What you need to know about The Chronicles of Narnia. Modern children and Narnia: is it worth reading the epic about the magical world

The Great Lion - God, who is the creator of the entire universe. The veneration of Aslan is the true religion practiced by the Narnians, a departure from which leads to various detrimental consequences.

At various times, on the territory of Narnia or near it, Witches acted, who rejected the veneration of Aslan, and persecuted for belief in Aslan or her approval. The evil spirits of Narnia, which existed in different periods of its development, are distant from Aslan and oppose him.

In the south of the Narnian world, in Tarhistan, there is a disgusting cult of Tash, according to Narnian ideas, a goddess who requires human sacrifices. Her main temple is in Tashbaan. The temple has a statue of Tash, made of stone and covered with gold, with diamonds set in its eye sockets. She has the body of a man, the head of a bird of prey, and four arms. The fingers end in claws resembling bird beaks. There is a belief among the worshipers of Tash that whoever looks into Tash's face immediately dies. At the same time, it is believed that in such a death lies the goal of the life of any believer.

Aslan himself remarks that Tash is his religious antipode. If Aslan symbolizes Life, Light, Joy, Truth, then Tash is Death, Darkness, Grief, Lies. Moreover, the person who swore by the name of Tash and kept the oath actually serves Aslan. Conversely, the liar who called Aslan is actually serving Tash.

Also in Tarhistan, the veneration of Zardinakh is known - the mistress of darkness and virginity, to whom the girls who were about to get married were sacrificed.

In addition to Aslan, his Father is mentioned.

At different periods of its development, bursts of atheism appeared in the Narnian world. For example, among the dwarves in Narnia, a similar tendency (of atheism or religious indifference) was observed several times quite clearly, either as a denial of any faith or as a willingness to use anything to achieve a goal. Also, atheism could be characteristic of some noble Calormenes, in any case, such a phenomenon was recorded in a later period. It is not known whether the Telmarines had a religion, but most likely they ignored the cult of Aslan, but were subject to superstitions - belief in the ghosts of the southern forests, etc. Some representatives of the nobility could be more or less atheistic, but not most of the Telmarines. Ordinary soldiers, seeing the revived trees and Aslan, fell into a stupor and surrendered, despite the fact that the inhabitants of Old Narnia, including the giants, did not inspire serious fear under the leadership of a strong leader like Miraz. Confirmation is the victory of the bodies of the Marines, starting from the time of Caspian the Conqueror. Even the fear of the sea and forests did not prevent the Telmarines from keeping garrisons along the coast (one of these intercepted Tram) and, if necessary, to fight in the forests, and more successfully than the Narnians themselves. Caspian faced this when Miraz tracked down the Narnian army and inflicted a series of defeats to the Narnians. Only the sudden death of the king and the appearance of walking trees, Aslan and the disappearance of the bridge demoralized the Telmar soldiers, allowing the few old Narnians to take them prisoner. In addition, the very fact of losing their king in a duel, according to Telmar customs, meant the defeat of the army and the absence of the leader their commander (Glozel and Sospesian, instead of command, got involved in hand-to-hand combat with the Narnians)

Geography

Narnia is the entire created secondary world, and the country, as is obvious, is at its center. For the first time in this world, life appeared on the territory of this country. All other territories were inhabited by people from Narnia and / or aliens from the Earth / possibly other worlds.

narnia

The name "Narnia" is associated not only with the Narnian world, but especially with the country of Narnia within this world, which the Creator - Aslan - filled with talking animals and mythical creatures. Narnia is a country of mountains, plains and hills, a sufficient part of the country is covered with forest. In the east, the country is bounded by the Eastern Sea, in the west by huge mountains, in the north by the Shribble River, in the north-northwest there are plains and the same mountains, and in the south there are other mountains that separate Narnia from Orlandia.

Castles, cities and settlements. The residence of the Kings is the castle of Cair Paraval, at the mouth of the Great River. The castle of Miraz and the castle of the White Witch are known. Cities on the river - Beruna, Beaver Dam and Chippingford (Late Narnia period).

The kings of Narnia can only be people (or creatures with dominant human blood) - "children of Adam and Eve."

The human population is of the Caucasoid (Anglo-Saxon and probably with the same subsequent admixtures) type. The genera of the original royal dynasty and aristocracy mixed with naiads and dryads, forest and river gods.

Orlandia

Orlandia is a mountainous country south of Narnia. In the north it is bounded by mountains, in many respects of which the territory of Orlandia consists, and in the south - by the Orlyanka River. The residence of the king at Anvard Castle, in the heart of the country. Other cities or settlements in Orlandia are not mentioned, although there is probably a certain port-prince of Cora pro-Archistan-minded nobles kidnapped on a ship, while King Lum pursues them on the ship. Orlandia in all the texts of the Chronicles is in alliance with Narnia and constantly turned out to be independent - neither the White Witch, nor Tarkhistan nor Telmar captured it.

The beginning of Orlandia was given by settlers from Narnia; there are no known external intrusions into the anthropological/national image of the Orlanders.

The first king of Orlandia was the youngest son of one of the Narnian kings, the dynasty was not interrupted and did not change. The Orlanders did not attempt to restore hegemony in Narnia because of the small armed forces. The institute of chivalry is developed in the country.

Tarkhistan

Tarkhistan ( English Calormen, from lat. calor "heat") is an empire in the south of the Narnian world. Most of the country has a subtropical and temperate climate. The Great Desert is located in the north of the country and is a natural barrier that has protected Orland and Narnia from the powerful Calormenes for centuries.

The cultural center of Tarhistan is a river that flows from west to east along the southern edge of the Great Desert. The capital - Tashbaan - is located on an island in the middle of the river. The most important provincial centers are connected by roads and regular courier service. The official cult-worship of the goddess Tash (from whom the Tizrok family and the noblest Tarkhans lead), and a number of less significant deities. In the west and south, wars are being fought with rebels and independent countries, of which the Chronicles indirectly mention Orland and Narnian merchants and ambassadors, who usually visited Tashbaan and in the north of the country and had little interest in such matters.

It was founded by a group of fugitive criminals who came from Orlandia and, obviously, settlers from the Earth / another world of the Iranian-Afghan and / or Semitic-Arabian (Arabids) anthrotype (or other similar types). A strong army (not only plate cavalry but also chariots, the army is so large that a detachment of a thousand spears is considered small), shipping and a navy are developed. Developed state post office, branched bureaucracy. The positions of the feudal aristocracy-Tarkhans are strong, but the ruler-Tizrok is an absolute monarch. Developed slavery. Tarhistan is the largest buyer of slaves, but the main productive forces are free community members.

Telmar

The area northwest of Narnia. In the year 300, it was mastered by Tarkhistan. In 460, the lands are seized by pirates who have fallen on Earth on an uninhabited island and discovered a passage between the worlds. In 1998, from the creation of Narnia due to a terrible famine, Telmar unleashes a war and conquers the Narnia kingdom, which was in turmoil. This happened about nine hundred years after the Pevensie disappeared. Cornelius mentions a certain Great Battle in which the outcome of the war was decided, and some of the gnomes, having escaped from the battlefield, mimicked people. The Telmarine kings begin a new dynasty of Narnian kings. The positions of powerful lords are strong, with whom even the king has to reckon. Feudal relations are developed, but the power of the king is strong, but not like in Tarchistan, it is bound by tradition and lords. The Telmarines have a strong army, frequent wars with the giants are mentioned (in particular, Miraz sent the disloyal aristocratic house of Passarides to the war with the giants of Ettismur) Developed primary education. There are rudiments of sciences and even scientists-scribes and magicians.

For unknown reasons, the Lonely Islands came into the possession of the kings of the house of Caspian the Conqueror, but due to the lack of a fleet, the power of the Telmar kings before Caspian the Navigator there was nominal and the governor turned into an uncrowned ruler patronizing pirates and slave traders. But the governors did not refuse formal loyalty to the kings of the Telmar dynasty and mentioned the many edicts and decrees sent from Narnia and by which (as Governor Gump assured) they were guided.

According to the Chronicles, the Telmarines are of a pure Caucasoid type, like the Orlanders and the original (before the Great Winter and the arrival of the Telmarines) Narnians.

East Sea

The White Witch (Jadis) appears in four books in the series: The Sorcerer's Nephew, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, The Silver Chair, and is briefly mentioned in Prince Caspian.

Jadis - the last ruler of the world of Charn, who destroyed this world (this is described in the book "The Sorcerer's Nephew"); she got to Narnia because of the actions of the hero of the first book of Digory; it is also said (in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe) that her progenitor was Lilith, and that the blood of genies and giants flows in her veins. Jadis looks like a very tall, beautiful and cold woman.

At the time of the events taking place in the book "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe", the Witch keeps Narnia in obedience for a hundred years, shackling her with eternal winter. It is with her that the four children who got into Narnia have to fight. She was killed in a battle with Aslan.

In Prince Caspian, a witch and a werewolf talked about the possibility of her being revived.

The book "Silver Chair" describes another Sorceress - appearing in the form of the Green Lady, capable of turning into a huge snake. Its origin is not entirely clear, but the narrator mentions that this is the same Witch who bound Narnia with ice.

Witches are known among the inhabitants of Narnia, but these are creatures of a different, incomparably lower level than sorceresses.

Mythical creatures

Other inhabitants of Narnia have prototypes in earthly mythology: Centaurs, Dragons, Dryads, Naiads, Fauns, Maenads, Minotaurs, Pegasus, Phoenix, Satyrs, Sea Serpents, Werewolves, Witches, Unicorns, Griffins, gods of rivers, forests, etc. ( despite the fact that Lewis was a Christian), etc.

There is a semblance of an angelic hierarchy - the people of the Stars.

Cosmology

Astronomy

The constellations in the sky of Narnia are different from those on earth. The summer constellations Ship, Hammer, Leopard are mentioned. The northern pole star of the sky of Narnia is called the Spearhead and is brighter than the North Star of the Earth. Prince Caspian was shown the approach of the planets Tarva, the Lord of Victory, and Alambil, the Lady of the World. The planets are visible in the southern part of the sky (which excludes the inner planets), and converged at an angular distance of less than a degree. Such a rapprochement can only be seen once every two hundred years. The moon shines brightly in the sky of Narnia. Narnia has a magnetic field strong enough to use a magnetic compass.

Multi-world

The world of Narnia is one of the countless worlds that includes both our world and the world of Charn. These worlds are connected by means of the Forest-Between-Worlds. This is a place with a special magic, soothing and pacifying for some, dangerous for others. Penetrating from one world to another through the Forest-Between-Worlds is possible with the help of special artifacts.

It is also mentioned that all real worlds are only spurs of the mountains of Aslan.

Time

Visitors to Narnia have noticed that the flow of time while they are away from their dimension is completely unpredictable. Usually time in the world of Narnia runs faster than in their home world, but this is not always necessary. Based on the fact that Aslan is able to create transitions between Earth and Narnia, most likely all other portals are subject to him and he can control their directions and the passage of time. This means that time must flow in both worlds independently of each other.

Ways to get into Narnia

Through Forest-between-worlds with the help of special yellow and green rings that have the magic of returning, through the magic of a mysterious substance - sand, which belonged to the culture of sunken Atlantis, from which these rings were made. This is how Digory and Polly ended up in the first chronicle, The Magician's Nephew. After his adventures in Narnia, Digory buried the rings in the garden. In the last book of the Last Battle series, the heroes wanted to dig up the rings in order to send Eustace and Jill to help Tyrian in Narnia, but they die and are transported to Narnia at the behest of Aslan.

Through Wardrobe. So first Lucy, and then the other children of Pevensie, got to Narnia in the second chronicle The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.
Through a cave on one of the islands. Thus the pirates came to Narnia and settled in the land of Telmar.
If someone calls from Narnia. Aslan can call, or the one who possesses Horn Susan. So called Caspian X Pevensie children in the chronicle "Prince Caspian".
Through picture. In the chronicle "Traveler of the Dawn," or "Swimming" to the "end of the world"
The most significant events in the history of Narnia

1 Aslan gives life to Narnia with his song, creating the stars and the sun, earth and water, nature and talking animals. Digory Kirk and Polly Plummer unwittingly bring several outsiders with them to Narnia, including Jadis, Queen of Charn. Digory plants the Tree of Protection. Jadis runs north. Francis I becomes King of Narnia.
180 Prince Kohl, youngest son of King Francis V of Narnia, leads his associates to unsettled Orlandia and becomes its first king.
204 A band of outlaws flee Orland through the Southern Desert and found Tarchistan,
300 The Calormene Empire grows strongly. The Calormenes colonize the land of Telmar, located west of Narnia beyond the mountain range.
302 King Gale of Narnia frees the Lonely Isles from the dragon. Grateful citizens elect him emperor.
407 King Olwyn the Fairhair of Orland defeats Pyr, the two-headed southern giant, by turning him to stone. So there was Mount Pira - a two-headed peak.
460 Pirates from our world accidentally enter Narnia and capture Telmar.
570 About this time there lived a hare named Moonlight.
898 Jadis returns to Narnia under the name of the White Witch and declares herself Queen of Narnia.
900 The Hundred Year Winter begins in Narnia due to the spell of the White Witch.
1000 Four Pevensies appear in Narnia. Edmund's betrayal. Aslan's self-sacrifice. The defeat of the White Witch and the end of the Long Winter. Peter becomes High King of Narnia.
1014 King Peter undertakes a successful campaign against the northern giants. Queen Susan and King Edmund visit the court of the Calormene Tisroc. King Lum of Orland finds his lost son Prince Kor and repels the treacherous attack of the Calormenian prince Rabadash.
1015 Four Pevensies hunt the White Hart and disappear from Narnia.
1050 Ram the Great inherits the throne of Orland.
1052 Queen Swan lived around this time.
1998 Caspian I the Conqueror leads the campaign of the Telmarines against Narnia and conquers it. He becomes King of Narnia. The old Narnians are forced into hiding.
2290 Birth of Prince Caspian, son of Caspian IX. Miraz kills his brother Caspian IX and usurps the throne.
2303 Prince Caspian flees from his uncle Miraz. Civil War in Narnia. With the help of Aslan and Pevensie, whom Caspian summons with Queen Susan's Magic Horn, he manages to defeat Miraz. Caspian reigns under the name of Caspian X.
2306-2307 The great voyage of Caspian X to the End of the World.
2310 Caspian X marries the wizard's daughter Ramanda.
2325 Prince Riliane is born.
2345 The queen dies from a snakebite. Riliane disappears.
2356 Eustace and Jill arrive in Narnia and rescue Prince Riliane. Death of Caspian X.
2534 Three watchtowers are built to protect Lamppost Plain from frequent robber raids.
2555 Deception of Cunning (a donkey dressed in a lion's skin, they pass him off as Aslan). Calormenes infiltrate Narnia. King Tyrian is rescued by Eustace and Jill. Narnia is captured by the Calormenes. Last fight. End of Narnia.

Technique and weapons

Crossbow - used by the Telmarines in the films "Prince Caspian" and "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader". Not in the books.
A bow is a weapon used for archers. In the books, the only ranged weapon. Narnian Gnomes are skilled in archery. Bows are also used by Telmarines and Calormenes. boarding.
The sword is a weapon for defeating the enemy. In Tarkhistan, they prefer a curved scimitar, in Narnia. Telmar and Orland, a straight double-edged sword.
The spear is the main pole weapon. It is used by both infantry and cavalry, including centaurs. It is also used as a hunting weapon.
Chain mail is the main armor in the world of Narnia. With the exception of the Calormenian chain mail, Narnian, Orland and Telmar (and possibly island) chain mail are similar. Separately, there are chain mail of gnome work, the best in the world of Narnia. These were used by Peter and Edmund. The cavalrymen of Tarhistan and the Telmar warriors of Miraz and Caspian all wear chain mail. But if the Tarzestans use low round helmets with a spire wrapped in a turban and small round shields, then the rest of the human warriors prefer keonic helmets and triangular shields.
Brigandin - in the film "Prince Caspian" the main Telmarine armor along with a morion helmet and a round or oblong shield with the "Macedonian sun". In the books, Telmarines wear ordinary light chain mail.
The battle ax, along with the bow, is a favorite weapon of the dwarves. People also use it - Caspian the Navigator, upon hearing of the loss of his son, almost hacked Lord Drinian with a battle axe. The anti-air crossbow is a weapon of the Telmarines. It was used to destroy air targets and ground manpower.
The catapult (trebuchet) is a powerful weapon of the Telmarines. Used to defeat the Narnians. Appeared in the movie "Prince Caspian".
Sewing machine - belongs to Beaver in the book "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe".
The stone staff is Jadis' weapon. If you touch a living creature with a staff, it will turn to stone.

The girl told about Narnia, but no one believed her. By chance they meet and decide to return to Narnia. The tentative title of the tape is The Chronicles of Narnia: The Silver Chair. Completed in the spring of 1953 and published in 1956, The Last Stand describes the end of the world of Narnia. Before Edmund returned, Peter was knighted by Aslan in Narnia.

The children must once again save Narnia and help the Narnians return the throne to the rightful ruler, Caspian. The book The Silver Chair was completed in 1951 and published in 1953. In it, Eustace and his classmate Jill Pole, running away from schoolchildren, end up in Narnia.

Digory Kirk and his girlfriend Polly Plummer enter other worlds as a result of Uncle Digory's experiment, meet Jadis (White Witch) and witness the creation of Narnia.

There comes a point when Susan, who has become a grown-up girl, is already lost to Narnia because she is interested in lipstick. Lewis does not approve of this. Either he did not like women in general, or he was simply repulsed by sexuality, at least during the period when he wrote books about Narnia. The basis was the negative presentation of other races and religions, especially the Calormenes, as the enemies of Aslan and Narnia.

The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian - released in 2008. They made Prince Caspian the second film, because otherwise the actors would have had time to grow up. The Chronicles of Narnia: The Treader of the Dawn Treader was released in December 2010. The film has a new director, with Michael Apted as the new director. She was gone for half a day (so much, in her opinion, she was in Narnia), although in the real world a few seconds had passed.

However, Professor Kirk's house is an intermediate link between our world and the world of Narnia.

At night, Lucy again went into the closet and ended up in Narnia, and her brother Edmund followed her quietly, in order to go unnoticed. In Narnia, after a short showdown and reconciliation, they go to the faun Tumnus and find out that he was arrested by the police of the White Witch (only then her name sounds - Jadis). From them they learn that there is a prophecy - when the two sons of Adam and the two daughters of Eve come, they will defeat the Witch and return peace to Narnia. There, for the first time, they hear Aslan's name.

He explained that in the new world, only the two of them feel grief: Digory for his sick mother, and he for the evil that has entered Narnia.

After short credits, Lucy asks Professor Kirk if they will return to Narnia again. He answers positively and adds - they will return when they do not expect it. The film takes place in two worlds; accordingly, all items and costumes are divided into items from our world and items from the world of Narnia.

Aslan instructs to find the son of Caspian - Prince Riliane, who was kidnapped 10 years ago. Eustace and Jill, together with the wakle Gloomy, go in search of the prince to the northern lands inhabited by giants. Completed in the spring of 1950 and published in 1954, The Horse and His Boy is the first book that is not a direct continuation of the previous one.

But it is widely believed that the original order is preferred, which first introduces the basic terms of the Narnia universe and later explains them in the prequels. Lewis, as an expert on allegories, argued that the books were not allegories and preferred to refer to the Christian aspects in them as "speculative". Like in what we call alternative history (fiction). Henscher and Pullman also accused The Chronicles of Narnia of inciting racism.

Waking up, she learns that Narnia has been under the rule of the White Witch for a hundred years, which requires every person to be given to her. Tumnus takes the girl to the place where they met

Edmund, being in captivity, sees Tumnus there. She then turns Tumnus into a statue and rides after Lucy, Peter and Susie, who escaped in time with the beavers. Meanwhile, the White Witch, chasing behind, turns the fox into a statue, and gives the order to gather her army against Aslan. And Peter, Susie, Lucy and the beavers come to Aslan's camp to see him. The children tell the truth about Edmund, and the Great Lion promises to help, which he did.

The action in our world takes place in 1940, and the style corresponds to that time.

She recalls the Arcane Magic and says that, in accordance with her instructions, Edmund - whose blood is now the property of a witch - should be executed. He walks through the woods at night and is found depressed by Lucy and Susan.

They then race to the ice palace and revive all the creatures that Jadis has frozen (including Tumnus the Faun). I loved books very much as a child. However, not all animals and mythical creatures in the film are fake.

The first type is a weapon that was made in the same way as it was done in the Middle Ages. Filming began on June 28, 2004, with the first scene featuring children in a train car. The production of the film ended in December 2004, with a break for the Christmas and New Year holidays, but then there were three more weeks of filming. Aslan sent Digory and Polly to the garden where the tree of eternal youth grew. He showed Peter the castle of Caer Paravel, and at that moment the sound of Susan's horn rang through the camp.

In the world of Narnia, there are almost every mythological creature ever invented,” says Richard Taylor. So ended the adventure in the wardrobe. But if the Professor is right, then the adventures in Narnia are just beginning.” After being in Narnia for fifteen whole years, they were absent from the real world for less than a minute.

He was the reason for the flight of the heir to the throne into the forests and, having usurped the throne, declared himself king. The children must once again save Narnia and help the Narnians return the throne to the rightful ruler, Caspian.

(1952)

was completed in 1950 and published in 1952. In the third part, Edmund and Lucy Pevensie, along with cousin Eustace Wreed, join the voyage of Caspian, who wants to find the seven lords banished by Miraz. On their way to the country of Aslan, they come face to face with the wonders and dangers of the great Eastern Sea.

Silver armchair (1953)

Book Silver armchair was completed in 1951 and published in 1953. In it, Eustace and his classmate Jill Pole, running away from schoolchildren, end up in Narnia. Aslan instructs to find the son of Caspian - Prince Riliane, who was kidnapped 10 years ago. Eustace and Jill, together with the wakle Gloomy, go in search of the prince to the northern lands inhabited by giants.

Horse and his boy (1954)

Completed in the spring of 1950 and published in 1954, Horse and his boy- the first book that is not a direct continuation of the previous one. The setting of the novel is the period of the Pevensie's reign in Narnia, a period that begins and ends in the book Lion, Witch and Wardrobe. The story is about a talking horse, Igogo (Brie), and a little boy named Shasta. Both main characters fell into slavery in Tarchistan, a country in the south of Narnia. By chance they meet and decide to return to Narnia. While traveling, they discover that the Calormenes are about to invade Orlandia, and decide to get there first and warn King Lum.

Wizard's Nephew (1955)

Completed in the winter of 1954 and published in 1955, Wizard's Nephew is a prehistory. It takes the reader back to the birth of Narnia, when Aslan created the world, and tells how evil first entered it. Digory Kirk and his girlfriend Polly Plummer enter other worlds as a result of Uncle Digory's experiment, meet Jadis (White Witch) and witness the creation of Narnia. The book provides answers to many questions about Narnia that the reader may have while reading previous books.

last fight (1956)

Completed in the spring of 1953 and published in 1956, last fight describes the end of the world of Narnia. Gil and Eustace return at the call of the last King of Narnia, Tyrian, to save Narnia from the monkey Cunning, who dresses the donkey Burdock in a lion's skin and introduces himself to the others as Aslan, and begins to rule on his behalf and cooperate with the Calormenes, longtime enemies of Narnia. Cunning also announces that Tash and Aslan are one and the same, and calls Aslan Tashlan (Tash + Aslan). The situation turns into a battle between those who believe in Aslan and those who are on the side of the impostor...

Reading order

External Order vs Internal Order

Outer Order	internal order
1. Lion, Witch and Wardrobe ()	1. Wizard's Nephew ()
2. Prince Caspian: Return to Narnia ()	2. Lion, Witch and Wardrobe ()
3. The Voyage of the Dawn, or Swimming to the End of the World ()	3. Horse and his boy ()
4. Silver armchair ()	4. Prince Caspian: Return to Narnia ()
5. Horse and his boy ()	5. The Voyage of the Dawn, or Swimming to the End of the World ()
6. Wizard's Nephew ()	6. Silver armchair ()
7. last fight ()	7. last fight ()

The Russian-language version was published in the following order: "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe", "The Sorcerer's Nephew", "The Horse and His Boy", "Prince Caspian", "The Dawn Treader", "The Silver Chair", "The Last Battle". The storyline was changed in such a way that the subsequent book describes the phenomena or events mentioned in the previous one. For example, from The Magician's Nephew it becomes clear what relation Professor Kirk has to Narnia from the book The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.

Geographic influences

According to some reports, Lewis based his description of the world of "Narnia" on the basis of the landscapes of the Morne mountains, County Down, located in his native Northern Ireland.

According to other sources, this is a district in Italy.

Christian Parallels

There are different points of view whether the numerous Christian images are an accident. Beginning with the biblical address at the beginning of the novel: "daughters of Eve", to the resurrection of the lion Aslan, similar to the resurrection of Jesus. Many believe that, in opposition to his friend John Tolkien, Lewis decided to write a children's book created on a Christian basis, while Tolkien also actively uses pagan symbols. Lewis comments on the attribution of Christianity in Other Worlds:

Some people seem to think that I started by asking myself how to teach children about Christianity; then, using the fairy tale as a tool and relying on information about child psychology, I decided for which age group I would write; then he compiled a list of basic Christian truths and worked out allegories to describe them. All this is pure fantasy. I couldn't write like that. It all started with images: a faun carrying an umbrella, a queen on a sleigh, a magnificent lion. Initially, nothing related to Christianity was planned, this element appeared as if by itself.
original text(English)

Some people seem to think that I began by asking myself how I could say something about Christianity to children; then fixed on the fairy tale as an instrument, then collected information about child psychology and decided what age group I’d write for; then drew up a list of basic Christian truths and hammered out ‘allegories’ to embody them. This is all pure moonshine. I couldn't write in that way. It all began with images; a faun carrying an umbrella, a queen on a sledge, a magnificent lion. At first there wasn't anything Christian about them; that element pushed itself in of its own accord.

Lewis, as an expert on allegories, argued that the books were not allegories and preferred to refer to the Christian aspects in them as "speculative". As in what we call alternative history (fiction). As he wrote in a letter to Mrs. Hook in December 1958:

If Aslan represented an immaterial deity in the same way that Giant Despair represents despair, then he would be an allegorical character. In reality, he is an invention, as if giving an answer to the question “What could Christ be like if there was a world like Narnia, and He would decide to incarnate, die and rise again in this world, as He did in ours?” This is not an allegory at all.
original text(English)

If Aslan represented the immaterial Deity in the same way in which Giant Despair represents despair, he would be an allegorical figure. In reality, however, he is an invention giving an imaginary answer to the question, 'What might Christ become like if there really were a world like Narnia, and He chose to be incarnate and die and rise again in that world as He actually has done in ours?' This is not allegory at all.

The book "The Treader of the Dawn" has a lot of images from early medieval books about fantastic travels by sea, in particular from "The Voyage of St. Brendan". It is quite logical that Lewis, who lived in Ireland, could not have been unaware of the travels of the Irish saint.

Criticism

Clive Staples Lewis and The Chronicles of Narnia have been criticized on numerous occasions, mostly by other authors.

Discrimination against women

There comes a point when Susan, who has become a grown-up girl, is already lost to Narnia because she is interested in lipstick. She became an unbeliever because she discovered gender issues, and I don't like that at all.

Susan, like Cinderella, undergoes a transition from one phase of her life to another. Lewis does not approve of this. Either he did not like women in general, or he was simply repulsed by sexuality, at least during the period when he wrote books about Narnia. He was terrified and appalled at the idea of wanting to grow. […] Death is better than life; boys are better than girls; light-colored people are better than dark-colored people, and so on. There is more than enough such nasty nonsense in Narnia if you look closely.
original text(English)

Susan, like Cinderella, is undergoing a transition from one phase of her life to another. Lewis didn't approve of that. He didn't like women in general, or sexuality at all, at least at the stage in his life when he wrote the Narnia books. He was frightened and appalled at the notion of wanting to grow up. […] Death is better than life; boys are better than girls; light-colored people are better than dark-colored people; and so on. There is no shortage of such nauseating drivel in Narnia, if you can face it.

In many of Lewis's works, for example, The Foulest Power, the maturation of a woman (and a man too) as an escape from infantilism and a superficial attitude to life, the development of maturity of judgments and actions is expressed in the adoption of behavioral motivation and moral values, specifically related to issues of gender, associated with spiritual, not materialistic, secular perception of the universe.

Lewis's defenders argue that much of the criticism of his writing comes from those who do not convert to Christianity. Some [who?] believe that the religious aspect of Lewis's books interferes with a truly objective analysis of The Chronicles of Narnia as an ordinary children's book. Lewis fans support him, arguing that it is completely pointless to write children's books strictly adhering to all modern Western ethical standards. If literary critics consider other classical works to be in line with modern social norms, they should not criticize Lewis. Lewis's apologists also cite positive female characters in his books, such as Lucy Pevensie and Aravita, the heroines of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and The Horse and His Boy, respectively, as well as Jill Pole in The Silver Chair and "The Last Battle". The essence of the fact that Susan ceased to be a friend of Narnia is not in “stockings, lipsticks” and other manifestations of narcissism, but deeper, based on matters of faith, in the Christian worldview of C.S. Lewis, which is most clearly revealed precisely in the “Space Trilogy”, especially in the third part of it - "The Foulest Power".

Racism

Henscher and Pullman also accused The Chronicles of Narnia of inciting racism. The basis was the negative presentation of other races and religions, especially the Calormenes, as the enemies of Aslan and Narnia. Calormenes are described by Lewis as an oily and dark-skinned people who wear turbans, pointy-toed shoes, and are armed with scimitars. This description is an allegorical comparison with the traditional attire of Muslims and Sikhs. Turbans are worn by Muslim clerics and by most adult Sikh males. Scimitars originated in the Middle East and are associated with Islam. Calormenes worship a "false god" - the goddess Tash, who has a stereotypical image of Baal, who demands evil deeds and sacrifices from his followers. Lewis's Calormene is contextually and historically similar to the Ottoman Empire, which is why Henscher and Pullman believe that the Calormenes are depicted as Saracens, and the Narnians as medieval crusaders. The Baltics with Slavs and Balts, and are not shown in the best colors. Many of the Telmarine realities are reminiscent of the Norman conquerors of England and the Anglo-Norman barons.

Although Lewis is from Ireland, it is clear that he is a distinctly British author, like his contemporaries Tolkien, Charles Williams and others. Therefore, his style may have a British Victorian feel to it that may seem old-fashioned or conservative.

Screen adaptations and radio dramas

Radio

On the radio station of the St. Petersburg Metropolitanate Radio "Grad Petrov" a radio show of the entire series of books "The Chronicles of Narnia" was released (read by Alexander Krupinin).
On BBC radio and Focus on the Family ( Family in focus) a radio play based on the Chronicles was released.

TV

In "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" was first presented on the screens of a television series. Unlike subsequent film adaptations, it is currently difficult to obtain for home viewing.
The "Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" was released as an animated cartoon. This work was awarded the Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Project.
The Chronicles of Narnia was filmed by the BBC in the television series The Chronicles of Narnia in -. Only The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Prince Caspian, The Voyage of the Dawn, or Swimming to the End of the World and The Silver Chair were filmed. The rest was not filmed.
The four parts of this series were later edited into three feature films (combining Alex Kirby's Prince Caspian and The Dawn Treader or Sailing to the End of the World) and released on DVD.

Movie

The first film The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe - a film version of the book "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe", made at the Walden Media film studio with the assistance of Walt Disney, was released in December. Project leader - Andrew Adamson. Screenplay: Anne Peacock. Filming took place mainly in the Czech Republic and New Zealand. The second film The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian was released in 2008. They made Prince Caspian the second film, because otherwise the actors would have had time to grow up. Even before the final decision was made about filming the second part, producer Mark Johnson said:

I think it would be bold to say that we're going to do another movie - but of course I would like Prince Caspian to be next because it's the only thing where all four kids are present. And if we don't shoot right away, we won't ever, because the kids will be too old for the story. This "chronicle" takes place one year after the previous one, so children can be a little older.

The third film The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader was released in December 2010. The film has a new director, with Michael Apted as the new director. Andrew Adamson is working on the film, but as a producer. Walt Disney ceases to be a partner of Walden Media, 20th Century Fox becomes a new partner. The fourth film On October 1, 2013, an announcement appeared on the network about the start of work on the fourth film. The preliminary title of the tape is The Chronicles of Narnia: The Silver Chair. The project involves C.S. The Lewis Company, represented by the heirs of Narnia creator Clive Staples Lewis, and the Mark Gordon Film Company in association with eOne. The script of the film is still in development, and the release date of the film itself is still unknown.

Influence on other works

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Notes

Literature

Natalie Nichols Gillespie.. - Thomas Nelson Inc, 2008. - S. 1. - 192 p. - ISBN 9781418573119.

Wizard's Nephew
(1955)

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
(1950)

Horse and his boy
(1954)

Prince Caspian
(1951)

"The Voyage of the Dawn", or Swimming to the End of the World
(1952)

Silver armchair
(1953)

last fight
(1956)

Characters Aslan · Peter · Susan · Edmund · Lucy · Eustace · Jill · Digory · Polly · Caspian · Riliane · Shasta · White Witch · Miraz · Frowning · Mr. Tumnus · Reepicheep World Narnia Inhabitants of Narnia State of Narnia Orlandia Calormene The Lonely Isles Telmar Cair Paravel Beruna Anward Charn Wood-between-worlds Pagrakhan Lamppost Plain Items Wardrobe Lantern Pole Susan Horn Ship Dawn Treader Walden Media Films The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005) Prince Caspian (2008) The Treader of the Dawn (2010) 20th Century Fox movie Silver Throne (2015) The series "BBC" The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (1988) Prince Caspian and the Dawn Treader (1989) "Silver Chair" (1990) Other film adaptations The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (1967) m/f The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe Computer games The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Trader

An excerpt characterizing the Chronicles of Narnia

At three o'clock, no one had yet fallen asleep, when the sergeant-major appeared with the order to march to the town of Ostrovna.
All with the same accent and laughter, the officers hurriedly began to gather; again put the samovar on the dirty water. But Rostov, without waiting for tea, went to the squadron. It was already light; The rain stopped, the clouds dispersed. It was damp and cold, especially in a damp dress. Leaving the tavern, Rostov and Ilyin both at dusk looked into the doctor's leather kibitka, glossy from the rain, from under the apron of which the doctor's legs stuck out and in the middle of which the doctor's bonnet was visible on the pillow and sleepy breathing was heard.
"Really, she's very nice!" Rostov said to Ilyin, who was leaving with him.
- What a lovely woman! Ilyin replied with sixteen-year-old seriousness.
Half an hour later, the lined up squadron stood on the road. The command was heard: “Sit down! The soldiers crossed themselves and began to sit down. Rostov, riding forward, commanded: “March! - and, stretching out in four people, the hussars, sounding with the slapping of hooves on the wet road, the strumming of sabers and in a low voice, set off along the large road lined with birches, following the infantry and the battery walking ahead.
Broken blue-lilac clouds, reddening at sunrise, were quickly driven by the wind. It got brighter and brighter. One could clearly see that curly grass that always sits along country roads, still wet from yesterday's rain; the hanging branches of the birch trees, also wet, swayed in the wind and dropped light drops to the side. The faces of the soldiers became clearer and clearer. Rostov rode with Ilyin, who did not lag behind him, along the side of the road, between a double row of birches.
Rostov in the campaign allowed himself the freedom to ride not on a front-line horse, but on a Cossack. Both a connoisseur and a hunter, he recently got himself a dashing Don, large and kind playful horse, on which no one jumped him. Riding this horse was a pleasure for Rostov. He thought of the horse, of the morning, of the doctor's wife, and never once thought of the impending danger.
Before, Rostov, going into business, was afraid; now he did not feel the least sense of fear. Not because he was not afraid that he was accustomed to fire (one cannot get used to danger), but because he had learned to control his soul in the face of danger. He was accustomed, going into business, to think about everything, except for what seemed to be more interesting than anything else - about the impending danger. No matter how hard he tried, or reproached himself for cowardice during the first time of his service, he could not achieve this; but over the years it has now become self-evident. He was now riding beside Ilyin between the birches, occasionally tearing leaves from the branches that came to hand, sometimes touching the horse's groin with his foot, sometimes giving, without turning, his smoked pipe to the hussar who was riding behind, with such a calm and carefree look, as if he were riding ride. It was a pity for him to look at the agitated face of Ilyin, who spoke a lot and uneasily; he knew from experience that agonizing state of expectation of fear and death in which the cornet was, and he knew that nothing but time would help him.
As soon as the sun appeared on a clear strip from under the clouds, the wind died down, as if he did not dare to spoil this charming summer morning after a thunderstorm; the drops were still falling, but already sheer, and everything was quiet. The sun came out completely, appeared on the horizon and disappeared in a narrow and long cloud that stood above it. A few minutes later the sun appeared even brighter on the upper edge of the cloud, tearing its edges. Everything lit up and sparkled. And along with this light, as if answering it, shots of guns were heard ahead.
Rostov had not yet had time to think over and determine how far these shots were, when the adjutant of Count Osterman Tolstoy galloped up from Vitebsk with orders to trot along the road.
The squadron drove around the infantry and the battery, which was also in a hurry to go faster, went downhill and, passing through some empty, without inhabitants, village, again climbed the mountain. The horses began to soar, the people blushed.
- Stop, equalize! - the command of the divisional was heard ahead.
- Left shoulder forward, step march! commanded ahead.
And the hussars along the line of troops went to the left flank of the position and stood behind our lancers, who were in the first line. On the right, our infantry stood in a dense column - these were reserves; Above it on the mountain, in the clear, clean air, in the morning, oblique and bright, illumination, on the very horizon, our cannons were visible. Enemy columns and cannons were visible ahead beyond the hollow. In the hollow we could hear our chain, already in action and merrily snapping with the enemy.
Rostov, as from the sounds of the most cheerful music, felt cheerful in his soul from these sounds, which had not been heard for a long time. Trap ta ta tap! - clapped suddenly, then quickly, one after another, several shots. Everything fell silent again, and again crackers seemed to crackle, on which someone walked.
The hussars stood for about an hour in one place. The cannonade began. Count Osterman and his retinue rode behind the squadron, stopped, spoke with the regimental commander, and rode off to the cannons on the mountain.
Following the departure of Osterman, a command was heard from the lancers:
- Into the column, line up for the attack! “The infantry ahead of them doubled up in platoons to let the cavalry through. The lancers set off, swaying with the weathercocks of their peaks, and at a trot went downhill towards the French cavalry, which appeared under the mountain to the left.
As soon as the lancers went downhill, the hussars were ordered to move uphill, to cover the battery. While the hussars took the place of the uhlans, distant, missing bullets flew from the chain, screeching and whistling.
This sound, which had not been heard for a long time, had an even more joyful and exciting effect on Rostov than the previous sounds of shooting. He, straightening up, looked at the battlefield that opened from the mountain, and wholeheartedly participated in the movement of the lancers. The lancers flew close to the French dragoons, something tangled up in the smoke there, and after five minutes the lancers rushed back not to the place where they were standing, but to the left. Between the orange lancers on red horses and behind them, in a large bunch, blue French dragoons on gray horses were visible.

Rostov, with his keen hunting eye, was one of the first to see these blue French dragoons pursuing our lancers. Closer, closer, the uhlans moved in disordered crowds, and the French dragoons pursuing them. It was already possible to see how these people, who seemed small under the mountain, collided, overtook each other and waved their arms or sabers.
Rostov looked at what was going on in front of him as if he were being persecuted. He instinctively felt that if they now attacked the French dragoons with the hussars, they would not resist; but if you strike, it was necessary now, this very minute, otherwise it would be too late. He looked around him. The captain, standing beside him, kept his eyes on the cavalry below in the same way.
“Andrey Sevastyanych,” said Rostov, “after all, we doubt them ...
“It would be a dashing thing,” said the captain, “but in fact ...
Rostov, without listening to him, pushed his horse, galloped ahead of the squadron, and before he had time to command the movement, the whole squadron, experiencing the same thing as he, set off after him. Rostov himself did not know how and why he did it. He did all this, as he did on the hunt, without thinking, without understanding. He saw that the dragoons were close, that they were jumping, upset; he knew that they would not stand it, he knew that there was only one minute that would not return if he missed it. The bullets squealed and whistled so excitedly around him, the horse begged forward so eagerly that he could not stand it. He touched the horse, commanded, and at the same instant, hearing the sound of the clatter of his deployed squadron behind him, at full trot, began to descend to the dragoons downhill. As soon as they went downhill, their gait of the lynx involuntarily turned into a gallop, becoming faster and faster as they approached their lancers and the French dragoons galloping after them. The dragoons were close. The front ones, seeing the hussars, began to turn back, the rear ones to stop. With the feeling with which he rushed across the wolf, Rostov, releasing his bottom in full swing, galloped across the frustrated ranks of the French dragoons. One lancer stopped, one on foot crouched to the ground so as not to be crushed, one horse without a rider got mixed up with the hussars. Almost all French dragoons galloped back. Rostov, choosing one of them on a gray horse, set off after him. On the way he ran into a bush; a good horse carried him over him, and, barely managing on the saddle, Nikolai saw that in a few moments he would catch up with the enemy whom he had chosen as his target. This Frenchman, probably an officer - according to his uniform, bent over, galloped on his gray horse, urging it on with a saber. A moment later, Rostov's horse struck the officer's horse with its chest, almost knocking it down, and at the same instant Rostov, without knowing why, raised his saber and hit the Frenchman with it.
At the same moment he did this, all the revival of Rostov suddenly disappeared. The officer fell not so much from a blow with a saber, which only slightly cut his arm above the elbow, but from a horse's push and from fear. Rostov, holding back his horse, looked for his enemy with his eyes in order to see whom he had defeated. A French dragoon officer jumped on the ground with one foot, the other caught in the stirrup. He, screwing up his eyes in fear, as if expecting every second of a new blow, grimaced, looked up at Rostov with an expression of horror. His face, pale and splattered with mud, blond, young, with a hole in his chin and bright blue eyes, was the most not for a battlefield, not an enemy face, but the simplest room face. Even before Rostov had decided what he would do with him, the officer shouted: "Je me rends!" [I give up!] In a hurry, he wanted and could not disentangle his leg from the stirrup and, without taking his frightened blue eyes off, looked at Rostov. The hussars jumped up and freed his leg and put him on the saddle. Hussars from different sides were busy with the dragoons: one was wounded, but, with his face covered in blood, did not give up his horse; the other, embracing the hussar, sat on the back of his horse; the third climbed, supported by a hussar, onto his horse. Ahead ran, firing, the French infantry. The hussars hastily galloped back with their prisoners. Rostov galloped back with the others, experiencing some kind of unpleasant feeling that squeezed his heart. Something obscure, confused, which he could not explain to himself in any way, was revealed to him by the capture of this officer and by the blow that he inflicted on him.
Count Osterman Tolstoy met the returning hussars, called Rostov, thanked him and said that he would present to the sovereign about his valiant deed and would ask for the St. George Cross for him. When Rostov was demanded to Count Osterman, he, remembering that his attack had been launched without orders, was fully convinced that the boss was demanding him in order to punish him for his unauthorized act. Therefore, Osterman's flattering words and the promise of a reward should have struck Rostov all the more joyfully; but the same unpleasant, vague feeling morally sickened him. “What the hell is bothering me? he asked himself as he drove away from the general. - Ilyin? No, he's whole. Did I embarrass myself with something? No. Everything is not right! Something else tormented him, like remorse. “Yes, yes, that French officer with the hole. And I remember well how my hand stopped when I picked it up.
Rostov saw the prisoners being taken away and galloped after them to see his Frenchman with a hole in his chin. He, in his strange uniform, sat on a clockwork hussar horse and looked around him uneasily. The wound on his hand was almost not a wound. He feigned a smile at Rostov and waved his hand in the form of a greeting. Rostov was still embarrassed and somehow ashamed.
All this and the next day, Rostov's friends and comrades noticed that he was not boring, not angry, but silent, thoughtful and concentrated. He drank reluctantly, tried to remain alone and kept thinking about something.
Rostov kept thinking about this brilliant feat of his, which, to his surprise, bought him the St. George Cross and even made him a reputation as a brave man - and could not understand something. “So they are even more afraid of ours! he thought. “So that’s all there is, what is called heroism?” And did I do it for the fatherland? And what is he to blame for with his hole and blue eyes? And how scared he was! He thought I would kill him. Why should I kill him? My hand trembled. And they gave me the George Cross. I don't understand anything!"
But while Nikolai was processing these questions in himself and still did not give himself a clear account of what so embarrassed him, the wheel of happiness in the service, as often happens, turned in his favor. He was pushed forward after the Ostrovnensky case, they gave him a battalion of hussars, and when it was necessary to use a brave officer, they gave him instructions.

Having received the news of Natasha's illness, the countess, still not quite healthy and weak, came to Moscow with Petya and the whole house, and the entire Rostov family moved from Marya Dmitrievna to their house and completely settled in Moscow.
Natasha's illness was so serious that, to her happiness and to the happiness of her relatives, the thought of everything that had caused her illness, her act and the break with her fiancé passed into the background. She was so ill that it was impossible to think how much she was to blame for everything that happened, while she did not eat, did not sleep, noticeably lost weight, coughed and was, as the doctors made her feel, in danger. All he had to think about was helping her. Doctors went to Natasha both individually and in consultations, spoke a lot in French, German and Latin, condemned one another, prescribed the most diverse medicines for all diseases known to them; but not one of them came up with the simple thought that they could not be aware of the illness that Natasha suffered, just as no illness that a living person is obsessed with could be known: for every living person has his own characteristics and always has special and its own new, complex, unknown disease to medicine, not a disease of the lungs, liver, skin, heart, nerves, etc., recorded in medicine, but a disease consisting of one of the innumerable compounds in the suffering of these organs. This simple thought could not come to doctors (just as the thought cannot come to a sorcerer that he cannot conjure) because their life's work was to heal, because they received money for that, and because they spent the best years of their lives on this business. But the main thing is that this thought could not come to the doctors because they saw that they were undoubtedly useful, and were really useful for all the Rostovs at home. They were useful not because they forced the patient to swallow mostly harmful substances (this harm was not very sensitive, because harmful substances were given in small quantities), but they were useful, necessary, inevitable (the reason is why there always are and will be imaginary healers, soothsayers, homeopaths and allopaths) because they satisfied the moral needs of the sick and people who love the sick. They satisfied that eternal human need of hope for relief, the need for sympathy and activity that a person experiences during suffering. They satisfied that eternal, human need, which is noticeable in a child in the most primitive form, to rub the place that is bruised. The child will kill himself and immediately run into the hands of the mother, the nanny in order to be kissed and rubbed on the sore spot, and it becomes easier for him when the sore spot is rubbed or kissed. The child does not believe that the strongest and wisest of him do not have the means to help his pain. And the hope for relief and the expression of sympathy while the mother rubs his bump consoles him. Doctors were useful for Natasha in that they kissed and rubbed the bobo, assuring that it would pass now if the driver went to the Arbat pharmacy and took seven hryvnias of powders and pills in a pretty box for a ruble, and if these powders were sure to be in two hours, nothing more and no less, the patient will take in boiled water.
What would Sonya, the count and the countess do, how would they look at the weak, melting Natasha, doing nothing, if there weren’t these pills by the hour, drinking warm, chicken cutlets and all the details of life prescribed by the doctor, observing which was a lesson and comfort for others? The stricter and more complex these rules were, the more comforting it was for those around. How would the count endure the illness of his beloved daughter, if he did not know that Natasha's illness cost him thousands of rubles and that he would not spare thousands more to do her good: if he did not know that if she did not recover, he would not he will spare thousands more and take her abroad and hold consultations there; if he had not been able to tell the details about how Metivier and Feller did not understand, but Freeze understood, and Wise defined the disease even better? What would the countess do if she could not sometimes quarrel with the sick Natasha because she did not fully comply with the doctor's prescriptions?
“You will never recover,” she said, forgetting her grief in annoyance, “if you do not obey the doctor and take your medicine at the wrong time!” After all, you can’t joke about this when you can get pneumonia, ”the countess said, and in the pronunciation of this one word, incomprehensible to more than her, she already found great consolation. What would Sonya do if she didn’t have the joyful consciousness that she didn’t undress for three nights at first in order to be ready to fulfill exactly all the doctor’s instructions, and that she now doesn’t sleep at night so as not to miss the clock in which it is necessary to give harmless pills from a golden box? Even Natasha herself, who, although she said that no medicines would cure her and that all this was nonsense - and she was glad to see that so many donations were made for her that she had to take medicines at certain hours, and even she was happy was that she, neglecting the fulfillment of the prescribed, could show that she did not believe in treatment and did not value her life.
The doctor went every day, felt the pulse, looked at the tongue and, not paying attention to her dead face, joked with her. But on the other hand, when he went out into another room, the countess hurriedly followed him, and he, assuming a serious look and shaking his head thoughtfully, said that, although there was danger, he hoped for the effect of this last medicine, and that we had to wait and see. ; that the disease is more moral, but ...
The countess, trying to hide this act from herself and from the doctor, put a gold piece into his hand and each time returned to the patient with a calm heart.
The signs of Natasha's illness were that she ate little, slept little, coughed, and never perked up. Doctors said that the patient should not be left without medical help, and therefore they kept her in the stuffy air in the city. And in the summer of 1812, the Rostovs did not leave for the village.
Despite the large number of swallowed pills, drops and powders from jars and boxes, from which madame Schoss, the hunter for these gizmos, gathered a large collection, despite the absence of the usual village life, youth took its toll: Natasha's grief began to be covered with a layer of impressions of her life, it such excruciating pain ceased to lie on her heart, it began to become past, and Natasha began to recover physically.

Natasha was calmer, but not more cheerful. She not only avoided all external conditions of joy: balls, skating, concerts, theater; but she never laughed so that her tears were not heard because of her laughter. She couldn't sing. As soon as she began to laugh or tried to sing alone with herself, tears choked her: tears of remorse, tears of memories of that irrevocable, pure time; tears of annoyance that so, for nothing, she ruined her young life, which could have been so happy. Laughter and singing especially seemed to her a blasphemy against her grief. She never thought of coquetry; she didn't even have to refrain. She said and felt that at that time all men were to her exactly the same as the jester Nastasya Ivanovna. The inner guard firmly forbade her any joy. And she did not have all the former interests of life from that girlish, carefree, hopeful way of life. More often and most painfully, she recalled the autumn months, the hunt, her uncle, and Christmas time spent with Nicolas in Otradnoe. What would she give to bring back even one day from that time! But it was over forever. The foreboding did not deceive her then that that state of freedom and openness to all joys would never return again. But I had to live.
It was comforting to her to think that she was not better, as she had thought before, but worse and much worse than everyone, everyone, who only exists in the world. But this was not enough. She knew this and asked herself: “What next? And then there was nothing. There was no joy in life, and life passed. Natasha, apparently, tried only not to be a burden to anyone and not to interfere with anyone, but for herself she did not need anything. She moved away from everyone at home, and only with her brother Petya was it easy for her. She liked to be with him more than with the others; and sometimes, when she was with him eye to eye, she laughed. She hardly left the house, and of those who came to see them, she was glad only for Pierre. It was impossible to treat her more tenderly, more carefully, and at the same time more seriously than Count Bezukhov treated her. Natasha Osss consciously felt this tenderness of treatment and therefore found great pleasure in his company. But she was not even grateful to him for his tenderness; nothing good on the part of Pierre seemed to her an effort. It seemed so natural for Pierre to be kind to everyone that there was no merit in his kindness. Sometimes Natasha noticed Pierre's embarrassment and awkwardness in her presence, especially when he wanted to do something pleasant for her or when he was afraid that something in the conversation would bring Natasha to painful memories. She noticed this and attributed it to his general kindness and shyness, which, according to her, the same as with her, should have been with everyone. After those inadvertent words that, if he were free, he would ask her hands and love on his knees, said at a moment of such strong excitement for her, Pierre never said anything about his feelings for Natasha; and it was obvious to her that those words, which then so comforted her, were spoken, as all sorts of meaningless words are spoken to comfort a crying child. Not because Pierre was a married man, but because Natasha felt between herself and him in the highest degree that force of moral barriers - the absence of which she felt with Kyragin - it never occurred to her that she could get out of her relationship with Pierre not only love on her part, or still less on his part, but even that kind of tender, self-confessing, poetic friendship between a man and a woman, of which she knew several examples.

In his main specialty, Lewis was a literary historian. For most of his life he taught the history of medieval and Renaissance literature at Oxford, and in the end he headed a chair specially created for him at Cambridge. In addition to five scientific books and a huge number of articles, Lewis published eight books in the genre of Christian apologetics (broadcasts about religion on the BBC during the Second World War made him famous throughout Britain, and the "Messenger Letters" - in Europe). and the USA), a spiritual autobiography, three parable stories, three science fiction novels, and two collections of poetry. The complete collection of poems, having turned out to be rather voluminous, came out recently.. As with Lewis Carroll, John R. R. Tolkien, and many other "children's" writers, the children's books that brought Lewis worldwide fame were far from the most important of his writings. sledge.

Clive Staples Lewis. Oxford, 1950 John Chillingworth/Getty Images

The main difficulty of Narnia lies in the incredible heterogeneity of the material from which they are assembled. This is especially noticeable against the background of the fiction books of John Tolkien, Lewis's closest friend and comrade in the Inklings literary community. "Inklings"- an unofficial literary circle of English Christian writers and thinkers, gathering in Oxford in the middle of the last century around Clive Lewis and John Tolkien. It also included Charles Williams, Owen Barfield, Warren Lewis, Hugo Dyson and others., a perfectionist, extremely attentive to the purity and harmony of themes and motives. Tolkien worked on his books for years and decades (most were never finished), carefully polishing the style and carefully making sure that extraneous influences did not penetrate into his carefully thought-out world. For example, in The Lord of the Rings, tobacco (“tobacco”) and potato (“potato”) are not mentioned, because these are words not of Germanic, but of Roman origin. nia, but only pipe-weed and taters.. Lewis wrote quickly (Narnia was created from the late 1940s to 1956), cared little about style, and lumped together different traditions and mythologies. Tolkien did not like The Chronicles of Narnia, seeing in them an allegory of the Gospel, and allegorism as a method was deeply alien to him (he did not get tired of fighting back from attempts to present The Lord of the Rings as an allegory in which the War for the Ring is World War II and Sauron is Hitler). Al-legorism is indeed no stranger to Lewis Lewis himself, who knew well what an allegory was (his most famous scholarly book, The Allegory of Love, is devoted to this), pres-called "Narnia" a parable (he called it supposition, "hypothesis"). “The Chronicles of Narnia” is something like an artistic experiment: how the incarnation of Christ, his death and resurrection in the world of talking animals would look like., and yet to see in Narnia a simple retelling of biblical stories is to simplify them to the utmost.

In the first part of the cycle there are Santa Claus (Father Christmas), the Snow Queen from Andersen's fairy tale, fauns and centaurs from Greek and Roman mythology, endless winter from Scandinavian, English children straight from the novels of Edith Nesbit, and the story about the execution and resurrection of the lion Aslan duplicates the gospel story of the betrayal, execution and resurrection of Jesus Christ. To understand what the Chronicles of Narnia is, let's try to decompose their complex and diverse material into different layers.

What order to read

The confusion begins already with the sequence in which the Chronicles of Narnia should be read. The fact is that they are not published at all in the order in which they were written. The Wizard's Nephew, which tells of the creation of Narnia, the appearance of the White Witch there, and the origin of the wardrobe, was the penultimate book, followed by The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, which retains much of the charm of the original story. In this sequence, it was published in the most efficient Russian edition - the fifth and sixth volumes of the eight-volume collected works of Lewis - and most of the film adaptations of the book begin with it.

After The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, comes The Horse and His Boy, then Prince Caspian, The Voyage of the Dawn, or Swimming to the End of the World, The Silver Chair, then the prequel The Magician's Nephew, and finally " Last fight".

Book cover for The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. 1950 Geoffrey Bles, London

Book cover for The Horse and His Boy. 1954 Geoffrey Bles, London

Cover of the book "Prince Caspian". 1951 Geoffrey Bles, London

Book cover of The Dawn Treader, or Sailing to the End of the World. 1952 Geoffrey Bles, London

Cover of the book "Silver Chair". 1953 Geoffrey Bles, London

Cover of the book The Magician's Nephew. 1955 The Bodley Head, London

Book cover for The Last Battle. 1956 The Bodley Head, London

Bursts of interest in The Chronicles of Narnia in recent years are associated with Hollywood film adaptations of the series. Any film adaptation inevitably confuses fans of the literary source, but here the rejection of new films by fans turned out to be much sharper than in the case of The Lord of the Rings. And the matter, oddly enough, is not even in quality. The screen adaptation of books about Narnia is hindered by the very allegorism, or, more precisely, parable, of Aslan's country. Unlike The Lord of the Rings, where dwarves and elves are primarily dwarves and elves, the heroes of Narnia often have a clear second plan (when a lion is not just a lion), and therefore a realistic screen adaptation turns a parable full of allusions into a flat action. Much better are the BBC films made in 1988-1990 - with plush Aslan and fabulous talking animals: "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe", "Prince Caspian", "The Treader of the Dawn" and "The Silver Armchair" .

A scene from The Chronicles of Narnia. 1988 BBC / IMDb

Where did it come from

Lewis liked to say that Narnia began long before it was written. The image of a faun walking through the winter forest with an umbrella and bundles under his arm had haunted him since the age of 16 and came in handy when Lewis first - and not without some fear - came face to face with children with whom he could not communicate. In 1939, several girls evacuated from London during the war lived in his house near Oxford. Lewis began to tell them fairy tales: so the images that lived in his head began to move, and after a few years he realized that the story that was being born needed to be written down. Sometimes communication between Oxford professors and children ends in a similar way.

Fragment of the cover of the book "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe". Illustration by Paulina Baines. 1998Collins Publishing. London

Book cover for The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Illustration by Paulina Baines. 1998Collins Publishing. London

Lucy

The prototype of Lucy Pevensie is June Flewett, the daughter of a teacher of ancient languages at St. Paul's School (she graduated from Chesterton), who was evacuated from London to Oxford in 1939, and ended up in Lewis's house in 1943. June was sixteen and Lewis was her favorite Christian author. However, it was only after spending a few weeks in his house that she realized that the famous apologist C. S. Lewis and the owner of the house, Jack (as his friends called him), were one and the same person. June went to drama school (and paid for by Lewis), became a well-known theater actress and director (her stage name is Jill Raymond), and married the grandson of the famous psychoanalyst Sir Clement Freud, a writer, radio host and member of parliament.

Lucy Barfield at age 6. 1941 Owen Barfield Literary Estate

Narnia is dedicated to Lewis's goddaughter, Lucy Barfield, adopted daughter of Owen Barfield, author of books on the philosophy of language and one of Lewis's closest friends.

Wandering wail

The wandering quack Moom from The Silver Chair is based on the outwardly gloomy but kind inside gardener Lewis, and his name is an allusion to the line of Seneca, translated by John Studley John Studley(c. 1545 - c. 1590) - English scholar, known as the translator of Se-neki.(in English his name is Puddleglum - "gloomy sludge", Studley had a "Stygian gloomy sludge" about the waters of the Styx): Lewis analyzes this translation in his thick book dedicated to the 16th century C. S. Lewis. English Literature in the Sixteenth Century: Excluding Drama. Oxford University Press, 1954..

Kwakl-stray Hmur. A scene from The Chronicles of Narnia. 1990 BBC