Narnia, Chronicled

 


I had never read The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe growing up. I had seen the 1979 cartoon film in syndication on the Disney Channel, and understood some of the pop culture references, but that was the extent of my Narnia knowledge. I knew that C.S. Lewis was a renown Christian author, and was friends with Tolkien. 

Last year, a few days before Christmas, I saw a copy of  The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe  at a library booksale, the 1994 HarperTrophy edition with Jadis (The White Witch) and Maugrim looking menacing on the cover. I think the book was only a dollar, and the cover (yes, I know) was enough for me to be interested. I took it home, asked friends if they had read it before, and then read it in about a day. ( Yes, I had been warned about !Jesus Lion!) I watched the Disney adaptation on Christmas Eve of last year, and have been interested in it ever since. 

Since it's Christmastime (which I have nicknamed Narnia Season), my interest in the franchise, not just the first book, has kicked up again.

I know that there are many, many people who have talked about The Chronicles of Narnia before, and will speak on it again. It will be studied for centuries to come  for its role in both Christian and children's literature.  I know that it's deeply problematic and silly. I am well aware of "The Problem With Susan." However, this blog is for my personal exploration of the text and its adaptations, as someone who is not Christian. This blog will be my personal exploration of  its text, themes, and characters.  It will go in chronological order of my personal discoveries in the order in which they are read or discovered. 

Happy Narnia Season!

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