Summer Challenge 2020 - LWW Sharing thread

[renegadeoftheshire]

Thanks Swan!
Great work everyone!

[Ajnos]

(Sorry for double-posting, but it was gonna get really long)

Chapter 3:
I'm gonna do quotes again, because I like the idea, and I can copy and paste. Just from the beginning of Chap 3.

Susan:
"What on earth are you talking about, Lucy?"
"Don't be silly, Lucy,...We've only just come out of that room a moment ago, and you were there then."
"Why, you goose...it's just an ordinary wardrobe, look! there's the back of it."

Mothering, still? Dismissive, but in a kind way, using endearing terms like "silly" and "goose".

Peter:
"So you've been hiding, have you?...Poor old Lu, hiding and nobody noticed! You'll have to hide longer than that if you want people to start looking for you."
(In response to Lucy saying she'd been gone for hours): "What do you mean, Lu?"
"She's not being silly at all...she's just making up a story for fun, aren't you, Lu? And why shouldn't she?"
(after checking out the wardrobe): "A jolly good hoax, Lu...you have really taken us in, I must admit. We half believed you."
"Come, Lu...that's going a bit far. You've had your joke. Hadn't you better drop it now?"

[He's condescending in the sense that he's drawing on his "grown-up" sensibilities and treating her like a really little kid. But he does it in a kind way, as though he's humouring her and (though mistaken) trying to understand where she's coming from

Edmund:
"Batty!" said Edmund tapping his head. "Quite batty."

Yep, that about sums up his treatment of Lucy at this point.

Lucy:
"It's all right...I've come back."
"Why?...haven't you all been wondering where I was?"
"But I've been away for hours and hours,"
(Answering Peter's "What do you mean?"): "What I said,...It was just after breakfast when I went into the wardrobe, and I've been away for hours and hours, and had tea, and all sorts of things have happened."
(When Peter says she made up the story for fun): "No, Peter, I'm not,...It's—it's a magic wardrobe. There's a wood inside it, and it's snowing, and there's a Faun and a witch and it's called Narnia; come and see."
"Now! go in and see for yourselves."
"But it wasn't a hoax at all.. really and truly. It was all different a moment ago. Honestly it was. I promise."
Lucy grew very red in the face and tried to say something, though she hardly knew what she was trying to say, and burst into tears.

I love how enthusiastic Lucy is at the beginning here. She has this exciting news and she's just bubbling up with it. Obviously it changes as they dismiss her and when the they "test" the wardrobe, and by the end she's in tears. Poor Lucy at this point. You just want to cry and be miserable with her.

Other thoughts on Ch 3 & 4
It's weird to think there was a whole series of days between Lucy's first adventure and the second. And that during this time, they got to do all the fun outdoor activities they were looking forward to in Chapter 1 (though poor Lucy, who couldn't really enjoy it).

The witch's sleigh has bells!? (I guess she had no reason to be secret at this point).

It's curious that Tumnus recognises Lucy as Human straight away, but Jadis seems less sure about Ed. (Maybe you should have read Is Man a Myth, your highness). It's also interesting (given she has paid kidnappers) that she doesn't have a prearranged plan for what she would do if she found a human. Her instinct is to kill him/turn him to stone, and it takes her a second or two to change her mind into getting more information out of him instead.

Seriously, Edmund? Maybe if you had paid some attention to your sister's "ravings", you would have realised that accepting food and drink from a stranger in this strange world was a bad idea; she might have been trying to kidnap you.

Several pounds of Turkish Delight!? No wonder he felt sick.

[Swanwhite]

Chapters 3-4

Turkish Delight

Delight, but it is darkness too.

Powdered sugar brushes off my fingers
mixes with the powdered snow and lingers
on my mind.

It coats my throat and sticks between my teeth
less a pleasure now than a relief
from the growing emptiness
it leaves behind.

[renegadeoftheshire]

"She got me underneath her spell, enchanted with one bite, now all I want is my turkish delight!" -"Turkish Delight" by David Crowder Band

(Yes, those turkish delights are from my Instagram profile.)

[Ariel.of.Narnia]

It's curious that Tumnus recognises Lucy as Human straight away, but Jadis seems less sure about Ed. (Maybe you should have read Is Man a Myth, your highness).

*snerk*

It coats my throat and sticks between my teeth
less a pleasure now than a relief
from the growing emptiness
it leaves behind.

I don't know how you can make a simple poem so deep.

@Ren: Yummy TD you've got!


Chapter 3
It strikes me that Peter has quite the imagination, or at least recognizes inspiration for it. He doesn't hesitate to suggest that Lucy making up a story "and why shouldn't she?", which could well be something typical of Lucy, but maybe his impression of the house leads him to think this is the sort of place that lends itself to storytelling.
In contrast to Peter and Lucy, Edmund doesn't seem too keen on exploring this strange new phenomenon that is a not-so-imaginary-world-after-all. (Granted, it's not wise to check out a whole new world all by your lonesome, so there's some wisdom in turning around before you lose your way, a point he makes later even when he's not alone.) Lucy's wonder led to excitement; Edmund's to disturbance. Now that I think of it, it seems that people who enter Narnia with a... shall we say an "improper" heart tend to want out asap. Jadis, Uncle Andrew, Edmund, Eustace: all of them thought Narnia a frightful place, one way or another; everybody else has an open heart to see what there is to see.
Huh. I'm not sure I noticed before the obvious red-white-gold colour scheme happening. The reindeer are white with "gilded" (golden) antlers and harnessed in red. The dwarf wears white fur and a red hood with a gold tassel. Jadis also is decked out in white, paints her lips red, and has a gold crown and wand. It's so colour-coordinated, I feel like Lasaraleen would be proud... or something. (And I know you've all heard me say it several times before, but... I'm really very happy with the Walden adaptation's decision to switch out all the gold for silver (and ice) and make her lips pale rather than red. It's a colder colour scheme.) Now here's a question: does Jadis wear furs because she just can or because it's cold even by her standards? I find it very easy to assume she likes winter and the cold (after all, she's kept it going for a hundred years), but why does winter have to factor into her rule? I'm sure she has some kind of reason, but I want to know what it is.

Chapter 4
Jadis isn't the sort of character one laughs at, but this gets me every time: "I see you are an idiot, whatever else you may be." It's probably terrifying to hear someone like her say it, but I can help but read it in voice that's more annoyed than scary.
It bothers me so much that she goes from "I'm going to kill you" to "oh, you poor thing, let me warm you up". Maybe in addition to Is Man a Myth?, Tumnus has a book on acting or something 'cause he's way better at this than Jadis.
Whatever Edmund's drink is, I want some (not enchanted, of course). Hot, sweet, foamy, and creamy? I'm in!
We all know Jadis' magic food is potent, but good gravy! I like TD, but I wouldn't want to fill my mouth with it because 1) you can't really savour it when it's crammed in like that and 2) have fun trying to chew all that at once. (I won't mention the health effects of this because, well, we all know how Edmund feels later.) And Edmund "shovels" it in. It's no longer a pleasurable experience. It is merely an experience, a race against nothing in particular.


^ Not exactly a feel-good set, but whatever. The moment I read this quote, I thought of Edmund. It's not the obvious killer stuff that'll get you, but the sweet little pleasures that suck you in.

[Ajnos]

@Swan: What Ariel said
@Ren: Yum yum! Love your picture too!

It strikes me that Peter has quite the imagination, or at least recognizes inspiration for it. He doesn't hesitate to suggest that Lucy making up a story "and why shouldn't she?", which could well be something typical of Lucy, but maybe his impression of the house leads him to think this is the sort of place that lends itself to storytelling.
...
Whatever Edmund's drink is, I want some (not enchanted, of course). Hot, sweet, foamy, and creamy? I'm in!

Yeah, I was also impressed by Peter's willingness to accept it as a game.
Your reference to the hot drink reminded me of the only South African production of LWW I've seen put on by a local church. They did a few fun things to make it more "South African" and one was that they made the hot drink Milo. (It's a kind of hot-chocolate drink, but has malt in it too, and I always think of it as healthier than hot choc - though may be kidding myself on that). It actually fits the description fairly well, especially when you order it at a restaurant and they do make it foamy.

One other thought from yesterday, which I forgot to mention, was why Jardis didn't know what a wardrobe was. I understand Tumnus being confused, but since they are using contemporary English and she lives in a palace, she must have wardrobes and at least understand the term.

-------------------
Chapters 5 & 6
Just gonna post some thoughts for today. Got an idea for something a bit different tomorrow, maybe.

Firstly: THANK-YOU Peter and Susan for going to a grown-up when you realised: "It's getting beyond us"! A lesson to the kids in almost every kid's book ever!

I love Chapter 5 so very much. This is the only proper glimpse we get of grown-up Digory and he's just great. I especially like how he takes the full professorial approach to the problem and leads Peter and Su through the argument in a logical inquiry-based manner. It's very much how I imagine old-school Oxford tutorials were conducted and is based on the Socratic method you get in Plato (It's all in Plato!). I also love the way Lewis introduces his famous "trilemma" argument: "If she's not lying, and not mad, she must be telling the truth".

That's my favourite part of the conversation, but I also like "We might all try minding our own business."

I love the idea that the house has stories about it "even stranger than the one I am telling you now". It's also the first time I've really noticed just how long the "chase" by Mrs Macready goes on for and that it seems "some magic...was chasing them into Narnia". Aslan is calling them from beyond

For chapter 6, I just want to note how much rich dialogue Lucy has. It's been some time since I watched the Walden film, so maybe it isn't too bad in that one, but I remember the complaints about how limited her dialogue was in the VDT film and noticed the contrast.

[renegadeoftheshire]

Here's my next drawing! (I was going to do Professor Kirk, but he was pretty tricky to draw for me )

[Ariel.of.Narnia]

Some good observations, Aj.
Nice drawing, Ren!


Chapter 5
"It was an unpleasant evening." We know for sure that Digory ate with them twice, but what about now? I would think that Lewis would mention it if they ate together that evening and no one wanted to say anything about it at the table, but Digory seems absent.
"One has only to look at her". Perhaps this is just in reference to the idea of madness (especially since Lewis didn't get to the Professor's story till much later), but this time, it reminds me of "Odd things they say -- even their looks -- will let the secret out." (emphasis added) What if he recognized the Look?
Can you imagine the fit Mrs Macready would have thrown if Peter and Edmund had dismantled the armour before running off to avoid her?

Chapter 6
Interesting that the promise of more Turkish Delight has not driven Edmund batty with desire. They had spent a while not talking about the wardrobe (much less going into it), and the moment Peter and Susan notice that there are un-wardrobe-like things about this wardrobe, Edmund suggests leaving the wardrobe. Has the pull lessened because he's back in this world or does his fear of censure from Peter and Susan override that desire?
"You pack of stuck-up, self-satisfied prigs." Dear me, Edmund, but what exactly have Peter and Susan done? Okay, so maybe Peter's given you more reason for that assessment, chewing you out for pretending with Lucy, stopping the jeering, and for being humble enough himself to apologize to her. But what, did you expect them to somehow still not believe her after having made it in? Hardly their fault. But that's the ugliness of bitterness. You see flaws where you want to see them.
"Everyone agreed to [meeting Tumnus]." Including Edmund?
Lucy's loyalty is admirable, but Peter and Susan's sense of duty is practically the stuff of legend. They've never been here before, know less than Lucy (who doesn't know much herself), have never met the Faun or heard a whole lot about him, and know that they're in terrible danger here, but they feel strongly that they ought to do something to help.
You know, despite Edmund's being very grumpy, he really does show some of that future "great in council and judgement" quality he'd later be known for. He shares the concern with Peter, doesn't want to frighten the girls (even Susan, who's older than him), and brings up the very valid points of following a guide they don't know, believing what they've been told (even though he knows he's in the wrong), and not having paid attention to how to return if need be.

No graphic today. It's late and I need to hit the hay.

[Swanwhite]

Chapters 5-6

I love the scenes where they get into Narnia and experience all the wonder of first discovering it together!

One of my favourite things I've ever made is based on these chapters. It was years ago so I can't really count it as my reflection, but I wanted to share it anyway.

Into the Wardrobe: Music Video https://youtu.be/kXgcawEH9ZA (Youtube is outside of the lion's call, click at your own risk)

[renegadeoftheshire]

Thanks, Ariel!
Wow! Very impressive Swan!

So today I did not one... but two drawings! Enjoy ;P