One of the delights of having children is revisiting books you've
read as a child, or reading books that have been written since then. The Chronicles of Narnia
by C.S. Lewis are a case in point. I'm sure I read at least one of
them when I was about 12, but then read the whole series to Lukas and
Elin. (Lee may have read some of them, too, I think.)"It will not go out of my mind that if we pass this post and lantern either we shall find strange adventures or else some great change in our fortunes," says one of the character in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. And the spell that has fallen on Narnia is one that means winter forever but Christmas, never.
This scene in a Parc Beaubien reminded me of the stories this week. The lamp post, the little house, the snow: all were evocative of the best things in the books, so I decided to share it this week.
But as I thought more and more about Lewis and Narnia, I realized that the series, while captivating, has many doubtful elements. The Witch, for example, could be seen as just a very strong woman: why portray her so negatively? Later in the series, a horde of brown, mounted adventurers from the South are the enemies for The Horse and His Boy: Arabs, Muslims, foreshadowing of ISIS? And there is Aislin who, Lewis said himself, is a Christ-like figure.
I suppose an enlightened parent could use the reading of these parts as teachable moments. I didn't, and I wonder if I should have even though the kids, by any measure are All Right.
