Fantastic worlds were created by many writers. Usually they were so imbued with their offspring that several books appeared telling the story of a magical land from beginning to end. So it happened with Narnia. You do not know what is Narnia? Oh, then you have everything ahead! You will just have incredible discoveries and adventures, but for now we just try to tell you what you will encounter in the vastness of this unique fairy-tale country.
What is Narnia?
Surely you have heard about this country, even if you have not read books describing its history. Based on their motives, several colorful films were shot. But if you really do not know what Narnia is, then we will be happy to open this secret for you.
The writer Clive Lewis created a unique country on the pages of his books. He wrote a series of works that fully describe the history of the fantastic Narnia from its creation to death. From the very first lines the book immerses the reader in a fairy tale. In a broader sense, Narnia is understood not as a separate country, but as a whole world created by one Creator, who inhabited his amazing creatures. Lewis fans claim that seven books are read literally in the same breath. They are able not only to capture the imagination of a children's audience, for which they were intended, but also to amaze adults who are tired of gray everyday life.
A little about the appearance of Narnia
You can’t talk about a fabulous country without noting its creator. Clive Lewis was an amazing person. It’s enough to mention that the author of Narnia was a theologian and became famous for his sermons on the radio. Born in Ireland, Llyis was a deeply religious person, but as a teenager he lost faith in God and returned to church only under the pressure of his friend J. R. R. Tolkien.
It was during this period that the first books about the fantasy world appeared. Many Lewis fans tried to find the special meaning of the word "Narnia" by comparing it with the life of the author himself and drawing parallels with various examples from his sermons. But the author himself admitted that the name of the country was born after viewing an ancient geographical atlas. There, on the map of Italy, the small town of Narni is marked, which has become the prototype of some regions of the magic country.
Jews see in Narnia a consonance with the word, which in Hebrew means "the candle of God." It is not known what the author was guided by when starting writing the book, but no one can deny that its content carries the deepest sacred meaning, which I would like to talk about in more detail.
Description of Narnia
To understand what Narnia is, a photo of pictures from books will not be enough. You will need to penetrate into this world itself, filled with love and hatred, evil and good. Many literary critics believe that, creating his own world, Lewis drew a parallel with our world and tried in his work to tell the story of life and death that each of us lives in a simple and colorful language.
It is difficult in a few words to give a definition characterizing what constitutes Narnia. The value of this Lewis work in world literature is invaluable. It leads the lists of books recommended for reading to children. If you describe the world in a fantasy style, it is worth mentioning that the author paid great attention to the story of its creation in books. Narnia was created by the great Creator, appearing in the form of a lion of Aslan. He created the world, plants and all living creatures that inhabited the lands of this unique country.
Narnia is quite densely populated - ordinary animals live here, intelligent talking animals belonging to a particular species, mythical creatures and descendants of people who once came to Narnia. Having created all of them, Aslan established the rules that the Narnians must abide by. From time to time, he appears in the life of various peoples and intervenes in the events taking place. But Aslan performs rather the function of a mentor - wise and fair.
Narnia and Christianity
It seems unbelievable to the layman that a fantastic book may be closely connected with the Christian religion, but in fact this is precisely so. Do not forget that Lewis was a theologian and at one time lost faith in the Creator, having read a lot of religious books that set forth the material dryly and without emotions. The author of Narnia believed that children studying ordinary Christian literature lose their living faith. They become conditional believers with good theoretical knowledge of religion, but completely devoid of religious “fire” in their hearts. It was this fact that inspired Lewis to create Narnia. He put into it all his ideas about God and managed to convey them in a way that is understandable to children.
What does Narnia mean in terms of Christianity?
Those who are familiar with the Bible will have no difficulty recognizing the resemblance to it in the story of Narnia. What is Aslan alone worth appearing as a good Creator of all life! He is always ready to guide and console, but he does not protect his favorites from difficulties and troubles. Aslan leads each hero of the book his own way, at the end of which it is difficult to remain the same. Indeed, overcoming difficulties, the heroes improve, new feelings and emotions awaken in their souls.
Surprisingly, the author of the epic about Narnia was able not only to describe the creation of the world and the place of the Creator in it, but also to tell about the deep joy that encompasses everyone who meets this Creator. Moreover, all this is unobtrusively read in almost every line of a literary work. Lewis was able to speak in plain language about the fight against evil, sacrifice and resurrection. Some books even draw a clear parallel between the eternal struggle of God and Satan for the souls of men. This role is played by Aslan and the cult of the goddess Tash. It symbolizes death, grief and falsehood, while Aslan brings peace, love and light.
Each of the seven books on Narnia reveals certain stages in the development of this world, throughout the existence of which evil is trying to defeat. And just as in the Bible, the narrative breaks off at the demise of the world, or Apocalypse. But the end of the world is its beginning, because there is always hope.
Modern children and Narnia: is it worth reading the epic about the magical world
The phenomenon of Lewis books is that clergymen, who always speak extremely negatively about fantasy literature, recommend Narnia for reading to modern children. After all, the book teaches good and can give a baby the first idea of how the subtle spiritual world works. Moreover, it is worth reading the book together with parents who can unobtrusively draw a parallel between the events in Narnia and the biblical story. In this case, the child will better understand everything that is happening and more easily adapts the story to the realities of the modern world. This is all the more relevant now, when both adults and children have few opportunities to increase their spirituality and make the right choice between light and darkness.
Of course, you may not see all this deep meaning in the works of Narnia. But in any case, we advise you to get acquainted with this amazingly good world, reminiscent of a breath of fresh spring water in a desert scorched by the sun.