PRINCE CASPIAN: FAITH, DOUBT, AND A LITTLE IMAGINATION
C.S. Lewis’ famed series, The Chronicles of Narnia, seems to bring out the child in us all. Even Dr. Pamela Jordan, chair of the English department at Taylor University Fort Wayne, takes on an unmistakably child-like glow in her eyes and excitement in her voice as she discusses Lewis, his novels, and the upcoming film, “Prince Caspian.”
According to Dr. Jordan, an expert on the life and works of C.S. Lewis and a consultant for the Center for C.S. Lewis & Friends, there is a childhood connection between Lewis himself and the chronicles, referencing his essay, “It All Began with a Picture….”
“He, as a child, created another world and wrote some animal stories,” Dr. Jordan notes, “and he said, as an adult, that some of that stayed with him. He had a picture in his head since he was about sixteen, the picture of a fawn carrying an umbrella in a snowy wood. He just decided ‘I should make a story out of that. Let’s see what happens.’ And there it began.”
Since their original publication in the 1950s, The Chronicles of Narnia have never been out of print, a feat Dr. Jordan attributes the novels being “good stories.” “The novels have all of the elements of fairy tales that attract children, all of the elements that make a children’s story successful,” she says. “But they also have these elements that are not beyond the attention of adults. I think that’s because Lewis so successfully created this secondary world. It seems tangible when you read the books. It’s accessible, and I think we, as human beings, appreciate that kind of ‘good escape,’ as Tolkien describes it in one of his essays.
“That escape we encounter when we read fantasy,” describes Dr. Jordan, “doesn’t take us out of this world so we can run away, but so that we can see the world we live in with fresh eyes and appreciate it more. For instance when you meet an Ent, a talking tree, in The Lord of the Rings, and come back after having been involved by that, you can take a walk in the forest and look at the trees. They look different to you. You can let yourself be, and imagine, and I think that happens when you read Lewis, when you read The Chronicles of Narnia.”
With Prince Caspian, the film sequel to The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, coming to theatres May 16th, Dr. Jordan hopes that those going to see the film will read the books first. The film based on The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, though relatively faithful to the novel, did make some minor changes when bringing the story to the silver screen. “It picked up a few things that get very minor attention in the book, like the battle sequences, and the opening is kind of imagined—there is none of that conversation in Professor Kirke’s house—though that was appropriate,” notes Dr. Jordan. “They also left out some key lines that I think would have made Lewis’ ideas and his themes come across more clearly.”
When asked about the themes Lewis created in Prince Caspian that audiences should keep an eye out for, Dr. Jordan notes, “There are several, but, in my opinion, faith and doubt are the most central themes to the story.” When the Pevensie children come back to Narnia, Cair Paravel, their castle, is in ruins, the Old Narnians, the talking animals and original inhabitants of Narnia, are in hiding from the humans, and no one has seen Aslan. “Questions, like ‘Does Aslan really exist?’ and ‘Can he be believed in?’ begin to arise,” Dr. Jordan says. “Some are adamant that the stories of Aslan are true, others question how they can know that for sure, and others are adamant that none of it is true, that Aslan never really existed.”
“There is a beautiful parallel episode in the plot where the children and a guide are trying to find their way to the place where the Old Narnians are hiding,” Dr. Jordan explains. “Lucy sees Aslan, but the others do not. She has to convince them that she has seen the Lion, and they don’t believe her right away—more of that theme of faith and doubt.”
It is yet to be shown how closely this film will follow the original story of Lewis, though Dr. Jordan hopes it will at least stay as true to the themes as the first film. Just in case, “I want to encourage everyone to read the book before going to see the movie,” she says.
Don’t forget your imagination and a bit of child-like faith at home, either.
Shannon Potelicki is a professional writing major at Taylor University Fort Wayne. Her bylined articles have appeared in such publications as Church Libraries, Christian Communicator, The Secret Place, and The Express. She is also a scriptwriter for “Fresh Perspectives” on WBCL radio.
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