SpoilerTV has been able to obtain some new exclusive promotional pictures for the new The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian movie.

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Christys’ & Company has revealed Prince Caspian Costumes for Kids. They include Peter the Knight, Susan, Lucy, and variations of Prince Caspian. And let’s not forget the continuing releases of Special Edition Monopoly sets. I’ve got Lord of the Rings and Star Wars editions. Now I’ll be able to add the Prince Caspian Edition!

[Check out the Prince Caspian Costumes]

Thanks to everyone who sent this in early in the morning.

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Welcome to Tumnus’s Book Shelf where we review any and all books related to Narnia and CS Lewis! For our first review we will be looking at CS Lewis’s The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe!

Book Title: The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe.
Author: CS Lewis
Illustrator: Pauline Baynes
Publisher(US): HarperCollins
ISBN-10: 0060764899
ISBN-13:978-0060764890

Summary of the book:

Some Possible Spoilers.( Please Highlight to read)

“It all began with a picture in my head of a fawn with an umbrella carrying packages in the snow,” said CS Lewis. He first had this picture in his head as a child and it stuck with him all his life and helped him create the seven Narnia books.

The first book written ( though not the first in terms of chronology) was called, “ The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe.” Set during the air raids of World War II, four British School children Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy Pevensie are sent away to live with Professor Kirke in the country for safety.

One day while exploring the professor’s house the four children come into a spare room with nothing but a large wardrobe inside. The other three leave the room as they find it uninteresting. Lucy however, stays behind as she thinks it would be worth it to try and open the wardrobe door.

She opens it and steps inside only to later find herself in the Land of Narnia. Upon her arrival she meets Tumnus the fawn and has tea with him. It is during this tea party that she discovers that Narnia has been enslaved by the evil White Witch Jadis, who makes it , “Always winter and Never Christmas.” He also tells her that the witch wishes to capture any human children.

Tumnus agrees to help Lucy escape as he cannot bare to harm her. She returns to our world and tells her brothers and sister of Narnia. They don’t believe her. Then one day while playing Hide and Seek she returns to Narnia.

This time she doesn’t go alone. Edmund follows after her, only to loose her in the forest. He comes in contact with the White Witch Jadis. She tricks him into believing that she is right and offers him the kingdom in exchanged for his siblings the next time he comes to Narnia.

The Witch leaves him alone and he soon meets his sister. The two of them return to our world and she is very happy to tell Peter and Susan that Edmund has been to Narnia too. When she tells them Edmund does something very despicable. He lies and says they were just playing.

This leads to further problems with the siblings until the day all four of them arrive in Narnia to hide from Mrs. McCready, Professor Kirke’s unpleasant housekeeper who is giving a tour of the house. The older siblings apologize to Lucy and are very angry at Edmund for lying about Lucy.

Following Lucy’s lead they head to Tumnus’s cave only to find the witch has had him arrested. The children are then found by Mr. Beaver and taken to his house for dinner with Mrs. Beaver, where they hear that there coming has been part of the fulfillment of a prophesy. They being Two sons of Adam and Two daughters of Eve are to help free Narnia. They also hear of the great Lion, Aslan.

During these discussion Edmund leaves to see the Witch. She is furious at Edmund for not bringing his brother and sisters with him and reveals where they are. She sends her wolves to capture them.

The other children and the Beavers escape to meet Aslan. Along the way they discover that the Witch’s spell is breaking. First because they meet Father Christmas who gives them gifts to aid in Narnia’s liberation. Second is the coming of spring.

They arrive at the meeting place and see Aslan. He inquires of Edmund and they tell him what happened. Edmund meanwhile continues to see how truly evil the Witch is and regrets his mistake. Much to his favor Aslan sends some of his soldiers to rescue him.

The Witch comes to demand Edmund back as the Spoilers“Deep Magic” every traitor belongs to her.End of Spoilers. Aslan speaks to her in private, making a deal,Spoilers His life for Edmund’s.End of Spoilers. Later that night he meets her at the Stone Table.Spoilers Susan and Lucy sneak along and watch in horror as Jadis and her allies kill Aslan upon the table.End of Spoilers

SpoilersThey mourn the loss of Aslan and help untie his body and stay near Aslan all morning. Early the next morning they find that the table is broken and his body is missing .Then they hear a sound. Aslan’s voice! They turn and see he is alive!End of Spoilers.

They hurry to the Witch’s castle and free the captives which includes Mr. Tumnus .With the help of those Aslan freed, they rush off to aid Peter, Edmund and the rest of Aslan’s army in the final battle against the witch. With Aslan’s help she is defeated!

The four children Spoilers are then crowned Kings and Queens or Narnia. They reign for many years. Then one day while on a hunt for the illusive White Stag, they End of Spoilers journey back through the Wardrobe door and Spoilers find that they had left our world only seconds ago. End of Spoilers Their first adventure in Narnia has ended but there are many more to come.

Review:

In his dedication to his goddaughter CS Lewis wrote that he wrote the book forgetting that books grow faster then children and that by the time it was published she may be too old for fairy stories. That is one fear I don’t think Lewis concern to have. This book remains one of the few fairy stories that can only get better with age.

The characters are quiet enjoyable. Lucy and Edmund are probably the ones who readers can like the most. These two are polar opposites of each other in the beginning as Lucy is sweet, carring and honest and Edmund is greedy, selfish and treacherous. It is their encounter with Aslan and in Narnia that causes Lucy to grow in confidence, and for Edmund to become a better person.

There has also been much negative criticism in regards to how Lewis treats women. However at the time the book was written his character of Lucy was quiet revolutionary as she is the one to discover Narnia, she Spoilers also, gets to witness Aslan’s resurrection End of Spoilers She is also described as trustworthy person, something that is also rare given the fact she is described as being the youngest. She is also an inherent leader. After seeing Narnia is true, even Peter, the eldest apologizes to her and follows her lead.

Susan is the logical practical character who always like to think things through carefully and at times seems like she’s the oldest. She is also the one to express doubts about Narnia and to suggest turning back when things get to dangerous.

Peter of the children is the one who is simply trying to keep the peace between his siblings. He is also quick to apologize when he’s wrong and willing to follow others.

The White Witch Jadis is simply evil. But she is one of those rare evil characters that is done well. She doesn’t wear the traditional black, but rather wears white and is described as being very beautiful. She also at times appears kind and gentle. These are her strongest points as a villain and a character.

Then there is Alsan. The most powerful character in the story as he is the ruler and creator of Narnia, he doesn’t even need to be visibly in the story to be in it. His presence is clearly through out the Land of Narnia. He is a Lion, and while being fierce, he is also very good. After all ” He’s not a tame lion.”

There are also several side characters as Professor Digory Kirke, the Beavers, Mr. Tumnus the fawn, Father Christmas, Maugrim the wolf, and even a rather excitable lion that help fill the world of Narnia with life and vibrancy.

The story is also very entertaining. Despite the talk of “magic” in Narnia, their really is very little of it in the stories. That is something unique for a fantasy story. So how does Lewis grab the reader with out resorting to someone waving a wand? By engaging you in the world itself and in the struggle to save it.

He also populates existing mythical characters and keeps them grounded in their traditional roots, example if a character like a wear wolf is seen as evil it is on the side of evil, if a character is noble and heroic like a centaur it will be allied with the side of good.

More importantly then the characters, story, fantastical elements, and the magic in Narnia is another aspect of the stories that makes them get better with age. The story has a “Deeper Magic” too it. Lewis’ allegorical imagery in the story is well known by now ,and even more imagery shows itself in constant rereading. There is so much of this packed into the book that it would take another article to go into. Lewis even paraphrases some of his arguments about the deity of Christ from “Mere Christianity” within the text of the story to defend Lucy’s claim about Narnia!

Along with the allegorical imagery is the underlying themes of the story, love, forgiveness, second chances, grace, redemption and sacrifice. I doubt any one can think of better messages to share with children then that.

As a narrator, Lewis is very personal and friendly almost like a tour guide of sorts into this realm he discovers. We get to discover this land right with him and the children. At times you almost expect him to be speaking in hushed tones as if he were sharing a wonderful secret with you. This is shown with such statements he makes as pointing out certain characters really aren’t important to the story or that to describe more of the monsters would probably mean parents would not let children read the book.

Spoilers The only downside to this book is the few contradictions to the later books, making it apparent that Lewis did not initially plan to write sequels. Such things include the lack of mention of The Emperor Beyond the Sea in subsequent novels, the change in the witch’s origins from this volume to “The Magician’s Nephew”, and Professor Kirke’s experience with Narnia.End of Spoilers

Those factors aside it is still an enjoyable book for both young and old alike and only gets better with age. Do yourself and your children a favor and read the book today!

Rating: 4 ½ out of 5 shields.

Order the book from Amazon.com

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We’ve just posted the nineteenth edition of the NarniaFans Mailbag. We’ve answered two letters this week, covering the Mailbag and “Oh Johnny, Oh Johnny, Oh!” Keep those e-mails coming!

Click here for the nineteenth NarniaFans Mailbag!

You can also view the 17th Mailbag covering the Christmas gifts, Susan, Prince Caspian, and more.

And the 18th Mailbag covering the Harry Gregson-Williams, Susan, Prince Caspian, and more.

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NarniaFans member CymruGirl had the opportunity to attend Past Watchful Dragons and wrote up this report on the event:

This past week, beginning November 3, the doors were opened to Narnia and Middle-Earth. Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee, hosted a conference which featured Inklings scholars from around the world talking about a various range of subjects in relation to their works for two and a half magic filled days. The wardrobe door was opened on Wednesday by C.S. Lewis stepson and author, Mr. Douglas Gresham.

If one has not had the privilege of meeting him, there is no amount of reading or research that will adequately prepare you for his charm. Dressed in riding boots and khakis from top to bottom suggesting that he was fresh from safari, this white haired, lion bearded man graciously greeted visitors in a reception room an hour before a banquet to be held in his honor. With a smile that seemed comfortable on his face and always shining in his clear, kind eyes, he accepted requests for photographs, autographs, and information about the upcoming film, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, his lifelong dream. I had heard recordings of Mr. Gresham’s voice prior to my brief meeting with him, but to hear it in person is a stunning privilege. The smooth timbre that fills it, makes it vibrate with wisdom, is hypnotic and I found myself lulled by the knowledge that he had been considered for the voice of Aslan. On a personal level and after listening at length to the majesty of his voice, I’m convinced the possibility would have been a marriage made in Narnia. Nervously handing him a copy of the beautifully written Lenten Lands and answering his question regarding the proper spelling of my name, I mention that I am a Senior Moderator at Narniaweb and some of us on the site had hoped that he might have been cast. A twinkle fills his eyes, and incidentally they strike me as the sort of eyes that often twinkle, and he begins to tell me that Neeson is a superb actor and doing a fine job – though perhaps not the sort of voice he had initially imagined. Then, with a benevolant grin says, “I’ll be appearing in a cameo.” The hook is set and my head bounces with that sort of fan bop that accompanies the word now emblazoned across my mind, “scoop!”

Later, sitting in a gleaming white room filled with white linens and crystal glass, the clinking of fine silverware, and gloriously tropical palms, the entire congregation of listeners sits beneath the music of his favorite stories about Jack and his mother at the Kilns, descriptions of his first encounter with Lewis, tales from the sets of Shadowlands starring Anthony Hopkins, and carefully chosen anecdotes regarding the forthcoming film. Skandar Keynes, who plays Edmund, is apparently 7 and one half inches taller since the film’s end, and Anna Popplewell (Susan) has blossomed beyond a young girl into a young woman. Andrew Adamson was a tour de force, directing the children and nearly 350 extras during an enormous scene, during Mr. Gresham’s first day on the set and, according to him, set his mind at ease at once regarding his capability to handle the task. In addition, Mr. Gresham said that the cast and crew were some of the most congenial he’d ever seen and during his visits he never heard a cross word among them.

Then, remarkably, he invited guests to walk to an open microphone for the next half an hour and ask any question. This led to an amazing maze of thoughts and stories and the guest of honor handled everything like a pro. I suppose he is. After that lengthy and gracious presentation, he then stayed at the conference late into the following day to sign copies of his new book about his stepfather called Jack’s Life. The book is accompanied by a DVD interview of Mr. Gresham and the title’s handwritten signature, he revealed to me while signing my own copy, was his own.

The next two days were filled with a myriad of classes ranging from discussions on Tolkien, Lewis, and the constellation of inklings surrounding them, as well as modern authors, such as Gaiman and Rowling, who have been impacted by their works. Further classes tried to extract connections to other classics that preceded the inklings and one paper in particular, which drew a connection between C.S. Lewis’ Til We Have Faces and Gaston Leroux’s The Phantom of the Opera, drew literal gasps from the audience. Christopher Mitchell, the Assistant Professor of Theology at Wheaton College, and the director of the Marion E. Wade Center, which houses a major collection of the books and papers of seven British authors including Lewis, Owen Barfiled, G.K. Chesterton, George MacDonald, Dorothy L. Sayers, J.R.R. Tolkien, and Charles Williams, led a prize session which explored the Christian impulse of C.S. Lewis and the impact it had on his writings. It was Mr. Mitchell’s belief that Lewis’ works may be more powerful to the modern generation than they even were during the age in which he lived.

Aside from the intellectual panels which jam packed the schedule, attendees were treated to a performance of An Evening With C.S. Lewis by actor David Payne, who has played Jack in a number of productions of Shadowlands. His performance, which was graced only by an armchair and a small endtable holding a pot of tea, was spectacularly personal and gave the audience the sense that had truly spent an evening in the living room of this amazing and humble author. The Glass Hammer gave an afternoon performance the following afternoon and then, the conference culminated Saturday night with a passion filled performance by the Nashville Symphony of The Lord of the Rings, featuring music from all three films and accompanied by a large screen which featured the moving artwork of Alan Lee.

The next morning, a happy group returned through the Wardrobe door carrying their goody bags, filled with numerous Lewis inspired treats. A cd recently released by Andrew Peterson (who actually attended the conference and three of my own classes) is rife with references to both Tolkien and Lewis to the point that it’s almost hard to take it all in. Perhaps my favorite song on the album is called Little Boy Heart Alive and features several lines to make Lewis’ fan’s hearts skip a beat: This is the Kingdom calling, Come now and tread the dawn and Met a kid at the railroad track, He had a stick and a nylon sack, I ran to the house to pack, I wanted to follow. Take a ride on the mighty lion, take hold of the golden mane, the is the love of Jesus, So good, but it is not tame. Ever the road goes on and on and on. And that’s only a small snip of the lyrics from Peterson’s The Far Country that are directly Narnia related. The entire album is dedicated to the impact that the works of the Inklings have had on his life. In addition to this delightful freebie, guests also received copies of Jonathan Rogers’ The World According to Narnia, miniature editions of the upcoming edition of Sacred History magazine which features a glorious artwork by Carly Castillion of Lewis himself, full color articles by Mr. Gresham and a myriad of information regarding the upcoming film including a small poster. The edition will be released for December 2005. In addition to freebies, the halls were lined with several booths offering Lewis and inkling books, a round the clock running trailer and small documentary on the album inspired by the film compliments of Narnia on Tour, and various other sundries which knew the art of singing to one’s pocket.

It is clear from the enormous response to this conference that the focus on these works is not merely a passing fad. The Inklings are on the move and they are deftly and swiftly making it Past Watchful Dragons.

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Audible.com features free Narnia audio downloads for you! Listen at their website!

Publisher’s Summary

Narnia…the land beyond the wardrobe door, a secret place frozen in eternal winter, a magical country waiting to be set free.

Lucy is the first to find the secret of the wardrobe in the professor’s mysterious old house. At first her brothers and sister don’t believe her when she tells of her visit to the land of Narnia. But soon Edmund, then Peter and Susan step through the wardrobe themselves. In Narnia they find a country buried under the evil enchantment of the White Witch. When they meet the Lion Aslan, they realize they’ve been called to a great adventure and bravely join the battle to free Narnia from the Witch’s sinister spell.

This was the first book written in The Chronicles of Narnia. It now stands as the second book in the series, preceded by The Magician’s Nephew.

[Audible.com]

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From Disney’s Europe Web Site:

The four Pevensie children from this Christmas’s eagerly anticipated release of The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe are to be “revealed” in London’s Leicester Square this Wednesday October 12th at the 10th Anniversary launch of National Schools Film Week.

The as yet unknown children, Lucy (Georgie Henley, 10), Edmund (Skandar Keynes, 13), Susan (Anna Popplewell, 17) and Peter (William Moseley, 18) will be available for pictures and sound bites from a specially created “Mini Narnia” in the Leicester Square gardens as part of the anniversary celebrations.

This will be the first occasion the four children will step out together in public before the World Premiere on December 7th, where they will join the rest of the cast: Tilda Swinton, James McAvoy, Jim Broadbent, Ray Winstone, Dawn French and Rupert Everett at London’s Royal Albert Hall for this year’s Royal Film performance in the presence of HRH The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall.

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Empire Magazine has an article about Narnia in their November 2005 edition, on Newstands in the UK now. Here are scans from the magazine and a transcript of the article below.

Empire Magazine Scans

The full image of Susan and Lucy

Frankly, last Christmas felt a bit empty – and that’s not just because we gave you our heart (but the very next day, you gave it away), but because we were bereft of a suitable mass-appeal fantasy epic to replace The Lord of the Rings. This year, though, we’ve got the prospect of Potter and PJ’s own King Kong, but if anything, this adaptation of the best-known of C.S. Lewis’ The Chronicles of Narnia is a more natural fit. It’s got the literary heritage, a mythical world full of bizarre creatures and a whole bundle of sequels just ripe for adaptation. “There’s obviously some similarities in scale,” says director Andrew Adamson (like Peter Jackson, a New Zealander), “but in other ways this is a very different film because it deals with four individuals and isn’t based on such an expansive story, let’s say.”

The material isn’t the equal of Rings in terms of depth and symbolism either, Adamson acknowledges. “I read [the books] when I was eight years old and it expanded my imagination [to] no end. Then I went back to it as an adult and was surprised by how little is actually in the book, how one-dimensional the characters are. I really wanted the film to expand to fill my imagination of what the story was, which will hopefully fill other people’s imaginations too.”

Hence a one-page battle in the book has been expanded on a truly epic scale, with hideous minotaurs and goblins fighting against centaurs, beavers and our four young heroes, while the conflict between Tilda Swinton’s vicious White Witch and the noble, Christ-like lion, Aslan (voiced by Liam Neeson), will also be deepened. Although buzz is positive, Shrek veteran Adamson’s first foray into live-action has given him his share of headaches.

“It’s a little different with live-action,” he concedes. “But when you’ve got the set around you it’s much easier to get the actors into the headspace. I don’t have to sit around and go, ‘Okay, now you’re standing on a beaver dam.’ I put them there.” He laughs. “Although, after this I’d be happy to go and make a film with five actors sitting round a microphone!”

Starring Tilda Swinton, Liam Neeson, James McAvoy
Director Andrew Adamson
Plot During World War II, four children are sent to live in a country mansion and discover a doorway to the magical land of Narnia.
Out December 8

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**Spoilers – LWW and The Last Battle Article also includes some more adult topics, reader discretion is advised.. thank J.K. Rowling for that**

Recently, there has been much ado about Susan, the Pevensie that falls away and does not return from a life of materialism. We’ve got two fan essays, here in our Fan Section about the fate of Susan. It is a topic that has always seemed to strike a chord, and a very sharp one, with readers of the series.

What is it about her fate that hits the reader so strongly? I have a feeling, and this is a generalization on my part, that it has to do with ourselves. We all know may know someone that is like Susan, or may even ourselves be much like her character. The idea that you or I could be so like a fallen character hits some of us like a resounding gong.

from TheOnion.com’s AV Club interview with Neil Gaiman:

AVC: Your short story “The Problem Of Susan,” about C.S. Lewis’ Narnian character, has finally been published, though for years you said it could never see print because of the copyright issues. Did that turn out to be a problem in the end?
NG: Nobody’s sued me. Some of it was trying to figure out how to craft the story so that C.S. Lewis’ estate lawyer would say “I probably couldn’t get an injunction against this. This is borderline, but you could probably get away with it.” And I think that I probably did. I hope. It’s a problem story. Every now and then, someone comes up to me and says “That was an enormously wonderful story,” and other people get really offended by it. One woman described it as “blasphemous,” which I loved, that a potshot at a fictional lion from a series of children’s books could be seriously described as blasphemous. It’s just one of those moments where you look at a children’s book and there’s a thing that sticks in your head and irritates you. I was amused to see an interview with J.K. Rowling in Time where she started going off about the problem of Susan again. It’s the thing that sort of Philip Pullman hates about the books, though he hates the books and I love them. But that’s the thing he focuses on most of all. So I was trying to write a story that would address that issue, and also the wider issue of how people relate to children’s books and death. It is an intensely problematic story, and I don’t actually know if it’s any good.

AVC: It’s a difficult story to interpret, because the original characters had such defined symbolic values, and it’s hard to tell whether you’re creating your own symbolism, or subverting C.S. Lewis’.
NG: And also the fact that when you start getting into it, is what part of the text actually belongs to which of the characters in it. And for that matter, quite literally, whether the Professor is meant to be seen as what Susan grew up to be, or is merely an interpretation. Mostly, it just seems to be a story that people either love, or it pisses them off. American Gods did that, which took me rather by surprise. I was so used to doing stuff that people either really liked, or didn’t read. So for the first time with American Gods, I found I’d written something that people liked or hated. And the people who hated American Gods are absolutely articulate about why it never should’ve been published in the first place, why it’s a book of astounding terribleness. And people who love it can similarly tell you why it’s one the best books they’ve read in their whole life. Both points of view left me rather puzzled.

AVC: Because of the hyperbole?
NG: Partly the hyperbole factor, and partly because I didn’t think I was writing the best book anyone would have read in their whole life. Nor did I think I was writing an incompetent heap of drivel.

Neil Gaiman is a big fan of Narnia (I’m a fan of his, but this recommendation comes with reservations and for adults only). The comments that he is referring to, by J.K. Rowling, are these, from Time Magazine:

The most popular living fantasy writer in the world doesn’t even especially like fantasy novels. It wasn’t until after Sorcerer’s Stone was published that it even occurred to her that she had written one. “That’s the honest truth,” she says. “You know, the unicorns were in there. There was the castle, God knows. But I really had not thought that that’s what I was doing. And I think maybe the reason that it didn’t occur to me is that I’m not a huge fan of fantasy.” Rowling has never finished The Lord of the Rings. She hasn’t even read all of C.S. Lewis’ Narnia novels, which her books get compared to a lot. There’s something about Lewis’ sentimentality about children that gets on her nerves. “There comes a point where Susan, who was the older girl, is lost to Narnia because she becomes interested in lipstick. She’s become irreligious basically because she found sex,” Rowling says. “I have a big problem with that.”

Where Rowling goes wrong is in attributing Susan’s fall to her becoming “irreligious because she found sex.” This is something that she put in, but is not implied in the Narnia novels. Susan has become engrossed with the world and with material things. While this could include sex, that is something that is primarily up to the reader to add and is certainly not implied by Lewis, when he speaks of her interest in Lipstick. Granted, Rowling is a fan of C.S. Lewis, for the number of books in the Narnia series is the reason that she’s doing seven Harry Potter books.

What I believe Lewis is trying to show, is that people can and do fall away from their faith, even when they have witnessed miracles, that faith takes more than just a one time thing, it is something that must be worked on, and practiced. If you’ve read this, thank you for sticking around.. I apologize for the abrupt ending, but I must depart for Bible study.

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Why Susan Can’t Come Home
By Lia Harrison

**Spoilers – LWW and The Last Battle**

Those who have read all of the Chronicles, particularly The Last Battle, know that Narnia as we know it comes to an end and that all of the heroes and heroines from all of the stories unite in the “real Narnia,” which compares to the Narnia of the tales in the way that the real world compares to Aristotle’s cave, with one notable exception. When meeting the children from the other world, Tirian brings Susan’s absence to the high king’s attention. Peter replies simply that “Susan is no longer a friend to Narnia.”

This, obviously, is the reason that Susan is not there. Taking this statement out of context, we wonder what it means. After all, Susan fought in the battle that led to the defeat of the White Witch, the embodiment of evil and Narnia’s greatest foe, and was for a time and thus forever Queen of Narnia (”Once a king or queen in Narnia, always a king or queen.”). If that’s not enough, what is required to be a friend to Narnia?

We find, though, with some elaboration from Eustace, Jill, and Polly that Susan has changed. Even after they went back to England, Peter, Edmund, and Lucy still remembered as they grew older, as did Eustace and Jill. Even Digory and Polly who were given more time to forget than all of them remembered and waited for the time when they could return to Narnia. Susan, however, overpowered by the world of the “Shadow-Lands” around her, stopped believing. Polly said of this, “She wasted all her school time wanting to be the age she is now, and she’ll waste all the rest of her life trying to stay that age.” Lewis is commenting on the tendency of people to fix upon the world around us and our time on Earth instead of concentrating on our eternal souls and our time after this life. Susan has become so deeply immersed in her world of “nylons and lipstick and invitations” that she ceases to believe that Narnia and Aslan even exist, just as many people don’t believe that Heaven and Jesus–as he is to the Christian religions–do not exist. Eustace recalls her saying at the mention of Narnia, “What wonderful memories you all have! Fancy your still thinking about all those funny games we used to play when we were children.”

Then we wonder how a queen of Narnia could stop believing. If we pay close attention when we read, we find that Susan’s faith is not as strong as that of her siblings nor is her willpower. In The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, she seeks a course of action from the others. When talking with the professor about Lucy’s presumed lies or possible madness and upon first entering Narnia, her question is, “What do we do?” When she does have an opinion, it leans toward caution and safety. She advises against continuing into Narnia when they find the news of Mr. Tumnus’ arrest, and she advises against continuing the hunt of the White Stag–the success of which being rewards limited only by the borders of the imagination–upon encountering the lamp-post and the strange feeling of what lies beyond it. In Prince Caspian, she advises against the exploration of the unfamiliar land and against clearing out and exploring the building they find even in the face of the realization that it is the ruins of their own Cair Paravel. She tends to follow the others because her preference for the safety of numbers overrides her preference for the safety of the known. In The Horse and His Boy, she does not even go to fight the invading Calormenes. By this time, she is “not like Lucy, you know, who’s as good as a man, or at any rate as good as a boy. Queen Susan is more like any ordinary grown-up lady. She doesn’t ride to the wars, though she is an excellent archer.” Not only does this preface what we learn later about Susan concerning herself more with clothes and boys than Narnia, but it calls into question the depth of her devotion for Narnia. We know that it’s possible for all of the kings and queens to leave the castle at one time because they all go to hunt the White Stag at the end of LWW, but Susan will not even go to defend a country against a warring party that is advancing toward her own Narnia. Even her gift from Father Christmas in LWW is a distance weapon. Both Peter and Edmund wield swords, requiring them to be in the midst of any battle. Lucy carries her vial of healing potion that requires her to tend the victims. Susan, however, receives a horn and a bow and arrows. Both allow her quite a bit of distance from the events that affect the future of a country she is to rule. Therefore, it’s not terribly surprising that, of the four, she is the one who stops believing.

Still, though, she had done much for Narnia. This then begs the question, what makes this crime so awful that she cannot join the others in their final and greatest adventure? It’s considerably more passive than Eustace’s selfish and dishonest behavior upon his arrival in this world in The Voyage of the Dawn Treader and, as a crime against Narnia, is not even in the same league as Edmund’s outright betrayal in LWW or Emeth the Calormene fighting against Narnia in the name of Tash (the antichrist) in LB. The difference is that each of these characters realizes the error of his ways and allows Aslan to fix them. After trying unsuccessfully to do it himself, Eustace allows Aslan to peel off his dragon skin. When Edmund joins his siblings on Aslan’s side, Aslan dies for Edmund’s sins. When the Calormene soldier recognizes the dishonesty that goes with serving Tash and the goodness that goes with serving Aslan, Aslan counts all the good deeds he’d done in the name of Tash as good deeds done in the name of Aslan. They realize the error of their ways, but Susan persists in her belief that Narnia is just make-believe. How can Aslan fix that?

Aslan shows us the answer to this question with the dwarfs in LB, who fight against everyone because they cannot see what is right in front of them. As a demonstration of what he can and cannot do, Aslan presents them with a “glorious feast” and “goblets of good wine,” and they only taste rotten vegetables and dirty water. He cannot fight free will, and the dwarfs, as well as Susan, have made their choice.

The Bible states in John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” All that is required to be a “friend to Narnia” is belief, and, though she never opposes Aslan, Susan denies him, commiting the same betrayal Judas did.

Like the second coming of Jesus, Aslan comes to the “Shadow-lands” one final time to take the true believers to live happily in the “real Narnia” for eternity. Lewis is pointing out the falsehood in the commonly held belief that God is all-forgiving or that all sins are automatically forgiven because Jesus died. Realization of the wrong done and repentance for it are required before forgiveness can be given. No matter what kind and good things Susan has done or how good a person she may have been, she is left behind to face judgment because does not believe.

At this point, Susan cannot be redeemed. The way to the “real Narnia” is through the Narnia that we know of through the stories, and that Narnia is ended. If there were another way, Lewis would have mentioned it as he mentioned that the end of LWW was the end of the wardrobe but the beginning of Narnia. It could be said that Susan’s siblings along with Eustace, Jill, Digory, and Polly had to go to fight that last battle of Narnia, but why the Pevensie parents, as well? They all had to go because it was their last chance. Aslan gave Peter the order to shut the Door. Then Peter “took out a golden key and locked it.”

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