No words can describe how much I love C.S. Lewis’s The Chronicles of Narnia. It was such an important story in my life. While my friends grew up loving Harry Potter and The Lord of the Rings — which I also admire reading and watching — nothing beats the love I have for Narnia.
It feels like a “Home Story.” I may watch a bunch of movies, read a thousand books, hear a million fairytales before bed, but when asked what my favorite story is, the answer will always be the Chronicles of Narnia. And, I am talking about the whole series, not just a book from the seven masterpieces.
It‘s just so personal to me. It makes me dream of a place where animals can talk and everything I love was there. Dragons, adventures, friendship, and family. The salvation for my sin and the wisdom of the One True King.
I believe I read something about Tolkien and Lewis (as they are both members of the Inklings) arguing about the world-building of Narnia since it has different creatures. As if the world doesn’t make sense. I agree that it doesn’t. However, Lewis defended that as long as this world has whatever he wants, he is okay with it.
I am okay with it. In fact, I love it.
C.S. Lewis has been my writing hero as I have grown up. Because of Narnia, I was encouraged to write. I dreamed of making a world where everything I love was there. And although right now, my writing style is nowhere near his masterpiece, it is still pushing me to be better and just write what I love.
He is my hero, and I would love to discuss Narnia someday in heaven when we meet.
Narnia is one of the reasons I understand Jesus’ saving work for us. As I read the book when I was young in my walk with Christ, it made me realize that the sacrifice for the undeserving was given by a loving God — not any drop of our effort was the cause of this love. It was His choice.
I knew that, along my journey, I would grow up. I was scared of the process. I might forget the feeling of loving this story so much. I didn’t want to forget.
But, eventually, it happened. I grew up.
I almost forgot the magic of books and stories. Right after high school, I became too busy to read books and watch movies. I experienced technology during college. Soon after I become a programmer. We can say that I have become one with technology. Right after graduation, I focused on my career and made traveling my one hobby.
I forgot the magic of imagination and explored the magic of the world I am living in. And that was not bad. I experienced a lot of heartache and trials that made me stronger. I experienced the world as it is. Flawed, but with the strength given to us, it is bearable.
I’ve had my own adventure outside the Book of Narnia and, to be honest, it’s not bad. I’ve seen treachery in a far more complex structure than Narnia introduced. I’ve experienced some consequences Aslan didn’t undo. I experienced friendship on a deeper level and have held on to family like the last branch on a cliff.
One conversation with a friend made me think I might not be the Narnia fan I used to be when he asked me about my favorite movie. I named a different film I recently watched (which I have totally forgotten now!). I remembered if the high school version of me had answered the question, the answer would have been The Chronicles of Narnia, regardless of the movies’ accuracies to the book.
Oh, I am not a fan anymore, I thought.
On my journey as a programmer, I came across a path wherein I had to write something about a specific problem we encountered. The instruction given was, “Just write in an essay form…”
I created many drafts, but they felt like I was writing a step-by-step documentation. The problem was it needed to be written in story form — following the article type here on Medium.
Here’s the story that I wrote here on Medium that kinda kickstarted my writing desire again.
Somehow, the reads and claps for this article grew and made me remember the feeling of writing. The feeling of being appreciated because of my writing came back.
That is the reason I started writing again. I started writing my personal thoughts about anything. By doing so, I came back to reading. How I missed the feeling of reading!
That is the reason for all my articles here. I missed it so much my emotion exploded through the articles I wrote — even stories written in my own language:
Then, after that, I decided to re-read The Chronicles of Narnia — for old times’ sake. My purpose was just to go back to my childhood, but what I found was a greater treasure.
Not just that I remembered why I love these books. They also speak to me as an adult. They talk to me as if I was someone who had a long adventure from far away, and now I am finally home. I started studying these books in a deeper context. I even started reading other books by C.S. Lewis (Mere Christianity and The Four Loves).
After re-reading the seven books, one thing remains on my mind.
Spoiler Alert: Queen Susan didn’t make it back to Narnia. She fully embraced the growing up thing and totally forgot about it.
Queen Susan didn’t make it back to Narnia — at least in the final book.
I’ve read some answers as to why Lewis ended her story that way. Some say that he died before writing her final story and some say he was finding it hard to write.
Some say he let the readers write their own version.
I am not sure, from what I came up with through my research, of the reason, but I will hold on to that last one. I believe it was not a coincidence that he ended her story that way. I believe it was written as an open ending, as our lives as readers are the final chapters.
Reading that ending as a child, I just fully accepted it. “Well, if she is so weak to forget about the greatest adventure of all, she doesn’t deserve Narnia.”
But reading it as a grown-up, I fully understand her. Narnia is a great adventure but so is life itself.
The one thing I realize is that I thought I didn’t love Narnia anymore just because I was already an adult. The truth is, I am an adult. I can appreciate the story even better now.
We all know that The Chronicles of Narnia is a fictional story but with a Christian root. As I studied the character of Aslan being the creator and the biggest twist at the end, I realized the story covers the adventure of knowing.
Knowing that there will be trials.
Knowing that Aslan will always be with you.
Knowing that family and friendship is important.
Knowing that honesty and bravery are needed.
Knowing that we are not enough.
Knowing that help always comes.
What we have, outside Narnia, is the adventure of walking.
Walking with the trials.
Walking with God by our side.
Walking with the blessing of our companion.
Walking with our morals in our hearts.
Walking even though we are incomplete.
Walking to help others.
We never left Narnia. We are the unwritten story of the place we love.
Her story is open-ended because I believe we are the ones who need to end it. It is our choice how to end her adventure.
She was left in a world unwritten, just like ours. Facing the sadness and loss.
As I hear Regina Spektor’s song “‘The Call,” which she wrote for the movie Prince Caspian— the fourth book — I believe this is not a song for this part of the series. It is a song for Queen Susan after the seventh.
The call will eventually come to her after her unwritten journey to the world. Without magic, or even her siblings or a professor, she will hear the call again to remember. Just like us.
I know that Queen Susan will hear Aslan’s voice the way we hear God’s voice now. We can hear it on the streets. We can see His love through the beauty we found at the center of all the storms that are happening. We can feel His love with the people we love — related or not.
Aslan’s voice is the calm we feel even when we are so tired of all the fights that we have.
This time, there were no horns to take her back. No wardrobe was needed for her to enter. No rings she could wear to see Narnia — no painting nor enchantment.
What she had was the voice for this world. The voice of the great Lion in the world without magic — but with the same courage and love that she experienced in Narnia. She would know His name. And everything would be clear, that the Narnia we all knew was just part of the greatest adventure.
“In your world, I have another name. You must learn to know me by it. That was the very reason why you were brought to Narnia, that by knowing me here for a little, you may know me better there.”
Aslan of Narnia, Voyage of the Dawn Treader