Samuel Swenson-Reinhold: Narnia as a State of Being

 Throughout my reflections on this course, I've come to think a lot about how it is that we find ourselves pulled into stories and myths. We experience new worlds and lands, meet new characters, and learn new lessons. We grow. And this capacity for growth and change is one that I think many of us would often associate with the life of the child; the child is defined by their Becoming. As adults, there is this idea that we have to "arrive" somewhere (which is a false narrative), whereas the child hasn't yet "arrived". 

Narnia focuses on children, namely the Pevensie children plus Eustace and Jill. Narnia as a place seems to be one of growth and change itself - it is a liminal place for the children who embark on grand adventures there. Between their entering and leaving, the children are in this state of Becoming. But what if Narnia wasn't just a fictional place that provides a setting for the children to adventure in? I wonder if Narnia is a representation of the place that we all go to as children when we imagine new worlds and creative possibilities. This notion is supported by the fact that when the children emerge from Narnia, no time has passed in their own world, not dissimilar from how a daydream works. I think that Narnia might be a literary expression of the wonder we feel as children. Furthermore, I think that Narnia is an expression of what C.S. Lewis thinks the world doesn't have enough of: imagination and joy. To be in Narnia is to be in a state of well-being and growth. It is to dream and to learn. 

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