The World Beyond the Wardrobe

"I had not realized that girls grow quicker than books. As a result you are already too old for fairy tales, and by the time it is printed and bound you will be older still. But some day you will be old enough to start reading fairy tales again” (Lewis, The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe vii). Thus states the dedication in The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe. It reveals C.S. Lewis’s goal: to create a fairy tale for readers of all ages. By all accounts, he succeeded. The Chronicles of Narnia is one of the most beloved series of all time, resulting in numerous movie adaptations and selling over 85 million copies in the first fifty years of publication. Lewis’s masterful writing use of mythical creatures, allegory and notable themes allows the reader to become immersed in the world of Narnia (Lovgren).

Lewis’s mishmash use of creatures in The Chronicles of Narnia lends the series a unique atmosphere. Nevertheless, his friend and peer editor J.R.R. Tolkien did not agree with his melting pot method for mythical creatures. Tolkien believed mythology should be neatly packaged. Unlike his orthodox friend, Lewis liked the mood that the multitude of myths offered. Peter Schakel, an English professor at Hope College, agrees with Lewis. “‘For fantasy purist like Tolkien, the eclecticism of the Narnian world is a serious hindrance…But for general readers, Lewis eclecticism and inclusiveness becomes one of the primary attractions of the series’” (qtd. in Lovgren). The Chronicles of Narnia is truly a jumble of creatures and cultures, both from classic mythology and Lewis’s own head. He borrowed from Roman, Greek and Norse mythologies and mixed them together in the world of Narnia (Lovgren).

From Roman and Greek mythology, Lewis employed cent...

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...the most notable example of this theme is exemplified in Eustace during The Voyage of the “Dawn Treader.” Like Edmund, he struggles to conquer his sin nature and petulance. During the first half of the voyage, he is hateful to everyone on the ship. His diary pages in chapter five reveal his ungrateful nature and twisted perspective. The apex of his struggle occurs on Dragon Island. After Eustace wanders off from the main party, he stumbles upon a dragon’s cave. He gathers up the treasures in the cave and falls asleep. He awakes a little later into a living nightmare. “Sleeping on a dragon’s hoard with greedy, dragonish thoughts in his heart, he had become a dragon himself” (Lewis, The Voyage of the “Dawn Treader” 75). “The dragon is a symbol of the power of sin to entrap, captivate and imprison people” (McGrath). Eustace was trapped in a prison of his own making.