the chronicles of narnia the last battle book

My thesis is that rather than being monumentally disparaging of girls and women and blatantly racist, the Narnia stories are quite progressive in both these areas. The same could be said for the diverse, multi-racial population that sets Narnia apart from other imaginary lands. You would think they would be exactly the kind of heroine that Lewis’s accusers would applaud. After all, his female protagonists are just as bright, capable, adventurous, and interesting as their male counterparts. I am going to start out with some representative accusations because if you aren’t aware of them, you may question why we need for a paper defending Lewis. Still I hope to provide some new ways of thinking about this topic.

Since this topic has been addressed in part by others in many different places, for some of you, much of the ground I cover will be familiar. I will first provide a few representative accusations, then consider the relevant passages from the books themselves, and finally offer a brief explanation for why these attacks are so vehement. Lewis and the Inklings Society Conference, Inklings: Dinosaurs or Contemporaries, I could have titled my talk, “A Dark Queen, Mixed-Race Kings, and Girls Whose Heads Have Something in Them: Lewis’s Contemporary Stance on Race and Gender in The Chronicles of Narnia.” In keeping with the theme of the 12th Annual C. What is needed is a comprehensive look at these issues. Lewis’s supporters have often done little more than provide knee-jerk reactions to these attacks. Pullman’s outburst is typical in that 1) it is a hit-and-run assault rather than a fair investigation, 2) it fails to cite any actual writing by Lewis, 3) it ignores any material which would contradict it, and 4) its summary of what actually happens in the stories is inaccurate.

Pullman’s tirade is typical of the attacks on Lewis’s position on race and gender in the Chronicles of Narnia, attacks which began around twenty years ago and continue to pop up every now and then. One girl was sent to hell because she was getting interested in clothes and boys.” “It is monumentally disparaging of girls and women,” Pullman claims. The headline in the Jissue of The Guardian boldly announced, “Narnia books attacked as racist and sexist.” In the article we find several scathing pronouncements about the Narnia series from author Philip Pullman. Lewis and Inklings SocietyĪre The Chronicles of Narnia Sexist and Racist? Given as the Keynote Address at The 12th Annual Conference of The C.

The chronicles of narnia the last battle book