How the Professor knew

[MrBob]

In this book, Eustace describes how the Professor got everyone together as he had a feeling Narnia needed help. How he could have known that is a mystery.

However, in VotDT, it states that the Professor has somehow gotten poor since LWW and had to move out of his large house and into a smaller one.

So basically, my question is do you think there is a connection between the two? Was the Professor trying to get back to Narnia or doing things to find out more about Narnia that ate up so much of his money?

MrBob

[EveningStar]

I think Digory Kirke was profoundly influenced by his encounter with Aslan, the White Witch, Charn and Narnia. His pursuit of an academic career is hardly surprising...he had all sorts of grand ideas about the universe and the meaning of life that sprang from this well of inspiration.

As for him losing his fortune, well, I'm sure he did not get that big house from a teacher's salary. No I rather think he invested in stocks and bonds.

When was The Last Battle? In 1947 earth time. The war was over. The economy was changing. Perhaps the company he counted upon to grow and grow ended up growing right into the ground.

John

[~Lava~]

I believe it is more like '48. anyhow, Aslan has his ways of getting what he wants. Even if it means giving a premonition to the Professor.

[AslanFollower]

It says in the Magician's Nephew that Professor Kirk had inherited the house.

[MrBob]

When was VotDT Earth time? It matters not when TLB was. He was out of his house iv VotDT.

My thinking was that he had sort of put Narnia out of his mind as he grew up and he and Polly went their separate ways. Suddenly, he gets a new stirring of the old days when he hears the Pevensies talking about their adventure in Narnia. Perhaps he starts to use his money to start trying to find out more about possibilies of different worlds, or more gates to Narnia.

MrBob

[Srob]

I don't think he "put Narnia out of his mind." I believe that at the end of MN, Lewis tells that Digory and Polly spent many summers together after their encounter in Narnia. I'm sure they always stayed in touch and spoke of Narnia in secret.

[inkspot]

Maybe Diggory gave alll his money away. He inherited his big house -- maybe he sold it and gave the money to the poor. He was getting elderly even in LWW times, so perhaps he knew he would be going to meet Aslan soon, and he didn't have any children to leave an estate to. I like to think he realized such a huge house and grounds for one old man was not so necessary, and he could do good things with the money if he sold it ...

What do you think?

[Into the Wardrobe]

Well, as Christians, we have the gift of the Holy Spirit and sometimes we will have things on our hearts that just nag us till we deal with them. Maybe what the professor would have felt was something similar. He just had the thought, urge, need, to get everyone together and as much as he'd try to dismiss it, it wouldn't go away. He wasn't up for talking about Narnia that much as seen at the end of LWW and his advice to the kids. I suppose that is how the professor knew to get everyone together. He didn't need a big place to do that in...just big enough for the friends of Narnia to hang out together. Besides, the Pevensie's were a bit older and they might have had or earned some money to help get everyone together if necessary...I don't recall the books saying that the professor paid for them all to meet.

[Narborg]

I don't think there is a conction. The Pfof. seems to have bean alredy studing the idea of other wolrds and philosophy which he meets the Pevinces. The books make no mentyin of him giving his money to the poor, it just say he got very poor. How is not stated, but as alrady said, he cant have got much for his work, and the house was inherited.

[inkspot]

I know it doesn't say how he got poor. I was just guessing. What about this ... because he is so old (think about what Lewis says about the clothes he and Polly wore as children, they were practically Victorian), we know he is soon to die and move on to Aslan's country. Maybe at that age, in a fellow who had tried in this world to remain close to Aslan, the "distance" between the two worlds began to close? Maybe he sort of had one spiritual "foot" in Aslan's country, and one in our world, because he was about to cross over. And this gave him the connection to Narnia which informed him the children were needed there.