Narnia as Myth

(1)

Volume 1 Issue 1 Article 9 January 1970

Narnia as Myth

Peter Kreeft

Follow this and additional works at: https://dc.swosu.edu/mythpro Part of the English Language and Literature Commons

Recommended Citation Recommended Citation

Kreeft, Peter (1970) "Narnia as Myth," Mythcon Proceedings: Vol. 1 : Iss. 1 , Article 9. Available at: https://dc.swosu.edu/mythpro/vol1/iss1/9

This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Mythopoeic Society at SWOSU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Mythcon Proceedings by an authorized editor of SWOSU Digital Commons. An ADA compliant document is available upon request. For more information, please contact

(2)

Mythcon 51: The Mythic, the Fantastic, and the Alien

Albuquerque, New Mexico • Postponed to: July 30 – August 2, 2021

Abstract Abstract

Considers various definitions of myth and shows how literary myths deliberately created by an individual differ from myths that develop organically within a society. Concludes the truth within myth is what is important. Includes an extensive quotation from The Last Battle.

Keywords Keywords

Lewis, C.S.—Mythopoesis; Myth—Definition

(3)

35

y'e.t

lnyt

h

c

l

a

i

ms to be t

r

u

e

.

Non

e

of t

h

e my°t

h

s

t

h

a

t

· h

ave

na

t

ur-al.Ly

ari

;S.

e~ among

"p

ri

mit

iv

e

" (

"o

ld

"

,

not n

e

c

es

sar

i

l

y

"s

tupi

d":

the tw

o

meanings ar

e

usual

l

y con-

fu

sed in the w

or

d

,.

"

p~imi

t

i

y

e"

)

,;

gP:~tup~s

.are,,

t

~~t..

~

r

·?,

el~

~v

~~ t

~

:

b

e

~ict

i

ops

.

~ ;:et

:

th

ey

.

are n

o

t true

o

f

t

h

e so-c

all

ed. '~P.

.

e

al

.

.l'Jq

dd!

~.

t'

w

h.

at we

,

n

o

t they

.

caJ.l, the

"r

~

a

l

.

• • . • • • I•• ;;~ •. • ;. • ~ •. ~ • •·:"\: •. • • • - • • .

WO~~~"~:· ~,f

w

h~

t

c

.

~

.

en

are

.

F?

ey

rru~

?

We do.

not submi

t

a sonnet; to a ~t

he

ma:tic

i

an.

-~but

w

e do

in

d

ulg

e.

th

e.

equa

l

ly fantastic notion t

h

a

t

,

myth

can"

be

·.t

re

a

t

ed

a

s

a sc

ie

nce

.

B~~

u

n

less

t

hese

.

t

h

i

ngs are appnecfared' poet

Lcal.Iy

'they

ar

~

p<;>t

a

pprec.I-

..

.

a

t

ed

'at:

al

l.

.

It

.

took a

.. poet

:~o·make

th

em; .

it

t

ake

s

a

p~t ~P

appre-

ciate them.

·There are more poets than non-poe

t

s

in

t

h

e

'

wo

~l

d,

a

s

i

s

prove

d

by the popular or

L

gfn of s

u

ch

l

ege

n

ds

•

• .

·

r :·.·.

·

· When

t

he Professor is t9,id by

t

h

e

..

Pol

y

n

es

ian

that on

c

e there

was

no

th

fng b

u

t a great fea

t

hered

'

se

r

pent

;

u

n

Iess the 1

e~

_ne

d

man

ip sp

ec-

tables feels a de

l

ight and an over

w

he~rig

wi

sh

th

a

t it wer

e

t

~u

e

,

h

e i

s

.

n~

.

judge ?f suc

h

mat

t

e

r

s

at

!3-

lL

· ·:

.

·

· Myths

..

are

"

sacred" sto

r

ies

,

and if one h

a

s no se

n

~e

of

t

h

e s

acred, the numin

o

us,

o

n

e

:.

q

anno

t.

ap

p

reciate myth. The time of

myth is

s

acre

d ti

me,

t

he ti~ of the

g

od

s

'

o

r he

ro

e

s

'

.act~ons

, n

ot histo

ri

cal time, familiar t

i

me.

Its pl

?c

es

.

ar

e

sac

red pi

ac

e

~:

.

t

he s

pa

c

e

in

w

hich myth

i

c

act

s t

ak

e

pla

c

e i

s

n

o

t re~ati~e

~

and

ho

mog

e

ne

pus by

t

::

sp~9i~

~

· set

ap

art

; t

h

e acts t

h

a

t

ake

place in

.

the~

make

the

p

L

ac

es

.t

h

em~

· e)..ves mith

i

cal_. M~h

d

oes n

o

t me

a

n t

o

b

e "

h

.Ls

'to

r-L

c

al,"

or

· "realis

t

ic

".

It

iS "!10

fa

u1

r t

ha

t

it

ca

n

no

t

b

e,

· In t

h

e f

i

rst, most primitive

sense

-

the se

n

se.used by

t

he an

t

hr

o

pol

o

g

i

s

t

s

an

q

fo

lkl

or

i

s

t

s - a myth is c story of

the doings of gods or h

u

ma

n

he

ro

es

.

in

so

me

.

ki

n

d of "other" place and "other" time than the present

.

It

i

s

r

eg~de

d

as

sacred, arche~ypical,

true,

.real, and no

r

mat

iv

e

.

Such sympat

h

etic scholcir.s as Mircea Eliade in works like THE SACRE

D AN

D THE

P

ROF

AN

E

,

COSMOS AND H

I

STORY,

MYTHS DREAli::i

AND MYSTERIES~' and i1YTH

Af!D

REALI

TY

ha

v

e

r

~~-

cue~ myt

h

from th~ patronizing positivism of the nineteenth ce

n

tµr

y

's att~~

ud

e.

Chesterton is s

u

rely right when he says in THE ~VERL

A

STING MAN

(I

q

u

o

t

e

tr

o

m

.

meJJl

-

ory

,

he

n

ce inacc

u

rately

)

:

· The Ch

r

onicles of Narnia are a myth in a number of se

n

ses

.

T

h

is pape

n

a

t

emp

:ts

· t

.o

dis

t

inguish and characterize

four of those s

en

ses. It is more

ab

o

u

t my

th th

an

abou

t

Narnia; but Narnia is

a per

f

ect example of wha

t

it means by m

yt

h

.

It

may

be reg

ard

ed

a

s

·a so

rt

of philosophical preparation for the ap

p

rec

iati

o

n

o

f tb

e

Narn

i

a myt

h

·

bv.

u

1 Kreeft: Narnia as Myth

(4)

T

h

u

s

w

he

n

...

we c

l

o

s

e

::.

t

h

e

c

ov

e

n

s

· o

f'°

THE .

LO

RD

OF

:.THE

RINGS

and.

t

lirn

.

on

c

e

"aga

i

n

t

o'

bur

k

it

c

h

en.

~

w

i-ndow

~

· '

w

J

-

~

o

n

S-t'

fee'

i

w

e

"

nav

t:l t

urn

e

d from the

. '

lesi

;°

.

t

o the more tr

u

e

,

b

u

t

vice ve

r

sa. We have to exer

cise

a

del

i

b

erate "

s

uspensi

on of d

i

s

belief

11

in

t

he so-

Wh

at re

a

lly

h

a

p

pe

ns is

t

h

a

t

he st

o

r

y

-

ma

k

er p

r

ov

e

s

..

~

succeasfu.L

"sub

-

·.

cre

a

tor

"

.

·"

H

e

makes

a

S

ec

o

n

d

ary Wor

l

d w

h

ic

h

yo

ur

m

i

nd can

errter-,

1 I

n-

.

..

~

i

de

i

t

; wh

a

t

h

e

ne

L

at.es is "t

r

u

P.

11; Le

acco

rd

s

wi

t

h

r

n

e

law

s

of

t

hat

w

o~

l

'd

.

· Y

o

u

t

he

r

ef'.)re b

e

l

ie

v

e

i

t

, w

h

i

le

y

o

u ar

e

,

a

s

it

wer

e

,

i

nsi

d

e.

Th

e mo

m

e

nt

d.i.sbe.Li.ef ar-Lses ,

t

h

e s

p

el

l

is

b

r

o

k

e

n

;

t

h

e magic

,

or

r-ather=

ar

t

, h

a

s

fai

l

ed.

You

ar

e

t

h

e

n

o

ut

i

n the

Primary World again,

Look

i.ng

"

·.·• at. ..

:t

.

h

e

l

i.'

t

l

e

ebor-t ive

S

eco

ndary Hor

ld f

r

o

m

o

u

ts

i

de

.

'I

f y

o

u are obliged

by: k.ind.ILnesa or

c

ir

c

um

s

tanc

e

·to

st

ay,

t

h

e

n di

sb

eli

e

f must be s

u

s

pe

n

ded

for

st

if

le

d)

,

.

o

t

h

e

r

w

is

e

li

s

t

e

nin

g an

d

look

in

g w

o

uld be

c

ome intolerable~

But this

susp

en

s

i

on o

f

dis

b

e

li

e

f

i

s

a s

ubs

titute

· f

o

r

the

.

.genudne

thing

,

a

· s

ub

t'

erfu

g

e

w

e u

s

e w

h.en c

on

des

c

e

nd

in

g to g

ames o

p

make-he'iieve, or

w

hen

:

..

.

trying

'(niore

or

l

es

s

w

ill

i

ng

ly

) t

o

find what virtu

e

w

e

can in the w

o

r

k

o

f

an

art t

h

at has f

o

r

us

f

a

i

l

ed

.

A

r

eal

en

t

h

usia

s

t

f'ot- cz-Lcke t

i

s i

n the

enchanted

s

:t

ate

;

.

Second~y·

· .Belief

;

:

-, . ~::·.

A

se

c

o

n

d

..

is

ense

o

f

m

yt

h w

hic

h

a

p

pl

ie

s

mo

r

e

to

a later,

l

i

t

er

ar

y c

on

s

truct

,

i

s

th

e

o

n

e To

lk

ien

d

e

l

i

nea

t

es in his ess

ay

"On

F

air

y

-Sto

r

i

e

s"

.

I

n

t

~i

s s~

n

s

e

o

f myt

h

,

t

oo

,

a

my'th is'

m

ea

n

t

't

o

be

"rr-ue".

B

u

t t

h

e

meanin

g of "

t

r

u

e

"

i

s s

li

g

htly diff

e

r

-

ent from xh~itruth

.

o

f the st

orie

s o

f

th

e

g

ods

.

Tolk

~

e

n d

e

s

c

r~es

it as fo

l

low

s

:

Wh

e

n

a

m

y

th i

s d

e

li

b

er

a

t

el

y

i

nve

n

t

ed

by

an

i

n

dividual

,

i

t

lo

ses

m

uch of

th

e

f

orce

.

a

pr

im

i

ti

v

e

,

"nat

ur-

al," myth has

.

Its

prot

a

gon

.i

s

't

s

ar

e

u

su

a

ll

y m

en

,

n

ot g

od

s; i

t

s

~

~~

~

.

i

s

u

s

u

ally

esthetic rathe

r

than

r

el

i

g

i

ou

s;

i

ts t

r

u

t

h i

s

u

sual

l

y

11

fict

ion

a

1

11

r

ath

er :t

h

a

n

"

fa

ct

ual

" in

ar._y

Sf'DSe; and it

i

s no

r

mat

iv

e

n

o

t f

or

l

i

f

e

but on)y t

h

e

li

f

P o

f

· ::t:

he

.

i

mag

in

ai.i

on

.

Narn.La

re

s

i

sts

t

hi

s

w

e

d.k

ening al1.;..>s

t

as

w

ell a

s

a;>'T

"

c

o

ntr

i.ved

~'

~

m

yt

h,

p

er

ha

ps

b

e

c

ause o

f i1.:

s a

lmost

-a

l

lego

ri

caJ c

on

n

e

ct

i

o

n

w

ith the

"or-Lg.ina.L'! ,

"

n

at

u

ral",

"s

tr-ong" Chr

i

s

t

i

an

m

y

t

h

.

Bec

a~

~

e

h

i

s

my

ths

a

r

e

bel

i

e

v

ed

to be tr

u

e

an

d

r

eal

,

th

e

y ar

e

n

o

rmat

iv

e

to primit

i

v

e

man.

'

..

'We

mu

st do

w

h

at

th

e gods d

i

d in t

h

e

begi

n

ni

n

g."

H

is

w

or

l

d i

s

a

d

i

vin

e

w

o

rk

o

f art

,

an i

m

i

tati

o

n in th

e

gods

'

min

d

(t

hi

s is no

t

a l

a

ter

,

s

op

h

i

s

tic

ated

theol

o

g

ica

l

n

o

t

i

o

n;

i

t i

s t

h

e

m

ai

n

t

h

e

me of t

h

e o

l

de

s

t

ma

n

u

sc

r

i

pt k

n

o

wn

,

r

h

e

Egyp

tia

n M

em

phi

t

e Drama

,

antedat

i

ng

4000

B

.C

.

E

.

);

and his

lif

e s

houl

d

b

e

a s

i

m

ilar

i

m

it

a

t

iQn

.

o

f

t

h

e go

d

s

.

·

The basic drive behind myth is neithe~ goodness nor power but being. Myths are not necessarily ethical; they may praise cannibalism, for instance. Nor are they,

in their original form,

mc.gical

(

alc

h

emy and astrolo

gy,

e

.

g.

,

are

la

t

e

r d

ev

i

a

-

· t

i

on

s

fr

o

m

so

m

ethi

n

g o

r

iginally

w

ho

l

y

no

n

-

p

ragm

a

tic).

R

a

th

er, mythic ma

n

t

hir

s

t

s

f..9f'

t

h

e

r

e

a

l

,

what lies

behind the r

e

lative

,

s

h

i

f

ti

n

g

v

eil of a

p

earanc

e

s

.

Of the gods or heroes. Myths do not invent god-stories to explain vegetation or the seasons or the planets; they are not primitive science but primitive religion.

Nature is seen as a symbol of the gods, not the gods as symbols of nature. Myths are like parables: truths about the gods translated into human terms. Thus they are true - but not about men and their merely human world, but about the gods and about man's sacred world, that aspect of human experience in which glim-

mers and glimpses of the divine shine through. The world is unsafe; there are

all sorts of openings, unpredict3hle cracks, in it; and behind each crack the divine is lurking.

(5)

3

7

A third level of meaning to the· concept; "myth" is added by C. S. Lewis, .especially

whep he speaks, in ~he first chapter of MIRACLES, of the possibility of other

wor;J.ds ,'"other 'natures i- not just· other· planets or galaxies in our space-xdme con-

t:lnuuin but "preternatural" wor-Ids'<d.i scont inuous with ours. : It is only a· '.'climate of op Infcn" ,. not s·ci~ntific evi.dence , that makes most of us skeptical of such ·

"other w~rlds" (in fact, there is much quite respectably-scientific evd.dence for

them on· file in the· So.ciety for Psychical Research· in London). In such worlds,

he"''s~gges'ts in ·PERELANDRA, what is myth 'on earth may .be fact there. (Unfortun-

ately·; the identificaticn with the· p.l.snet; Venus tends to obscure the t;t'uly mythi'~.

character of 'the "o'ther-: wor]}da of PERELANDRA; there is no such "confusion ~.ith ~·

'

r

~

hl

'

world" in Narn i.a , ) : The whole distinction between myt~ ·and f~ct ·is.~··.he

~~sgests·,. a .result of the faJ.l of man, and.ieven in his present .state t~er.e, .. are

hints that the· distinction is not final: in the "magical" effect, .a great. poet's

1.!.~~~.ry :e·x~~ises

'

on

us ' Iri the best ins~~ces of ~·e>..'Uc:i l~~e > ', i~ . ~eat.

~

s

ic'

·

and .an sacraments. The "other- world'~ Le~as has pri[llarily

.

m

mind. is man ~s own next world, heaven; the ·"new ear-th'";" The things Lew i.s says about this I find so

p;~..:erriinently moving, so nearly· the '"things which· no. man dare .. to 'utter" ·whiCh .~t.

John refused his rcader-s in rn.s apocal.ypse , that I can only send the int~~~~~~

reader/listener to the last chapaer-s of MIRACLES and THE PROBLEM OF PAIN. · · ·· ··· !.:. ••. • • • • ~ ·.. • •• •• • • \ •• • ..: •• , J • • • • •

A .. .fo~_.1.r- _. h _._._-_.aspect;'

o

f

..

rnYth and _. four-_. th sense in which

it

is "true." is _. .the Platoni_• c .

L~~}? can.introduce·us to thi~'aspect ~bo.· .. In THE ALLEGORY OF L9VE, fo~ instance,

he ,_,_~p~~rast~ spenser ' s "lifu- likeness0·· with Shakespeare's , and s~ys that while the

<l~tfllls of Shakespeare's· ~iorld· are like· the details of .. our-s , the. exper-Lence of

~~g , Spenser- is like ·th~ experience of li v Ing · its elf. · He nevea.Ls things too 1a,::ge · for_: .. no_rmal not Leo ,' ·like the · J.arge .. print names of continents .. on maps; or like the·'·air· we brearhe» ·· Shakespeane i'mitates life; ·:.li:f~ }mi rates, SJ?~;nser. Spen-

)./~

Probably'every writer making a secondary world, a fantasy, every sub-

creator, wishes in some measi.tre to be a real maker, or hopes that he

is drawing on reality: hopes that the peculiar quality of this sec-

ondary world (if not all the details) are derived from Reality, or are

flowing into it. If he indeed achieves a quality that can fairly be

described by the· dictionary definition: "inner consistency of reality'',.

it is difficult to eonceive how this can be if the work does not in some

way partake of reality. The .peculiar quality of the "joy" in succesaful,

Fantasy can thus be explained as a sudden glimpse of the underlying re-··

ality or·truth. It is not only

a:

11consolation11 _f_{or t}_h_{e s}_o_rr_o_w _o_{f t}_hli_s

world, but a satisfaction, 'and an answer to that question, "I~ it true?"

The ans'wer to this question that I gave at first was (quite rightly):

"If you have built' your little world well, yes: it ~s.true in. that

world." That is enough for the artist, or the artis~ part of the artist.

But in the "eucatastrophe" we see in a brief vision that the answer

may be greater·- it may be a far-off gleam or echo of evangelium

[Gospel, "good news"] in the real world ... The Evangelium bas not abro-

gated legends; it has hallowed th~m ... All tales may come true; and yet,

at the.last, ·r~deemad, they may be as like apd as unlik~ the forms that

~e give -the,n as "Man, :finally redeemed, Nill be 1 +ke and unlike rr.c fallen

that we knoH.

But a good.literary myth canoe true in an even stronger sense: true in some way

of the primary world as well. k "fairy tale can be more realistic than a statistic.

To quote Tolkien again:

called "real world", not in Tolkien's world! (Indeed, that may be one of its para-

doxical effects: to make the ordinary~ dull world more fantastic than Middle-

Earth.)

(6)

,

i ,,,.,

• .

ue:

3

8

11Wben _{As~#, '.i.aid}_y_{o~ could neve}_r _{go back} _t_{o Narnia}_{, he} _mea_{nt the}

_N

_ann

_ia

you were thinking of. But tha:..: was not the real Narnia. That had a

beginning and an end. It was only a shadow or a copy of the real~ar-.

nia; which has always been here and always will be here: just as our own world, Sngland and all, is only a shadow or copy of something ·in

Aslan's re·ai world. You need not mourn over Narnia,

Lucy

.

All of.:tha old Narnia that mattered, all the dear creatures, have been dra~ ·.:¥~.to

the real Narnia thro.ugh the Door. And of'. course it is dif;ferent~ ~

Our true world, our=tmue home , our true .selves - we feel separated from them,.,'di;,.

vinely d i scorrterrt . And just as our present alienated situation is drawn t:owa'l.·'1· t-h.n

more real wor-Ld that is our trrue one, the story in a myt h is drawn toward the · : · ·'rtiing it fitfully suggests. "Time is a moving image of eternity'', said Plato,

who introduced

t~

e

·idea of the· Ideal or the Archetype into Western thought.

r

~

ctmclude

'

by

sugges't Ing that mytb: is an.~image of our own ultimate· destiny, and a'S such is at the· oppos.ite pole from irrelevancy, irresponsi~le dreaming (dreams ·

were thoug'ht to be - me'ssenger-s. ··of the gods by ·almost ail ancient peop Les ) ' wish.•.i":'

ft.i

f

thinking (is the truth less or mor-e ·than our wishes?), or mere fiction- ("life is 'a· dreairl of: the gods''", ana ¢.~vinity is' (if it exists at all) the ultimate Fact).

Our 1'iterary".myths, such as Narnia, fit Charles Wil.liams' "Way of Affirmation. ;P.f

l

ID!lge~

•.

• ;

-

):)~

t

they_·

y

m.i'

s

t

also: be negared, transcended. They reveal .but also cons.i ..

ce"al:~=:

"This

also is Thou; I(either is this Thou. II That is why even Narnia di~s, .. in the· iast''. and· greatest Chr-onfc Ie of Narnia. But when it dies the trµe. Nar-n.i.a '

hi

··,.

born', If .'O"ur visible world is-~an i~ge of our myth,

our

myth i~'. an image of the

r~aliy~~eal :. · " · · ~'

Shall I

pe

thought whimsical if, in conclusion {he goes on to say], I suggest .that this internal tension in the heart of every story between the theme and the

~1

9 t

constitutes, after all, its chief resemblance to life? ... In real life·, as in a story, something must happen. That is just the trouble.

W

~

grasp at a state and find only a succession of events in which the state is never quite embodied. The grand idea of finding Atlantis which stirs us in the first cpapter of the~adventure story is apt to be frittered away in mere excitem~nt when the journey has once be~n begun. But so in real life the idea of adventure fades when the day-to-day details begin to happen ... Other grand;i~eas - home-

c?-ming,'

1r~union with, 'a beloved - similarly e.lude our grasp here. But now, something must . l.appen , and after +hat some tl- i ng else. d\ll ·'=i • ..it

happens· may be d'elightful; but can any such series quite embody the

sheer stalt!e of being which was what we wanted?

the plot, as we call it, is only a net whereby to catch something else. The real'. theme may be, and penheps usually is, some'th.ing that has no

=sequence ' in it, something other than a process and much more like a state or quality. Giantship, otherness, the desolation of space, are examples that have cro~sed our path. The titles of some stories illustrate the point very well. THE WELL AT THE WORLD'S END - can a man write a story

to the1:t title?

-~(.!Lewis, incidentally, experimented interestingly with this idea in applying it to the HAMLET-problem in "Hamlet: the. Prince or the Poem?", interpreting HAMLET not ·as prima~ily a <?,haracter-drama but as a ghost-story; it seemed to work even there. )

Ih such art, says Lewis in the.essay "on Stories" (in OF OTHER WORLDS): ser's art is the communication of archetypes.