A Question on Fauns...

[Dr.Cornelius]

Anyone have any idea of the average faun life expectancy? I've been looking online and in the books, but if it's there somewhere I haven't been clever enough to riddle it out...

Mr. Tumnus seems to age as humans do, since by the time the children are grown and hunting the White Stag, he is a "middle-aged Faun and beginning to be stout," I believe.

But then, he tells Lucy all the tales of the Fauns and the Nymphs and the Dryads from before the Witch's 100-year winter. He /couldn't/ have been alive at that time, if he has a normal human life span...perhaps the tales were passed down from his father? But then, that'd still be an awfully long lifespan for his father...perhaps his /grandfather?/

And, on that train of though, anyone have an idea what Tumnus' father's name was? I suppose it's all pure speculation, really, but I couldn't even find the etymology of 'Tumnus' in order to find a suitable name for his father.

I am not just meticulously interested in details...I was thinking about writing a fanfic, but I wanted to see if there was any canon basis before flailing about and improvising madly. Thank you!

[Green Knight]

Fauns are a race of Fairy, so they would have the potential to be immortal. As with all things of fantasy, their lifespan depends on the author of the story.

[holyboy]

And, on that train of though, anyone have an idea what Tumnus' father's name was? I suppose it's all pure speculation, really, but I couldn't even find the etymology of 'Tumnus' in order to find a suitable name for his father.

*looks in LWW*

It never clearly states what Mr Tumnus' father name was in the book. All it says is,

"My old father, now...that's his picture over the mantlepiece."
-Mr. Tumnus, LWW Lions Edition Pg 23

I guess you get to improvise! :)

[Dr.Cornelius]

Oh goodness gracious mercy me, improvisation. *laughs* Thank you very much, at least now I'm not afeared of contradicting any canon. Well.../directly/. But thank you very much and hoorah for free reign. ;)

[Namaste]

Let ua know when you get your fan fiction finished, I'd really like to read it. :)

[lili]

i think mr. tumnus is like... over 100 years old. i have 2 reasons to believe this.
1- he says to Lucy "you made me feel warmer than i felt in 100 years" (or sumthing like that)
2- i think he was there before the white witch came to narnia coz he talks like he was and that a long time ago, too. :cool:

[Lion]

Me is thinking he is about 100 in it cause he says that thing to lucyy about never feeling good in 100 years :)

[EmilyRose]

Yep I agree. Tumnus must be more than 100 years old. Fauns are immortal I believe. As they are a race of Faery. Further more I believe he says Lucy has made him feel warmer than he has in 100 years....so that pretty much answers that question. Now...here is another question...how old is the witch?

[Archmage_lord]

But if he's around 100 year old... then all those Lucy/Tumnus pairing fanfics... :eek:

[Aslan'sFriend410]

I agree. 100 seems right.

[pavender]

But if he's around 100 year old... then all those Lucy/Tumnus pairing fanfics... :eek:

His AGE is what is wrong with those fics?????

lol, anyway, I think Tumnus is over 100 during LWW because of his statement about feeling warmer than he had in 100 years. But I didn't think that he was immortal - for he's not still around by the time of Prince Caspian, and there is also a pretty intense reunion between him and Lucy in the new Narnia at the end of TLB. (Unless of course fauns are immortal like the LOTR elves, and can be killed by blade or flame - which means possibly the Telmarines may have killed him along with other Old Narnians when they invaded).

Oh, and to the person who asked if he had been in Narnia before the Witch came, it would be hard for this to be possible as the Witch was in Narnia from it's very beginning. She followed Digory and Polly in when Aslan was breathing Narnia to life, and ate an apple from the orchard which was naughty, naughty. :) I don't know how long it was until she overthrew Frank and Helen or their descendants and began her reign but you would think it would be quite some time before this happened as their descendants were Kings and Queens of Archenland too, and as far as we know Archenland was established at the time of LWW.

[PeaseantGirl]

there are Lucy and Tumnus pairings?!?!?! EWW!!!! Lucy is like... 8, and I'm guessing that Mr Tumnus is probably around..... 150. But he doesn't look a day over 19! And, about Mr Tumnus's dad, call me crazy but.... has anyone else noticed that the professor looks a bit like Mr Tumnus? Seriously!! I believe that Professer Digory Kirke is secretly Mr Tumnus's dad, and he kept the secret so well that not even C S Lewis knew it! *nodds* so my theory is that he was in the war, then he chased a wolf or something to the lamp post area, then got lost, and ended up in the wardrobe in the spare room. And he couldn't get back in, so he stayed in the house, waiting for the wardrobe to open again so that he could go back to Narnia!!! And that is why he seems so eager about Lucy's story, and seems so sure that it's true.

[PrinceOfTheWest]

I don't think there's any indication that fauns are immortal or even long-lived. In the book, in the chapter The Hunting of the White Stag, Tumnus is referred to as a "middle-aged" faun (who was beginning to be stout, as happens to many of us in middle age :)) right at the end of the Golden Age. I think the 100+ years bit, as well as the inference that Tumnus' father fought and died in the war at the beginning of the Witch's reign, are inventions of the scriptwriters. Not that I think they detract all that much from the story.

[PeaseantGirl]

I don't think that they're immortal either! I think that they just have an extremely long lifespan that seems normal for them.

[Archmage_lord]

[QUOTE=PeaseantGirl]there are Lucy and Tumnus pairings?!?!?! EWW!!!! Lucy is like... 8, and I'm guessing that Mr Tumnus is probably around..... 150. But he doesn't look a day over 19! [QUOTE]

That never stopped fanfic writers -_-

But the few that I've read involve Lucy being much older, so that gets rid of the problem...

Trust me, if people can come up with Peter/Susan, they're not scared of age differences!

I never tried writing a Narnia fanfic... maybe I should...

[PeaseantGirl]

as long as you dont do gross pairngs. wait...... SUSAN AND PETER PAIRINGS??? OH MY GOD!!!!!!! THAT IS JUST SICK!!!!!!!!! am I the only one here who thinks that the professer is mr. tumnus's father?

[Archmage_lord]

am I the only one here who thinks that the professer is mr. tumnus's father?

I think you are... It says somwhere in the book that the proffessor never got married. I don't see the resemblance between the two, but it's still plausable :D

[PeaseantGirl]

well, I still think that its there... the resemblence, I mean...

[Archmage_lord]

I'll try to notice it next time.

[PeaseantGirl]

Alright. :)

[lieke]

http://www.jamesmcavoy.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=204&mode=thread&order=0&thold=0

in this interview whit Georgie Henley and James McAvoy they say that tumnus is 150 years old

[Namaste]

I think that in this case I'll go with the book over the movie. I'm currently writing a fan fiction, though I wouldn't say it's sick, there is a chemistry in the story between these two characters, though it is very subtle. Lucy is closing in on 19 in this story, so there's nothing sick about it. In real life, we read in the paper about celebrities who are in their 50's dating women who are in their 20's, and if we can get beyond judging them, them perhaps there is hope left for fan fiction as well.

Yes, I will admit that some of the fan fiction is far out there, some I will not even read, as a lot of it has absolutely no storyline, no plot, just this pairing stuff, and generally poor grammar and spelling. However, in defense of those who do try to write a good story or weave a good yarn, it's not really fair to lump all stories that link these characters into one batch as being 'sick'. I have seen quite a few stories with Lucy and Tumnus that are exceptionally well written, the stories themselves are believable and there are good plot structures and themes in them.

Having read some of the comments here on this particular topic, I don't really know if I will post my story when it's finished. I am not afraid of constructive critiques, however, I do not like to post where only one type of story is acceptable and the rest are shoved under the rug. I have written stories since my early twenties, and I like to read whatever it is I read with a fair amount of objectivity.

The other story I started posting here, no one seems interested in, so I may just post another part or forget about it completely. Although, this is not a pairing story, but it was written several years back, and it is a story where a girl ends up in Narnia, but there is no romance in it, as the girl is 8-years-old. The new story, I don't know if or when I will post it. I have really been dragging my feet for years about registering at fanfiction.net, but that seems to be the only place where Narnia stories are actively posted, and yes, I have been known to read a few of them.

[Archmage_lord]

I think that in this case I'll go with the book over the movie. I'm currently writing a fan fiction, though I wouldn't say it's sick, there is a chemistry in the story between these two characters, though it is very subtle. Lucy is closing in on 19 in this story, so there's nothing sick about it. In real life, we read in the paper about celebrities who are in their 50's dating women who are in their 20's, and if we can get beyond judging them, them perhaps there is hope left for fan fiction as well.

Yes, I will admit that some of the fan fiction is far out there, some I will not even read, as a lot of it has absolutely no storyline, no plot, just this pairing stuff, and generally poor grammar and spelling. However, in defense of those who do try to write a good story or weave a good yarn, it's not really fair to lump all stories that link these characters into one batch as being 'sick'. I have seen quite a few stories with Lucy and Tumnus that are exceptionally well written, the stories themselves are believable and there are good plot structures and themes in them.

Having read some of the comments here on this particular topic, I don't really know if I will post my story when it's finished. I am not afraid of constructive critiques, however, I do not like to post where only one type of story is acceptable and the rest are shoved under the rug. I have written stories since my early twenties, and I like to read whatever it is I read with a fair amount of objectivity.

The other story I started posting here, no one seems interested in, so I may just post another part or forget about it completely. Although, this is not a pairing story, but it was written several years back, and it is a story where a girl ends up in Narnia, but there is no romance in it, as the girl is 8-years-old. The new story, I don't know if or when I will post it. I have really been dragging my feet for years about registering at fanfiction.net, but that seems to be the only place where Narnia stories are actively posted, and yes, I have been known to read a few of them.

I didn't mean to bash at Tumnus/Luct fanfics. I think the idea is adorable! I was talking about the Peter/Susan, Peter/Edmund ones... :p

[Namaste]

It wasn't you, Archmage_lord, it was someone else, but I agree, the topic of brothers and sisters feeling that way absolutely creeps me out. That is the topic of fan fiction that I simply wouldn't read because no matter how well written it is, it doesn't work, not given the makeup of these particular characters. The thing is, I want to remain as true as I can to Narnia, perhaps not entirely as CS Lewis intended, as he didn't write much about the children being grown up in Narnia, and that is actually what I write, but I want nothing more than to keep the characters in character, and not have them do things that they simply wouldn't do.

Lucy and Tumnus is an area where if not too graphic can create a good storyline that people can relate to in some way (shyness, insecurities and so on), however, what I'm trying to do is make this a part of the story, not 'the story'. My story is turning into quite an adventure a la Narnia. Since Narnia is, first and foremost an adventure to me, the romance must not be in the forefront, but it can be a sub-plot if the concept works. Then the story can appeal to even more readers and it doesn't get lumped into one catagory. I hope that makes sense.

[PeaseantGirl]

I hate it when people take a perfectly innocent realsionship like Lucy and Tumnus, and turn it into 'flirting', and say that they are 'in love'. Lucy is like 8 years old, for gods sake!!!

[Namaste]

I won't mess with CS Lewis' Narnia where Lucy is 8 years old, that is, I will only write where she is older, not where she is still a child. Being an adult writer, it would come across silly if I tried to write a fan fiction with a character someone else created who is a small child. That is, I will not write Lucy as 8-years-old, I cannot better a piece of literature that is already top drawer.

Secondly, if I write anything Narnia based, it is going to have the characters being older as opposed to being younger (as in a year or so before the hunt for the white stag, when Lucy is an adult!). CS Lewis did write that the children grow up after they are crowned, but he is very vague about what experiences they could have had as rulers of Narnia, which could have easily been made into a complete book, but he chose not to, his antagonists remained kids, but the end of LWW is a fan fiction writer's paradise, because it does present the possibility to write something about those adult years when the kids have grown up. None of the fan fiction that I have seen has presented Tumnus and Lucy as a child unless the writer is writing the normal friendship between the two characters, that is no romance.

That basically means, any sort of relationship between her and Tumnus when she is a child is absolutely absurd and would never happen, thankfully so. I personally love the childhood friendship they share, but when she gets older, nothing was defined by the original writer about her feelings. That is, no one can conclude with 100% accuracy what happened to these characters during those years. CS Lewis left all those events between their coronation and the hunt for the white stag to the readers' imaginations. I think that is a very good option because then he maintains the innocence of childhood that way...although I see nothing innocent about the issue of war, but that's a grievance for another day.

I want to also say that just from hanging around this forum, that most of the teenagers are going through the issues of being 'in love', dealing with 'love' and having certain feelings for others, either with their peers, an actor or musician. To say it doesn't happen or it shouldn't happen, is absolutely absurd, because as much as people may deny it happening, it does. Kids grow up and they do experience these feelings, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with them. What is wrong is to say that the expression of love, or the emoting of feelings is. This is why I am inspired to write this story, to explore those feelings that I had when I was a teenager, but to also explore how Lucy could have changed from the time that she was that innocent child to a grown woman.

PeaseantGirl, you are obviously not reading what I said specifically about this topic, but are blanketly making judgments on something that you assume to be completely in the right about. I hate to say it, but I made it very clear that I would never write something as twisted as a romance between an eight-year-old girl and anyone; I don't care if it's a faun, or a guy of some kind. There do remain some age groups as being off limits with romantic relationships, and that age group definitely belongs in that catagory. But before you judge something, perhaps you should go back and reread LWW's last chapter. Lucy is no eight-year-old there, at least she wasn't before coming back to our world.

[PeaseantGirl]

PeaseantGirl, you are obviously not reading what I said specifically about this topic, but are blanketly making judgments on something that you assume to be completely in the right about. I hate to say it, but I made it very clear that I would never write something as twisted as a romance between an eight-year-old girl and anyone; I don't care if it's a faun, or a guy of some kind. There do remain some age groups as being off limits with romantic relationships, and that age group definitely belongs in that catagory. But before you judge something, perhaps you should go back and reread LWW's last chapter. Lucy is no eight-year-old there, at least she wasn't before coming back to our world.
No, I wasn't. I was not saying that you were doing anything wrong. I was merely stating that, because I had just been on a different thread, where someone basically came out and said Mr Tumnus was a pedophile, and I was angry about that. I didn't mean that they would never have feelings for eachother when she was older, I meant when she was still an eight year old child, and I said that because there are some sick freaks who say that Mr Tumnus was going to try to rape her, or some crap like that, pardon my french. I have nothing against fanfics with her and Tumnus together, when she is a grown woman. It's when people make fanfics in which thwey get together when she is a kid.

[Namaste]

In that case, I know what you are saying completely, and I agree the whole issue of Tumnus being some sort of creepy stalker type does get me angry. I loved his character the most since I was a little girl, and cannot fathom that people would actually make that sort of statement or reach that sort of conclusion, but sadly they do. This world is not the safe place it used to be, when I was a kid there wasn't statements about a faun (non-human creature) and a child being friends. Today, in a short span of 30 years, things have changed, and the conclusions people draw are as scary as the conclusions themselves.

Now I do understand why you said that, and I do agree.

[PeaseantGirl]

Thank you, and it is so true! Mr Tumnus is my favourtie character. And I do wish that I could live in a time and place where kids (like me lol) could go for a walk, and go have tea, or in my case, hot chocolate, with a complete stranger! Because I do believe that a stranger is just a friend waiting to happen, but you would never know, because these days, a kid sees a stranger, and they cross the street immedietly, if they're outside at all.

[Namaste]

Yes, sadly things have changed since I was a kid, but things were also not so easy back then. I grew up in the 70's and 80's, but I cannot imagine what kids today must deal with, but that's getting a bit off topic.

I guess when CS Lewis wrote the Chronicles, things were a lot different. When I consider that the character of Lucy is older than my mother or my mother-in-law, then I start to realize how much things must have changed. That was what I liked so much about these characters is how trusting Lucy was.

[PeaseantGirl]

ya. and in a way, I think that mainly that is what Narnia is about, trust. Lucy trusted Tumnus, Edmund trusted Jadis, bad choice though... And everyone Susan Peter and Lucy trusted the beavers, and everyone except Jadis trusted Aslan.

[tumnuslover13]

I absolutely love Tumnus/Lucy Fanfix. I thought it was gross when I first heard about it but several facts changed my mind. Earth time and Narnia time are very different as you probably know, and Fauns age differently than humans. So who's to say that Tumnus and Lucy didn't come into existance at the same time? The Pevensie's left Narnia for about one year, and when they came back to Narnia it was thousands of years later! Also all of the Fanfiction is when Lucy is much older, so it's not like she's dating him at 8 years old. This is just a bunch of wonderful stories, by wonderful authors, and they make the connection between Lucy and Tumnus so real. When your reading these stories it's like Tumnus and Lucy were meant for each other. It's not meant to be sick and twisted in any way. Here is a bunch of stories. Not all of them are Tumnus/Lucy based but they are still wonderful!

http://www.fanfiction.net/c2/24974/3/0/1/

[fairytalegirl]

but he LOOKS young...lol

[♣Teh Deviant♣]

When I read the books, I never thought about Tumnus and Lucy, like...together......but when i saw the movie, I think that the way James as Tumnus looks at georgie as Lucy rises some suspicions. I dont mean it in a bad way, theyre really good actors, but, at least for me, it looked like they were liking the groove. :D