@Swan: Forgot to compliment you on the "Aslan is on the move" poem. I love it!
@Lily: *whistles* I like the colours you chose!

Chapter 7:
Wowee. Edmund sure pushes through a lot to get to the White Witch. Freezing cold, snow, wetness, wind, climbing over rocks, ducking under branches, darkness, even a castle that strikes fear into him. All for what? Promised sweets and royal status (and, by extension, revenge on his siblings). And yet, not really so different from real life. When we set our minds to do something we oughtn't, we'll do any number of inconvenient, even hard, things in order to reach that forbidden fruit, especially when it comes to hiding what it is we're doing from others, like Edmund is doing here.
Interesting thing to note: Edmund mocks the stone lion (and, in his heart, Aslan himself) and seems to think little of the other creatures, but he regards the sad-looking faun differently: there's nothing haughty in his observation of the latter, just a wondering if it might by Lucy's friend. Perhaps he even feels sorry for the faun?

Chapter 8:
I'm sorry, I have to say it. My suspension of disbelief cracks when Father Christmas whips out a tea set, complete with sugar, cream, and hot tea. (Wonder what they did with the set afterward?)

As aggravating as Mrs Beaver is at the beginning of the chapter, she really does have some serious foresight. She knows that the best course of action is to spend some of their precious time to prepare for the journey ahead. No doubt Father Christmas could have provided them breakfast to go with the tea, but no one knew they were going to run into him. So while, yes, I could see perhaps a bit of Martha in her veins, my mind really went here:
"She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness. Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her." Proverbs 31:27-28
Lewis doesn't mention it, but I'm pretty sure that the children blessed her and her husband praised her. 😉
(Also, in looking at Proverbs 31, I'm remembering someone having brought up a possible use for her sewing machine. "She maketh fine linen, and selleth it; and delivereth girdles unto the merchant." Proverbs 31:24 🙂 )

@Ajjie: If the creatures were evil, did Aslan leave them as stone when he restored the others, I wonder?

@Lily: That is such an incredible picture. Her eyes!!! Her eyes, though!!!!!! Oh my worrrrrrrrrrd...they're incredible!!!!! 😮 😮 (Recommendations on...what?)

(This is from yesterday, but I forgot to mention it before. I actually don't have a lot of thoughts from today's chapters.)
Lewis' opinion on women in the military almost seems to change a bit over the books. Father Christmas says, "Battles are ugly when women fight" when he gives Lucy the dagger (seriously?? Battles are always ugly, friend. And a dagger wouldn't be a good choice of weapon in an all-out battle when there are minotaurs and giants on the other team, anyway. I'm sure Lucy knows this); but then Lucy herself is at the battle in HHB, and Jill is fighting like a pro in LB...

Anyhow, I did do drawings for yesterday and today, but I did them both late at night (and forgot to scan the one from yesterday this morning), so I guess I'll have to post them tomorrow. 🙄

@Ariel: Yeah, I had a problem with Tumnus age in his encounter with the Beavers I wrote the other day because I needed a term of endearment for Mr Beaver to use. "Deary" woks for Mrs Beaver but not so much for Mr Beaver so I went with "young faun," because it sounded right but I was thinking "is he really that young?" I think of him as a young adult here to make him middle aged in HHB.

@Lily: Excellent work! Though I'm finding it slightly disturbing that her face reminds me (I shouldnt say this aloud) of Kristi 😕

@Ariel: I actually had less of a problem with Father Christmas producing a tea set than some of the stuff in the Beaver's house. Father Christmas is magical and breaks all the normal rules by definition.

@Ariel: "Maketh fine linen!” Hah! I figured out that one of the things Mrs Beaver must have made on her machine was the curtain over the door that Edmund pushed aside to get to the door. Actually, I suppose in some ways Martha, like Mrs Beaver would have made a goof Proverbs 31 woman. Martha wasn't wrong, she just had her priorities in the wrong order.

Day 6

Sorry for double posting. I'll post a proper reflection tomorrow (yay for a catchup day!) but in meantime I made this with a picture I took in Oxford in March 2013 (it doesn't usually snow in March in England hence the snow and daffodills together).

Beautiful stuff guys 🙂

Chapter 10: The Spell is Beginning to Break
In at last
the worst is past.
The spell is beginning to break.
Serious joy
Tools not toys
The world is beginning to wake.

Chapter 11

I never noticed this before: Jadis berates the little Christmas party for "all this gluttony, this waste, this self-indulgence", but those were the very things in Edmund she had catered to when he first met her. Guess she doesn't like it when she's not the one dishing it out. And - this literally popped into my mind just now - that kinda reminds me of how Satan basically accuses God of bribing Job into loving Him by giving him all sorts of good things, even though the easiest way for Satan to entrap people is to give them something at least seemingly good.
I'm sure Lewis meant pretty well nothing by this, but... the noise of the sledge and its troubles prevented Edmund from hearing a smaller sound. It was only when the sledge halted and the swishing snow stopped and the dwarf's shouts and whipping ended that Edmund could actually hear the first sound of spring. Again, I think this is really more a case of describing things as they would be rather than trying to say anything particularly significant, but maybe it's cause I've heard a couple of sermons recently to this effect: the noise of the world can so easily fill our ears and distract us from the still, small Voice that we'd hear if only we'd stop and listen.
So... where were all the dumb animals of Narnia during the 100 years of winter and when did they start coming back? Lewis mentions a whole bunch of birds singing. Some may have been Talking Birds, but I'm not sure that all of them were, unless the appearance of spring gave them courage to sing so openly while Jadis is stomping by below them.

Chapter 12

I'm gonna cheat on this one and just provide linkage to a fic I wrote... wow, four years ago. It's inspired by the 2005 film's depiction of the short exchange between Aslan and Peter, but it's a bit of a mix of bookverse and movieverse. https://www.fanfiction.net/s/9489357/1/Upon-This-Rock (fanfiction.net is not affiliated with TLC; click at your own risk)

I am extremely late posting these. 😛 But I finally got them scanned, so here they are.

Day 6:

Day 7:

(How do I even animals anymore. I used to be fairly good at drawing lions especially, but I think I'm losing my touch. Why does Aslan look like a horse and a dragon at the same time and how is that even possible?? 😆 😆 )
(Also Peter looks a bit like Hiccup because I watched "Gift of the Night Fury" immediately before drawing this and it messed with me.)

I just realized I've involuntarily been using a style rather more like the one I used to have when I first joined TLC. Especially the way I've been doing the eyes.

@Hobbi: You're so many timezones ahead, you're hardly late :p

Day 6: Chapter 13
Edmund learns a hard lesson.

Eustace learns the error of his ways by being turned into a dragon. Edmund has a much more down-to-earth experience. The only dragon he meets is the stone one in Jadis’ coutyard. And it may be because Edmund’s encounter is less exciting that I tend to forget just how nasty, selfish and spiteful he is at the start of the story.

If I felt a little sorry for Ed in his last chapter, for having to trek through all that snow in the cold, in this one I actually pity him. Despite all he’s done and the fact that he got himself into this mess, the scene where he asks for Turkish Delight and instead gets a hunk of dry bread makes, me cringe every time. I think it’s a scene that’s stuck in my imagination since we first read the book in school when I was 9 years old.

But it is such an important lesson that Edmund learns. The pleasure that evil promises always disappoints. No matter how much you motivate and imagine what joy it will bring you, it will never ever live up to its promises. It’s not worth it. Like the prodigal son, Ed learns this truth not through lessons and books but through cold harsh experience.

He hoped for Turkish Delight, he instead got dry bread he could hardly swallow. He thought he’d be made a prince but instead was treated like a prisoner or a slave. He thought Jadis would treat him as a son, but instead she insults and then physically mistreats him. And he doesn’t know this at the time, but if you compare his situation with that of his siblings, they are enojying (firstly by the grace of Father Christmas and then of Aslan) the very things he so desparately wanted (food, warmth, honour, comfort and love).

I think the turning point for Ed (although by this point he has ckearly seen Jadis for who she really is) is when he calls out in defense of the animal party.

And Edmund for the first time in this story felt sorry for someone besides himself.

It’s when Ed is at his lowest and almost for the first time has a right to self-pity, that he is suddenly able to care about someone other than himself. While his conversion is not complete till he meets Aslan and his salvation only assured by Aslan’s sacrifice, this is the start of Edmund’s conversion story. Although his situation does not immediately improve, you know that things will ultimately get better for him. Especially as there is more and more evidence that Jadis is lossing her control over events.

****

Chapters 13&14

Other thoughts:
The passage about the melting snow and inscreasing presence of spring brings me such joy every time I read/hear it. Again it’s a passage that captured my imagination even as a child (and even though I’d never experienced the real change from winter to spring till I’d lived in England). The only other descriptive passages that come close to this are the journey to the end of the world (as the sea gets clearer and the light brighter) towards the end of VDT and the final chapters of TLB. Here again Lewis shows his amazing descriptive ability and comes close to capturing that allusive concept of joy that he speaks of so often in his other works (like Surprised by Joy and Pilgrim’s Regress).

Finally, as someone who’s never seen an American edition, I knew that the American version had Fenris Ulf. But I was surprised to see Peter given the title “Fenris-Bane”.

I seriously didn't want to stop with two chapters today. 😆 It was one if the worst places to have to quit, even though I've already read the book a dozen times (or probably more) and obviously know what happens next. It was still terrible to realize when I got to the end of the chapter that I have to wait until tomorrow to go on.

@Ariel: That's the 4th reference to Job I've encountered in the last 24 hours (some to so with the summer challenge but one as a random quote from the Septuagint that had a word-form I was looking up for my thesis) - I wonder if God's trying to tell me something?

@Hobbit: I'm not sure about a horse/dragon, but your lion reminds me of a wingless gryphon; but I like it; very heraldric.

@Hobbit: I know; it's the worst possible place to stop reading! But in a way, it might be a good thing because it forces us to think what it felt like during that waiting period between when it looked like evil had won and the real victory. For Lucy and Su it was only a few hours but for the deciples after Jesus' death it was 2 days. It's a reminder that sometimes when things seem to be at their darkest, there's a greater victory still to come!

11. Aslan is Nearer

Interesting fact: Plum pudding can take like a year to make.

It’s a beautiful turning point for Edmund here when in the depth of his misery he finally cares about someone other than himself.

I wonder if there were other statues around Narnia from times when she was in too much of a hurry to bring them back to her castle first. Whether there were more or not I’m sure Aslan found and restored them all.

I like that we get to see the arrival of spring mainly from Edmund’s perspective because he is the one that really needs it the most. This description is one of the most beautiful things in all the chronicles. I love that we are told this is just what inevitably happens when Aslan is near.

12. Peter’s First Battle

I wanted to point out a couple key elements in Aslan’s camp that I really appreciate.

First the stone table. It has the law engraved in it like the tablets with the ten commandments. It is essentially an altar, and by the end of the story it also becomes the empty tomb and the torn veil. It’s such a powerful object and symbol in this story, and I’m excited by even this first glimpse at it.

Secondly the pavilion. I don’t need to know where it came from or why it’s there. It’s so beautiful and one of the most striking visuals in Aslan’s camp. It’s something temporary and movable that’s a taste of what Narnia will be when restored. It occurred to me this time reading that it could in some ways represent the tabernacle.

Thirdly the view of Cair Paravel in the distance. I really like that this is only a glimpse. It would have been a mistake to have the Narnians already established at Cair. Cair is presently a vision of what is yet to come. The scene with Aslan showing it to Peter is tremendous.

Day 7: Chapters 13&14

The Emperor's Hangman

I’ve always been a bit puzzled about some of the events of these chapters. Not Aslan’s death; it’s pretty clear what’s going on there with his substitutionary sacrifice on Edmund’s part. But why does Jadis feel the need to go through all this ritual before she kills Edmund and wish she had the stone table to do it on? Why doesn’t she just kill him outright then and there, before anyone has a chance to rescue him? She explicitly states she’s afraid of his being rescued. It all seemed a bit manufactured that there was suddenly this whole idea that Edmund must be sacrificed as a traitor. After all, he’s not the olny traitor in Narnia. There’s Tumnus, and he’s one of the less bad ones. Her motivation for killing Ed is to prevent the prophesy being fulfilled, but her means of killing him (as a traitor) suddenly has different implications.

But then it occurred to me that perhaps Jadis is somehow forbidden from just killing people and creatures. Perhaps, like Satan in the book of Job, she has dominion over Narnia but no right to take an innocent life. That would explain why she turns creatures into stone. I’d have to go back and check whether there’s anything that contradicts this idea (like her telling Maugrim/Fenris to kill whatever he finds at Beavers dam is a potential problem to this theory), but I feel like it makes more sense of the bits that confuse me.

Building on this idea, if it’s true that she can’t simply take an innocent life, the Deep Magic somehow gives her authority over the life of one that not innocent. People who have turned themselves over to the witch are no longer protected from being killed by her, but even then there seem to be rules around how she can claim that life which are all wound up with the stone table.

I need to think some more about this, but those are the thoughts I’ve had so far on the issue.

Two other moments I really liked: When Lewis refuses to tell us the details of the conversation between Aslan and Ed and Aslan says to the other Pevensies “there is no need to talk to him about what is past.” And secondly when Aslan says to the witch: “His offence was not against you”.

Oh, interesting thoughts, Ajjie! I'm sure I've thought of the whole now-suddenly-Ed-should-be-killed-at-the-Table bit before, but my thoughts didn't take me the same direction yours did.
My thoughts on the Stone Table actually come about from trying to reconcile for myself the idea that, even though LWW specifically shows Aslan dying for Edmund, perhaps it still could have been like Christ's sacrifice (ie: for all and not just one). And, funny enough, the PC movie helped me in formulating this (essentially) head-canon. Here, Jadis says things like "every traitor belongs to me", "his blood is my property", "unless I have blood as the law says". In the PC movie, Jadis says to both Peter and Caspian, "Just one drop [of blood]...." (Yes, I know that scene is not canon, but I love that scene firstly for the spiritual implications and secondly because I always did wonder what might have happened if they had started to call up the Witch. But I digress.)
My head-canon is this: Edmund, first of all, is not the only traitor. Other traitors, like Tumnus, have served her for who-knows-how-long. So if she must have blood, but she also wants an army and other thralls, she obviously hasn't killed them even though she has the right to them by law. How then does she reconcile her needs with the law (because she's certainly not above the law)? Perhaps when a traitor comes into her service (as Tumnus had), they seal the contract in blood, maybe by cutting the palm as the Hag had cut Caspian's (and the Wild Man had in The Two Towers when he pledged service to Saruman). Perhaps this is even performed at the Stone Table itself, which would make Aslan's sacrifice upon it that much more significant (not that it isn't already).
I'm going to write a fic to this effect. Someday... eventually....

All that wasn't even my reflection for the day! *reads today's chapters*

Chapter 13:
Hmm... in answer to the Edmund-should-die-at-the-Table conundrum... perhaps Jadis had really meant to kill him there all along ("That is the proper place.") Mr Beaver had said that she would keep Edmund alive as a decoy, as bait, to get the other three. Perhaps she hoped a futile rescue would be staged. But that was before she found out that Aslan had returned, and that is what is really throwing a wrench into her plans, for now, it would hardly matter whether or not she managed to get her hands on all four. Thus, the conversation now about killing Edmund now so that, at the very least, the prophesy could not be fulfilled.
*giggles at Jadis' bare arms* Aunt Letty would still not approve! 😆
And here we have another form of Jadis making things appear to be that which they are not, just more literally than before.
I love that we don't know what Aslan said to Edmund. I think that conversation would be crazy difficult to write, personally. But even more than this, I love that Edmund has been so changed by it that Jadis' words don't matter to him anymore.
Linkage to a fic I wrote of Edmund five years after his morning chat with Aslan (fanfiction.net is not affiliated with TLC, click at your own risk): https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11859420/1/Here-to-Remember

Chapter 14:
As odd as it is to think of Aslan making a battle strategy, I do like this bit in which he instructs Peter for the coming battle and even commends him for his foresight in wanting to make camp on the other side of the Ford of Beruna. I also thought of how Christ has given us His instructions to perform in His absence. Only difference is that we have the Spirit within us at all times, but Aslan would not be physically present.
Isn't it interesting that while Aslan specifically tells the girls to remain safe (to stop when he says to and to remain unseen), he lets them - even wants - them to witness what happens next? On the one hand, that seems frightfully dangerous for them. On the other, he knew full well what would happen and that it ought to be witnessed.
(I say! Jadis has apes in her army!)
Ugh, this is a terrible place to stop! The wretchedness of Aslan's humiliation and death, the prevailing darkness, and finally, the killing blow....
Linkage to a poem I wrote, partly inspired by Jadis' brief monologue (fanfiction.net is not affiliated with TLC, click at your own risk): https://www.fanfiction.net/s/7836205/1/You-Are-Mine

Day 7:

Day 8:

(I think I'm remembering how to draw lions again. Crisis averted. 😆 )

"'Oh! I say. Here's a poor kangaroo. Call Aslan...'"
There are also kangaroos in Narnia. This line, too, surprises me every time. 😛

"'If [Rumblebuffin] had been the other sort she'd never have turned him into stone.'"
I'm sticking to my theory that there were good dragons in Narnia before and during the Golden Age. If she wouldn't turn an evil giant into stone, I don't think she'd have turned an evil dragon into stone. Especially since just think how useful a dragon could be!!

The other lion is one of my favorite minor characters in the Narnia books. So he got to be my drawing for today. 😛

Also there are good wolves in Narnia...I'd forgotten about that.

(Just a few years ago, though, I was in absolute awe of Pauline Baynes' illustrations. But then I saw for the first time that one of Aslan and the White Witch having their conversation where Aslan is standing on his hind legs and I went, "...okay, still respect for the later illustrations, but really?????" I love how much the detail and accuracy of the illustrations advances through the books, though. If you look at the Unicorn in the illustration of the Battle of Beruna, and then the later illustrations of Jewel, it's amazing and really encouraging--especially for me, since I'm hoping to be an illustrator someday. I'll always keep improving, so I don't have to be perfect in my first illustrations. I just have to be better than the other people that apply... 🙄 )