanting to make the world safe before he travelled to it, he does have the common sense, though misapplied, that is oddly lacking in the character of Lewis Dodgson in the book The Lost World. He wants to bring a gun. Why, when you are planning to go around an island stealing dinosaur eggs, would you not bring a GUN?

Regarding Frank working the earth, I do sometimes wonder how the Curse of Adam manifests in Narnia, or does it manifest at all? God cursed the ground of our world because of Adam, so that it would be difficult and produce thorns. But Narnia itself, though evil has already entered it, is not inherently cursed in the same way. Do only the humans have to work hard to produce food, while the marsh-wiggles and fauns and Dwarfs look on and go, "These people have zero agricultural aptitude."?

More reactions and reflections to come.