The Problem of Susan

[cyberghostface]

 

This is an adaptation of a short story Neil Gaiman wrote in response to The Chronicles of Narnia, specifically The Last Battle. Gaiman has often spoken fondly of Lewis but it's clear he also has a few criticisms.

For the first half of the story he makes a number of legitimate points in regards to Lewis' writing and then it... turns into something else. I honestly don't know what Gaiman is trying to say with it.

NSFW for nudity and gore (...yeah). Also goes without saying that if you haven't read the series this spoils a number of plot points from the last book.

Comments

[remial]

you know what bugged me about the Narnia books?
the first 4 kids in Lion Witch and the Wardrobe, it was a HUGE deal that they were brought to Narnia as there were ZERO humans in that land, and ONLY a human could kill the White Witch, right?
the world was full of talking animals and no human beings, with the Witch being the closest there was to a human.
Then everyone goes home.
when they go back, BAM humans.
where did all these humans come from? the only 2 boys and only 2 girls in the world?
that's right, incest.

[lordultimus]

Narnia is just one country in a very large continent. The humans came from other countries.

[donnblake]

Sure, but the humans in those other countries came from Narnia. (Or at least, the Kings of Archenland are descended from the First King of Narnia).

And the whole only sons of Adam and daughters of Eve can break the White Witch's power is a little odd if there's a whole country of them just across the border.

[lordultimus]

There is such a thing as closed borders.

[donnblake]

Sure, and there's such a thing as crossing them anyways.

There's also such a thing as writing a single book which has some odd discontinuities when you expand it into a larger world/series. C.S. Lewis certainly wouldn't be the only one to do that, and it's not as though the world building was the main draw of the series.

[lordultimus]

Fair enough.

[lissa_quon]

She DID freeze the place to eternal winter. The Horse and His Boy have a conversation between two countrymen from a neighboring land talking about it. They knew the place was frozen solid- and decided that crossing was not worth the trouble. Cause even if they did - what's there? A bunch of ice, a powerful witch and a bunch of talking animals. Not really a place worth messing with.

Though that doesn't explain why no one from Archenland came over.

But yea - nah it does reek a bit of "oh let me add on to this thing I didn't intend to originally"