Forbidden and Permitted Apples

At the center of the garden of Eden there were two trees (unless you think there was only one tree): the Tree of Life and the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. The Torah relates to us that the serpent seduced Eve to eat from the Tree of Knowledge and she eventually fed the same fruit to Adam. As punishment (amongst others) the pair were exiled from the Garden lest they eat from the Tree of Life.

The two trees of the Garden make their appearance in two of Lewis’ fiction works: the Tree of Knowledge in Perelandra and the Tree of Life in The Magician's Nephew. As the Tree of Knowledge was at the root (pun intended) of the Original Sin, Perelandra recreates that scenario. The sin of eating from the Tree of Knowledge is replaced by the prohibition of sleeping overnight on Fixed Land. The Devil (the serpent), played by Weston, attempts to seduce Tinidril (Eve) to sin. The main thrust of the Devil’s argument is that in fact God wants Tinidril to disobey His command and act godly by demonstrating independence from Him. We discussed this here. 

The Tree of Life makes its appearance in The Magician's Nephew. There we find an actual garden surrounded by a gate with the Tree of Life at its center. The gate no doubt parallels the biblical cherubim and fiery sword used to guard the pathway to the Garden of Eden. However, unlike the biblical Tree of Life which appears to be impossible to get to, the Narnian Tree of Life is easily reachable. Actually, it seems anybody can come in and take from the fruit and, if one takes from the fruit for others, is even permitted to do so.

Why? 

Why does Lewis not adhere to the biblical story and essentially make the Tree of Life unreachable?

(To be continued when I figure out an answer. Feel free to make suggestions) 

Grape Juice for Jewish Rituals

Though it has nothing to do with Narnia, I just wanted to let everyone know that my discussion with R' Drew of the Jewish Drinking Podcast is now live. Many thanks to R' Drew for giving me the opportunity to discuss this interesting topic which so neatly lies at the intersection Jewish Law and American History. 

Ba'alei Teshuva in The Horse and His Boy

We have already spoken of the Chronicles’ two great ba’alei teshuva, “returnees” to the true religion, Edmund and Eustace. Edmund had rebelled against his siblings and, for his own personal gain, joined the forces of evil. Eustace suffered from the lack of a spiritual upbringing and refused to see the truth when clearly presented to him. The first two returnees we will discuss in The Horse and His Boy seek the truth for another reason, they have learned the evils of their former worldview and are seeking an alternative.

Shasta is raised by his adoptive father the fisherman Arsheesh and is motivated to look elsewhere when he is sold as a slave. Aravis is raised in the home of a powerful Calormen Tarkhan and is sold as a wife to one she does not love. Both are looking for a better life elsewhere and are drawn to Narnia by talking horses they meet.

However, there is a sharp contrast between them Shasta and Aravis. Shasta is a natural Northerner and has long had an impulse to travel in that direction. When alerted that this impulse arises from his natural propensity as a Northerner, he immediately claims to identify himself with this new culture (though he does not yet know it). Aravis is a Calormene and in every way a stranger to Northern ethics and culture. If anything, she has been taught to hate this culture. Yet, she follows a guide who promises her a better life as the biblical Ruth followed her mother-in-law to the Land of Israel.

The Horse and His Boy feature other returnees as well. The two horses themselves, Bree and Hwin, return to their native land after being captured by Calormen. Unlike Shasta, however, both knew of their Narnian origin though not much of the culture or religion of Narnia. The horses, however, are very different characters. The proud Bree expects to be welcome with open arms by his fellow Narnians while Hwin would be glad just to get home.

The Calomene prince Rabadash was a potential convert in the same way as Aravis. He too was sold by his father, the Tisroc, for the price of Narnia and Archenland. Unlike Aravis, Rabadash requested the sale, but, as with Aravis, the sale was never consummated. This should have opened his eyes to the truth of Aslan, but instead he settles for fear of Aslan as a demon rather than belief in Aslan as a god.

Finally, there is the Lapsed Bear of Stormness. We know practically nothing of his regression to wild bear behavior, but he too becomes a reformed character.

Perhaps this wide array of characters with their background stories is meant to teach us that there is no one road to travel to come to the service of the one God. 

We’ll discuss all of them over the next series of posts.

The Wood between the Worlds

As I was reading "The Magician's Nephew" this weekend I started thinking about the Wood between the Worlds and its connection to Aslan's country. Let me explain: 

Aslan has created numerous worlds (we would now say numerous universes) which have no a priori connection between them. As described in The Magician's Nephew, the Wood between the Worlds is like a long attic that spans the top of several townhouses. Every townhouse can access the attic though there are no other connections between the townhouses. The attic itself is not part of any one townhouse so not much goes on there. Presumably it may be necessary for a worker to go in there sometimes, but really, it's just there. 

In the attic that is the Wood between the Worlds there are pools of water which lead into each world, and there are trees who appear to be soaking up the water setting the timeline for each world. That's it. Nothing happens unless for some reason someone manages to find their way into it.

(I should note that the Chronicles of Narnia reveal to us that there are other connections between our world and that of Narnia, the Wardrobe for one, but also the connection used by the ancestors on the Telmarines and perhaps others. Why this should be the case we'll try to figure out some other time.)

At the end of The Last Battle, Peter, Edmund, and Lucy see their parents in England and would like to join them. How to do so is explained to them by Tumnus:

That country and this country - all the real countries - are only spurs jutting out from the great mountains of Aslan. We have only to walk along the ridge, upward and inward, till it joins on.

England, of course, is not in the same world as Narnia, but one need not travel through the Wood between the Worlds. Both are spurs in Aslan's mountain range.

How do we reconcile these two pictures? 

The mountain range of Aslan is, of course, how things truly are. All of Creation, that which we know and that which we do not, is under his rule. If we ourselves cannot perceive or join some part of Creation, it is because we are not yet close enough to Aslan. We must go further up and further in. 

The Wood between the Worlds is much more facilitatory and therefore neutral. One with the proper means (rings in The Magician's Nephew) can use it to travel between worlds for good or evil. There is no foundational truth, no unmistakable signature of God, it is simply there. 

Nonetheless, Digory's curiosity is commendable. He wants to see other worlds, experience new ideas and concepts, see more of creation. True it does not always turn out well, but Digory's childlike fascination and curiosity, to see more than is there, is what allows one to come close to God. Indeed, it is this same argument he will eventually use to counter Peter and Susan so that they too will eventually see the true nature of the wardrobe. 

In this way I think there is a parallel to be made right within our own world. Thanks to modern science humanity can now explore previously unimagined aspects of the universe. One might view this as utilitarian. Perhaps these observations can give us further understanding of basic science that will eventually be used for improved technology. Maybe (adding some sprinkle of science fiction) there are planets there they will be fit for human habitation. But these observations can be used in another way. They reflect the glory of Creation and thus the greatness of the Creator. 

The truth, of course, is Aslan's country. All of Creation sings the praise of God and points us to Him. All of Creation is unified in a way that can be fully experienced only in the World to Come. Nonetheless, in the meantime we can use our curiosity and fascination sparked by modern inventions and ideas to see His wonder and glory.