A Problem of Dwarfs

My apologies for not posting in quite a while.

While I've been generally happy with our current analysis of the Narnian Creation story I'm hesitating before pushing forward with Aslan's first words, which end with the first command, "Narnia, Narnia, Narnia, awake." The reason is because following the thought process I've started with this line brings up a point of confusion which I'm not sure what to do about. Let me try to explain... 

To what or whom is Aslan's command "awake" directed towards? 

I think there are a number of possibilities.

A priori, one may think that the command is aimed towards the (soon to become) Talking Beasts whose creation process we have spoken about in great detail. The problem with that approach is that immediately after Aslan's first words a number of other sentient beings suddenly appear: gods and goddesses of woods, Fauns, Satyrs, Dwarfs, the river god and the Naiads. They respond to Aslan's commands in the same way as do the Talking Beasts. And so their arrival suggests that Aslan's command to awake is focused not (or at least not only) on the Talking Beasts, but on the water and land, on Narnia itself. These new creatures (and presumably others like mermaids) are personifications of Narnia's earth and sea when awoken. 

OK, so awake refers to multiple sentient creatures not just the Talking Beasts. 

So far so good, except for this. My approach to Narnia, and certainly the implication from its story of Creation is that the Talking Beasts were in place of the humans in our world. True, the Talking Beasts are supposed to be ruled by a Son of Adam, nonetheless, they are the true heirs of Narnia. 

Actually, the Beasts appear to have a deep mistrust of humanoid figures. Mr Beaver says it most explicitly, in a conversation with his wife:

"I've known good Dwarfs," said Mrs Beaver.

"So've I, now you come to speak of it," said her husband, "but precious few, and they were the ones least like men. But in general, take my advice, when you meet anything that's going to be human and isn't yet, or used to be human once and isn't now, or ought to be human and isn't, you keep your eyes on it and feel for your hatchet."

And the actions of human-like creatures, specifically dwarfs, supports Mr Beaver's claim. The dwarfs (or at least a good number of them) joined the White Witch. After the great battles with Telmar it is the dwarfs who are willing to disguise themselves and assimilate into the victorious Telmarines. Even those who do not assimilate forget Aslan after 10 generations of Telmarine rule. And, of course, the dwarfs rebel against Tirian in The Last Battle and shut off any hope of redemption. 

The fact that the dwarfs can mate with humans and are, in the words of Trufflehunter, "As forgetful and changeable as humans," suggests that the Talking Beasts are not the most human-like creatures in Narnia. The dwarfs are! They are called Sons of Earth, just like in our world Adam is called Adam for he was taken from the ground (adamah). 

If that is so, why are they not part of Aslan's deliberate, multi-step creation process?  

The Creation of Narnia: A Swift Flash

Then there came a swift flash like fire (but it burnt nobody) either from the sky or from the Lion itself, and every drop of blood tingled in the children's bodies… 

(The Magician's Nephew)

With the breath of life being blown into the sentient beasts of Narnia and having been welcomed to the great story of Aslan by the singing of the stars, a flash causes the children’s (and presumably the Talking Beasts’) blood to tingle. Dr. Ward already notes that “tingle” when used by Lewis is “loaded with astrological significance.” What happened here? 

Lewis posits two possible origins for the flash. Of course, as Lewis is the author of the story, Lewis could have told us where he wanted the flash to come from. The fact that he doesn’t suggests that he wants either the ambiguity or that both possibilities are (at least symbolically) true. 

The first possible origin of the flash is from the sky, likely meaning the stars. This logically connects with the previous sentence describing the stars’ song. Before the song becomes inaudible, they (as it were) reach out in friendship and solidarity to their fellow-creatures about to begin their service of Aslan. 

This is supported by the only other time Lewis uses the word tingle in the Chronicles, “She went up to the desk and laid her hand on the book; her fingers tingled when she touched it as if it were full of electricity.” Lucy is preparing to find the spell to make the Dufflepuds visible. This requires reading a spell from the Magician’s Book. Unbeknownst to Lucy, the Magician is actually Coriakin, a star. Upon touching the Book of the star, her fingers tingle, for that is the result when the heavenly and earthly connect.

The second possibility is that the flash comes from the Lion. As we remember the Lion (either during or right before the stars’ singing) had breathed out, presumably breathing his spark into what are about to be the sentient creatures of Narnia. How does a swift flash come from the Lion’s breath? 

Perhaps one can suggest that the flash comes at the completion of Alsan’s blowing. The reason for this is as follows. A slow steady breath suggests that the Talking Beasts gain sentience in a slow, incremental manner. The difference then between the Talking and Dumb Beasts, one might think, is incremental, quantitative, they have greater intelligence and insight, nothing more. 

The swift flash upon the Talking Beasts receiving the divine spark demonstrates this is not true. The Talking Beasts are qualitatively different. They can connect with God; they are part of the Great Story. The Dumb Beasts are not. 

(Perhaps that is why Lewis says a “swift flash,” after all, isn’t a flash swift by definition? One might suggest that the flash is described as swift in contrast to the slow breath of Aslan. The build-up is slow, but the divine spark is instantaneous.)

The Talking Beasts are now fully sentient. They are infused with a divine spark. Even so, a sentient, talking being is no better than a non-sentient, dumb one without order, civility, and morality. There must be a command, and we thus wait for Aslan to speak.

The Stars' Song

Far overhead from beyond the veil of blue sky which hid them the stars sang again; a pure, cold, difficult music

(The Magician's Nephew)

In our last post we saw that, upon awakening of sentient beings in Narnia, the stars welcome them to the great Symphony of Creation. Before going on in the Creation story let’s take a few moments to consider the song of the stars. Lewis describes the song as “pure, cold, and difficult.” What is the song as described by these three adjectives?

We have previously discussed that the Heavenly luminaries sing praises to God, the music of the spheres, by following His laws (what we call the laws of physics). Perhaps it is these laws, and not a tune per se, that Lewis is referring to. Let us see how relevant this description is.  

From our earthly perspective, we observe the stars move as governed by the laws of gravity. While not a priori obvious, Newton’s Law of Universal Gravitation is surprisingly simple depending only on the mass of the objects involved and the distance between them (moderated by the gravitational constant). This simplicity perhaps is what Lewis refers to as "pure." Lewis rarely uses the adjective pure in the Chronicles. When he does, in phrases such as “pure gold,” or “purest of blood,” it appears defined as unadulterated, not mixed with anything else. So too here: the law governing the movement of the stars is clear, unadulterated, not tinted with anything else.

The term “cold” has regularly been applied to science as in uncaring and immutable. The scientific laws do not care about feelings or effort. They are independent of the goodness or evil of a person. Should someone touch an electrified fence, the righteousness of the individual does not change the shock he or she receives. Even in a religious approach to astronomy, the Heavenly spheres and their music are generally cold and uncaring. It is only with rare exceptions (such as at Joshua’s request for the sun to stop, the destruction of the Temple, or the cataclysmic events of the flood) that the spheres pause or alter their song. The religious approach to the presence or consistency of the music of the spheres, is whether one pays enough attention to hear is sensitive enough to hear and contemplate it.

Finally, Lewis describes the song of the stars as difficult. Indeed, the simplicity of the laws of gravitation should not suggest that the evolution of the spheres guided by these laws is simple or straightforward. It took centuries for humanity to transition from epicycles to gravity and even gravitation can cause complex and intricate dynamics. Hence, while the song of the spheres is simply described, the complexity it leads to may hide the purity of the music.

The song of the stars bids the sentient beings of Narnia to join in the Great Story of Aslan. Furthermore, the song calls out for analysis and contemplation. In our world, humanity has always looked to the stars in awe and wonder. Understanding their song, in the words of Maimonides, enables man to “behold through them His wonderful, matchless and infinite wisdom.” And thus, “he will spontaneously be filled with love, praise and exaltation and become possessed of a great longing to know the Great Name.”

The Creation of Narnia: Contemplation and Enjoyment

The Lion, whose eyes never blinked, stared at the animals as hard as if he was going to burn them up with his mere stare… Many animals sat up on their hind legs. Most put their heads on one side as if they were trying very hard to understand. The Lion opened his mouth, but no sound came from it; he was breathing out, a long, warm breath; it seemed to sway all the beasts as the wind sways a line of trees. Far overhead from beyond the veil of blue sky which hid them the stars sang again; a pure, cold, difficult music. (The Magician's Nephew)

In the first chapter of Planet Narnia, Dr. Michael Ward discusses the importance Lewis placed on the distinction between Contemplation and Enjoyment. The distinction is exemplified In “Meditation in a Toolshed,” where Lewis contrasts looking at a beam of light coming through a crack in the shed, and looking along the beam of light, through the crack to the outside. Looking at the beam is contemplative. From this perspective the beam can be scientifically analyzed, and one can consider its various physical properties. Looking along the beam is enjoyable. The beam itself has “disappeared” but by its light one experiences and is integrated into the world outside the toolshed. Lewis took this division seriously enough as to declare Contemplation and Enjoyment as separate categories of knowledge. 

This being the case, perhaps it is not surprising that the creation of sentient beings in Narnia is done in two steps: Aslan’s stare bestirs the chosen creatures to Contemplate, and Aslan’s breath enables them Enjoy. Aslan’s stare causes them to “try to understand,” to unravel the mysteries of the world around them which, having attained consciousness, they suddenly recognize. Aslan’s breath experientially integrates them into that world enabling them to recognize that they have a role in the Great Story being told by Aslan. Thus, though they cannot see the stars, they hear the music of the spheres, singing the praises of God, welcoming them to the great Symphony of Creation.  

This two-step process in the creation of Narnia represents Lewis’ attempt to harmonize the two Creation stories of the Bible. In Genesis 1, Man is the final step in creation and is empowered by God to subjugate the other creatures and consume the vegetation. In his epic work, “The Lonely Man of Faith,” R’ J.B. Soloveitchik designates Adam of Genesis 1 as “Majestic Man.” To fulfill his destiny the utilitarian Majestic Man invokes science and technology to shape the world and make it more fit for mankind. Majestic Man is contemplative, analyzing creation with the goal of controlling and taming the cosmos. Upon completion of creation at the end of Genesis 1, God sees (as Aslan stares) all that He made, and it is very good. 

In Genesis 2, however, Man is created before vegetation has sprouted and the animals have been formed. In contrast to Majestic Man’s dominion, “Covenantal Man,” the Adam of Genesis 2, is tasked with tilling and guarding the Garden of Eden. Covenantal Man experiences loneliness as he tries to understand his place in Creation. To relieve him of this existential loneliness, God creates the animals which Covenantal Man names as he experiences their true nature. However, none are appropriate companions for man. Finally, God creates Eve with whom Covenantal Man can join the creative process and fulfill God’s plan for creation. Covenantal Man is animated when God blows the soul of life through his nostrils. 

The two Creation stories in Genesis highlight the different perspectives of man. Though superficially at odds, Man must be both: at time Majestic and at time Covenantal, at time Contemplative and at times Enjoying. The bible separates the stories to highlight the aspects of each and the equal importance of both. Lewis attempts to merge Genesis 1 and Genesis 2 into a historical account of creation. Though doing so misses some of the grandeur of the biblical stories, Lewis provides us with a concise account of creation and the complexity of sentient beings.  

The Creation of Narnia: Aslan's Song

The Narnian creation begins with Aslan singing. 

Aslan’s singing creates the physical Narnian universe, from the stars above to the flowers and creatures below. The stars blaze forth and sing with Aslan. The beasts are created and add their voices, “cawing, cooing, crowing, braying, neighing, baying, barking, lowing, bleating, and trumpeting.” 

All the noise of the creatures drowns out Aslan’s songs and Aslan stops singing. He goes amongst the creatures choosing the few who would become Talking Beasts. Those not chosen leave Aslan. The noise fades and, finally, there is a pregnant silence. 

In previous posts we discussed two kinds of silence: (1) the silence of absence and terror, and (2) contemplative silence, the silence that enables thought and learning. The first silence arises when one no longer hears the music of the spheres, when man loses connection with creation and the Creator. The second silence enables one to hear the music of the spheres and engage in reflective and spiritual contemplation. In the Narnian creation story, Aslan's song infused creation with the music of spheres. Upon completion he stops. Creation itself now sings the music of the spheres, but there is no one to discern, understand, and be inspired by the song. 

The chosen beasts stand in contemplative silence eyes fixed on Aslan. 

The song is sung, the audience awaits. 

Narnian Ba'alei Teshuva: the Lapsed Bear of Stormness

I am preparing to write a post or two about Aslan's warning to the Talking Beasts of Narnia not to return to the ways of the Dumb Beasts from which they were chosen. Hopefully that will happen soon, but it returned my thoughts to the Lapsed Bear of Stormness. So, let's take some time to talk about him.  

We know very little about the Lapsed Bear of Stornmness as he is mentioned at the end of "The Horse and His Boy" by way of demonstrating the boxing prowess of Prince Corin. The story is as follows:

That was how he got his name of Corin Thunder-Fist; and how he performed his great exploit against the Lapsed Bear of Stormness, which was really a Talking Bear but had gone back to Wild Bear habits. Corin climbed up to its lair on the Narnian side of Stormness one winter day when the snow was on the hills and boxed it without a time-keeper for thirty-three rounds. And at the end it couldn't see out of its eyes and became a reformed character.

Clearly the Lapsed Bear is one of Lewis' ba'alei teshuva (repentants) though, a priori, there's not much to glean from his story. However, bears are mentioned one other time in the Horse and His Boy when the Raven quotes an old saying, "See the bear in his own den before you judge of his conditions." And, indeed, this is exactly what Corin did. Rather than taking rumors at face value he went right up to the bear's lair and saw him for what he was. Not only did this allow him to see the truth about the bears behavior, but perhaps it demonstrated a way forward. 

What exactly did Corin see? Well, we don't really know, but Corin apparently perceived that the only way to get through to the bear was to box him. Now, this may sound rather barbaric and it's highly unlikely that this would be proper operating procedure for the sinners of our day, but perhaps surprisingly it worked for Corin. 

Why did boxing help reform the bears character? Because Corin took the time to look. Perhaps, the bear himself understood that Corin took the time to come to his lair to see his condition. Corin didn't make a public stand for Aslan and the ways of Narnia, but instead fought with no time-keeper. No one had to know what had happened and, perhaps, the bear himself realized Corin's sincerity in this. 

Bears. of course, have a quite a history in Narnia, including the Bulgy Bears later to be confirmed in his hereditary office of Marshal of the Lists, and we can continue to explore the Lapsed Bear of Stormness in light of these noble figures.   

The Harvest Thanksgiving Hymn

He struck up at once a harvest thanksgiving hymn, all about crops being "safely gathered in". It was not very suitable to a place which felt as if nothing had ever grown there since the beginning of time, but it was the one he could remember best. (The Magician's Nephew)

After bringing the witch from Charn into our own world, Digory is finally able to maneuver her first to the Woods between the Worlds and finally into a random pool to Nothingness. Unfortunately, in doing so, he brings along his Uncle Andrew, and a London cabby with his horse. Not being aware of magic and other worlds, the cabby assumes that they have either fallen into some underground diggings or are dead. Either way, he feels that singing a hymn seems like a positive thing to do and starts one as described above. 

As Lewis notes, the cabby's choice of hymn is questionable. After all they are in complete Nothingness and though the Nothingness will soon become Narnia, it is not as of yet. Furthermore, no doubt a hymn of salvation would be far more appropriate for the situation they find themselves.

However, perhaps we are not giving Frank, the cabby and soon to be first King of Narnia, enough credit. King Frank, as the first human inhabitant of Narnia, is an Adam-like figure in the Chronicles. Indeed, when Tirian is brought before King Frank and Queen Helen at the end of "The Last Battle" he, "felt as if you were brought before Adam and Eve in all their glory." And the harvest hymn, far from being inappropriate, is necessary for the creation of Narnia.

One of the primary apparent differences between the Creation stories of Genesis 1 and Genesis 2 is the role of Adam. In Genesis 1 Adam appears at the end of Creation and is given rulership over, "the fish of the sea and the birds of the sky..." In Genesis 2 Adam is mentioned right at the beginning. The bible explains that, though there is land, there is not yet any vegetation, "for God has not caused it to rain on the ground and there is no man to work the land." Rashi, based on the Talmud, explains that without man there is no one to recognize the goodness brought by rain. It is necessary for man to be created and then pray for rain in order for things to grow. In fact, Frank's ability to grow food is one of Aslan's first criteria needed to be a proper king of Narnia. 

It is true that the cabby (soon to be turned king) remembered the harvest hymn best and sung it for that reason. But prayers, even Thanksgiving prayers, are more than just thanks for the past. They can point to a new future in which there will be even more to be thankful for.  

The harvest hymn sung by the cabby, Digory, and Polly, is the prayer that sparks the creation of Narnia.