BORROWING FROM MYTHOLOGY AND CHRISTIAN SYMBOLS IN THE STORY "THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE"

Dagldiyan A. S.

South Russian Institute of Management - branch of the Russian Academy of National Economy and Public Administration

South-Russia Institute of Management - branch of Russian Presidential

National Economy and Public Administration

Abstract: The article is devoted to the fairy tale “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.” It is shown that this book carries deep philosophical meaning and answers numerous eternal questions. Also, the fairy tale contains many allusions to Christian ideas in a form accessible to young readers.

Key words: Fairy tale, myth, good, evil, choice.

Annotation: Article is devoted to the fairy tale "The Lion, the Witch" and the Wardrobe." It is shown that this book has a deep philosophical meaning and answers numerous eternal questions. Just tale contains many allusions to Christian ideas accessible to young readers form.

Key words: Fairy tale, myth, good, evil, choice.

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is the first book in the Chronicles of Narnia series, published in 1950. Author - English writer, Clive Staples Lewis. They tell about the adventures of children in a magical land called Narnia, where animals can talk, magic surprises no one, and good fights evil. The Chronicles of Narnia contains many allusions to Christian ideas in a way that is accessible to young readers.

To create his world, Lewis turns to ancient Eastern, ancient, German-Scandinavian, Slavic, medieval European, Christian traditions.

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe tells the story of the four Pevensie children - Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy. They are sent to family friend Professor Digory Kirke due to the bombing of London. During a game of hide and seek, Lucy hides in the Wardrobe, through which she enters Narnia, where she meets the faun Tumnus. Faun is taken from Roman mythology. The Supreme Faun is the god of forests, fields, pastures, and animals. He tells her that Narnia is under the rule of the evil White Witch. Returning to her brothers and sister, Lucy tells where she was, but they do not believe her. Later she finds herself in Narnia for the second time. Edmund follows her. However, he meets the White Witch and her servant, Maugrim. The servant of the White Witch, the wolf Mogrim, goes back to the Scandinavian Fenrir - a huge wolf, the son of the god Loki and the giantess Angrboda. Legend tells that while Fenrir was small, the gods kept him with them. The gods decided to put Fenrir on a chain, but he grew so strong that he broke any chains that were put on him under the pretext of testing his strength. Then the miniature dwarfs, at the request of the gods, made a magic chain from the sound of cat steps, a woman’s beard, mountain roots, bear veins, fish breath and bird saliva. The chain turned out to be thin and light. The wolf cub was unable to break the chain and remained sitting on it.

According to prophecy, before the end of the world he will break loose. The sorceress treats Edmund to the enchanted Turkish Delight and subjugates the boy to herself. She orders him to bring all four children to her castle. Later, all four children end up in Narnia and discover that Tumnus was taken by the police (it was Edmund who repeated Lucy’s story to the sorceress and thereby betrayed the faun). Mr. Beaver meets the children and tells them that Aslan is already on his way, which means that an ancient prophecy is beginning to come true that Aslan will come, the Long Winter will end and four people will become the rulers of Narnia. The long winter is borrowed from Norse mythology, in which there is a "Fimbulwinter" that precedes the end of the world. During the story, Edmund escapes and heads towards the White Witch's castle. And Peter, Susan, Lucy and the Beavers go to Aslan. On the way, Santa Claus meets them and gives them gifts that should help them: Peter - a sword and shield, Susan - a bow, arrows and a horn, Lucy - a dagger and a magic potion, a drop of which cures any illness and any wounds. The children meet Aslan at the Stone Table, the center of magic in Narnia, and with its help they rescue Edmund from the captivity of the White Witch. Aslan knights Peter and Edmund and the Narnians begin to prepare for battle. But Jadis wants to take the soul of the traitor Edmund for herself according to the Laws of Ancient Magic. Aslan and the witch enter into negotiations, and the traitor is saved. No one except Lucy and Susan ever found out that the Great Lion was killed for the traitor Edmund on the Stone Table and was resurrected according to the Laws of “Even More Ancient Magic.” Aslan and the girls appear only at the end of the battle, but it is they who bring victory and strengthen the morale of the warriors. Lucy heals with a magic elixir seriously wounded warriors and her brother, who is finally healed not only from his wounds, but also from his bad inclinations, which, as we learn, he adopted from “boys from bad company.” The children remain in Narnia and become its kings and

queens - Peter the Magnificent, Edmund the Fair, Susan the Magnanimous and Lucy the Brave. They forget about the world from which they came, but one day the already adult brothers and sisters go hunting for a white deer that grants wishes, and accidentally stumble upon a Narnian lantern and a wardrobe door. Drawn by a deer, the Pevensies make their way through the spruce thicket and end up in the very room and at the very moment from which their journey began.

The main source of creation for Lewis was, of course, the Gospel. It is not for nothing that his book is sometimes called a children's Christian catechism.

Lewis writes about Aslan's "royal and peaceful and at the same time sad" look, that he was "kind and formidable" at the same time. The golden radiance of Aslan’s mane, which the author constantly mentions, is associated with the gold of the halo. In Narnia they swear by the name of Aslan, the heroes say: “In the name of Aslan,” “I ask you by Aslan,” and the hermit even exclaims “Merciful Aslan!” A stream originates from Aslan’s footprint, which is reminiscent of numerous medieval legends about the flow of springs. The Great Lion creates Narnia with his song and gives its inhabitants the basic commandment: “And all of you love one another.” He determines that Narnia can only be ruled by the sons of Adam and the daughters of Eve. All this is a paraphrase of the corresponding lines of the Book of Genesis (Genesis 1, 2627). The commandments that Aslan gives to the Narnians come from the commandments of Moses and the Sermon on the Mount. Aslan demands love, humility and repentance from the inhabitants of his country. He condemns any attempt to shift the blame onto someone else.

Aslan's behavior has clear parallels with the gospel image of Christ. The Great Leo does not impose himself on anyone, does not try to please, his actions often go beyond the scope of justice in the usual sense of the word. Aslan tests heroes beyond necessity,

deliberately provoking them. He is especially strict with Lucy, who at first glance seems to us to be his favorite. He sternly exclaims, “How many more wounded must die because of you?!”, as Lucy looks anxiously into the face of her barely alive brother after healing him with a miraculous elixir. Aslan forgives Edmund's betrayal, never reproaching him, but listens with pleasure to the repentance of Peter and Susan, guilty of much lesser offenses. A reader familiar with Christianity will certainly remember the gospel: “...and from everyone to whom much has been given, much will be required; and to whom much has been entrusted, from him will be required more” (Luke 12:48). Aslan is in no hurry to save Narnia, leaving it for a hundred years in the power of the White Witch, he never praises or compliments anyone, he never expresses his love for his people with some broad gesture that is understandable to absolutely everyone. One of the few evidences of his love for his creation, a feat of self-sacrifice, becomes known to Susan and Lucy as if by accident. But Aslan’s greatness becomes a powerful distancing factor - not for a single second do the children see in him an ordinary lion who could be reproached for something. Even his defenseless head, devoid of a thick mane, seems beautiful to the girls after several moments of pity and horror. Lewis's heroes are tormented by doubts about choosing the right path - appearances are often deceptive, and not all actions can be assessed unambiguously, but Aslan rarely helps the heroes resolve these issues. He generally appears on the pages of the book infrequently, is not always shown in his true appearance and prefers to speak in riddles, like the Son of God. For only the elect can hear the Word of God: “Blessed are your eyes that see and your ears that hear” (Matthew 13:16).

Lewis's characters ultimately make the right choice. But if a person himself does not want to see the truth, if he has locked himself in prison

his imagination, then no one, not even God, can help him. “For the hearts of these people have become hardened, and their ears are hard of hearing, and they have closed their eyes” (Matthew 13:15). It is impossible to see a miracle according to Lewis without first believing in it. Moreover, even getting to Narnia armed with earthly logic and planning in advance is impossible.

Lewis turns out to be not only an orthodox Christian, but also remains a conservative in other respects: he condemns new schools that do not study classical philosophy, the Law of God and good manners. The author puts his indignation about this into the mouth of Professor Digory Kirk: “And what they teach in today’s schools...”.

Bibliography:

1. C. S. Lewis, “The Chronicles of Narnia”, M.: Strekoza-Press, 2006.

2. Bolshakova O. Chronicles of Lewis. Newspaper “New Testament”, 2004, no.

3. Dashevsky G. Clive Staples Lewis. Weekend magazine, 2008. No. 18 (64).

4. Carpenter H. John R. R. Tolkien - biography. Per. from English A. Khromova, ed. S. Likhacheva. - M.: EKSMO-Press, 2002.

5. Curius S. Lewis, Narnia and the Crucified Lion. Magazine "Time Z", 2006, No. 02.

6. Koshelev S. Clive Staples Lewis and his “Wonderland”. Preface to the book “The Chronicles of Narnia” Lewis C.S.; Per. from English - M.: JV "Cosmopolis", 1991.

7. Krotov Ya. Introductory article to the novels by C. S. Lewis “Beyond the Silent Planet” and “Cinders.” Clive Staples Lewis. Collected Works in 8 volumes. Volume 3. Beyond the Silent Planet. Pepelandra. Alexander Men Foundation, Bible for everyone, 2003.

Book "Lev. The Witch and the Wardrobe" is not just filled with characters from ancient mythology - fauns, centaurs, dryads and maenads. K.S. Lewis, who was well versed in ancient mythology, does not just show us ancient mythological heroes, “purified” of everything rough and cruel, but tries not to transfer them to modern reality, despite the fantasy genre.

The writer immerses the ancient image into modern everyday reality only once, depicting the cave of the faun Tumnus in accordance with the tastes of a British gentleman: a burning fireplace in the cave, cozy armchairs, a family portrait, a home library with books “The Life and Letters of Silenus” (in the antique myth Silenus - V Greek mythology, an old satyr, son of Hermes or Pan and one of the nymphs, uncle and mentor of Dionysus. He was often drunk, and one day he was found in this state by Midas, who caressed him and then escorted him back to Dionysus. As a reward, Midas received from Dionysus the gift of turning everything he touched into gold. Silenus had the gift of prophecy and could be made to predict the future while in a hangover sleep. Aged satyrs, called Sileni, constantly appear in the retinue of Dionysus as his servants.), "Nymphs and Their Customs", "A Study of Common Legends", "Is Man a Myth".

The episode of the first meeting between Lucy and Mr. Tumnus is interesting. “A few more seconds passed, and a very strange creature appeared from behind the tree. It was slightly taller than Lucy and held an umbrella, white with snow, over its head. The upper part of his body was human, and his legs, covered with black shiny fur, were goat, with hooves below. He also had a tail, it was carefully thrown over the hand - the one in which this creature was holding an umbrella - so that the tail would not drag in the snow. A thick red scarf was wrapped around his neck, matching the color of his reddish skin. He had a strange but very nice face with a short pointed beard and curly hair. Horns peeked out of the hair on both sides of the forehead.”

In ancient mythology Faun (Pan)- spirit or deity of forests and groves, god of shepherds and fishermen in Greek mythology. This is a cheerful god and companion of Dionysus, always surrounded by forest nymphs, dancing with them and playing the flute for them. It is believed that Pan had a prophetic gift and endowed Apollo with this gift. He loved to scare travelers with his bizarre whispers and rustles, and sometimes he could confuse a person and not show him the way home. There was another role that the faun played with success. These are various fortune-telling and predictions that he whispered with his chosen rustle of leaves of sacred trees. The god of forests inherited the prophetic gift from his father - ancient deity Pike, patron saint of hunters and farmers. If anyone wanted to receive a prediction, he had to come on a certain day to a sacred grove, lie down on the fleece of a sacrificed sheep and receive the prophecy in his dream. The faun was considered a crafty spirit who stole children.

So in the case of Lucy, Mr. Tumnus wanted to steal her to take her to the White Witch, but as a true, well-mannered English gentleman, Mr. Tumnus quickly repented of what he had done and offered to take Lucy back to the lamppost so that she could get home sooner.

In addition to the faun Tumnus, the book “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” contains a large number of other ancient mythological characters.

Centaurs were in Aslan's army when the people of Narnia fought against the White Witch at the Battle of the Ford of Beruna. Several centaurs were turned to stone and were kept in the White Witch's castle.

Centaurs are very wise and knowledgeable creatures. They are half horses, half people. Centaurs live two to three times longer than ordinary people. Very often they become soothsayers, astrologers and healers. The centaurs were always on Aslan's side, and the kings respected them and often turned to them for advice and help.

Centaurs have two stomachs - human and horse, so it is expensive to invite them to visit. They eat for a long time and a lot, both human food and grass. At the same time, no one dares to laugh at the centaurs, they look so majestic and dignified. Also, no one rides centaurs. They can mount a rider only if they themselves want to, and this is considered a very great honor for the rider.

And in ancient mythology, centaurs are wild mortal creatures with the head and torso of a man on the body of a horse, inhabitants of mountains and forest thickets, accompany Dionysus and are distinguished by their violent temperament and intemperance. Presumably, centaurs were originally the embodiment of mountain rivers and stormy streams. In heroic myths, some centaurs are educators of heroes, others are hostile to them.

Also in the book there are spirits of the forest, trees and water - dryads and naiads. For Lewis, these are the spirits of the elements who keep peace and harmony in Narnia. They come out of the forest at the first call of Aslan on the day of the creation of Narnia. In Narnia, dryads, naiads and maenads awaken when the earth itself decides to awaken - to take an active part in what is happening. In ancient mythology, dryads are ancient greek mythology forest nymphs, patroness of trees. It was believed that dryads were inseparable from the tree with which they were connected and died when the tree died. There was a belief that people who plant and care for trees enjoy the special protection of tree nymphs. The dryads will not let him disappear in the forest if he suddenly gets lost or something happens to him. And for groundless damage or destruction of trees, dryads could severely punish a person, for example, deprive him of his mind. Naiads - deities in Greek mythology, daughters of Zeus, were nymphs of water sources - rivers, streams and lakes. Naiads were the patroness of a certain water body, its soul and embodiment. Naiads were considered long-lived, but not immortal. Being associated with rivers, streams and lakes, they died if their water body dried up.

The book also contains Giants, which can be compared with the giants in ancient mythology - monstrous giants born by the earth goddess Gaia from drops of the blood of the sky god Uranus. The Titans rebelled against the Olympian gods, were defeated by them with the help of Hercules and cast into the depths of the earth. Lewis, the Giant Rumblebuffin, is very well-mannered and tactful, knows social etiquette, and comes from a family with traditions.

There were minotaurs in the White Witch's army. They served the White Witch and came to the Stone Table, responding to her call. They witnessed Aslan's death and then took part in the Battle of Beruna Ford. In ancient Greek mythology, the Minotaur is a monster with the body of a man and the head of a bull, who lived in a labyrinth on the island of Crete. The Minotaur, whose real name was Asterius, was born from Pasiphae, the wife of Minos. His father was a bull that came out of the sea, and according to another version, Poseidon himself. Minos hid his son in an underground labyrinth built by Daedalus. The labyrinth was so complex that not a single person who entered it could find a way out.

Mythological creatures are occasionally mentioned in the book: sirens (sea creatures who personified the charming but treacherous sea surface, under which sharp cliffs and shoals are hidden, half-women, half-fish or half-birds) tritons (ancient Greek god, messenger of the depths, son of Poseidon and Amphitrite, father of all newts), who came out of the sea to greet the new rulers of Narnia, and a unicorn (a creature that symbolizes chastity, in a broad sense, spiritual purity and quest. It is represented as a horse with one horn coming out of its forehead).

Content

I. Introduction. Relevance of the problem.

II. Main part.

1.Myth in modern literature.

3. Images of ancient mythology in the book by K.S. Lewis's The Chronicles of Narnia. A lion. The Witch and the Wardrobe"

4. Myth and reality in Lewis’s book “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.”

III. Conclusion.

IV. Used Books.

V. Appendix (Electronic presentation “Ancient mythology in the Chronicles of Narnia (“The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe”).

    Introduction

Relevance of the problem.

Item my research work became images of ancient mythology in the book by K.S. Lewis's The Chronicles of Narnia. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe."

Object of study : book by K.S. Lewis's The Chronicles of Narnia. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe."

Relevance The topic of the study is to show how, through ancient mythology, in the language of a fairy tale, the author touches on a huge number of quite serious things - and not just the topic of life and death, the moral growth of a person, but also what is beyond the line of death, in an accessible way for children perception of the presentation.

Novelty my work is to explore the role of images of ancient mythology at the plot and ideological levels art world"The Chronicles of Narnia. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe."

A series of seven fantasy books (fairy tales) in one number refer the reader to biblical themes, the books follow the adventures of children in a magical land where animals and trees can talk, magic is an everyday occurrence, and good fights evil.

Target project work consists in determining the role of the principles of ancient mythology in the work.

The goal defines the followingtasks:

Identify which mythological images are presented in the bookK.S. Lewis's The Chronicles of Narnia. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe";

Determine the artistic functions of ancient images in"The Chronicles of Narnia. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe"K.S. Lewis.

The practical significance of the work lies in the fact that the observations and conclusions obtained during the work can be used in literature lessons.

II . Main content.

1. The concept of myth in modern literature.

IN modern world interprets the concept of myth as a “fairy tale”, fiction, fiction.” The most accurate definition of myth is given by Literary encyclopedic Dictionary“Myths are creations of a common national fantasy that reflect reality in the form of sensory-concrete personifications and animate creatures that are thought of as real.”

However, it should be taken into account that in primitive societies the concept of myth was interpreted as a genuine event and myths served as a subject for imitation. It is also noteworthy that for primitive societies myth was like religion. IN ancient times, when initial attempts were made to interpret the myths, i.e. scientists of ancient Greece carried out the interpretation Greek myths, they have already begun to lose their credibility. At the same time, a point of view emerged that myths are fiction that performs one or another function. In modern literature, incl. in the works of K.S. Lewis's mythology serves as a model to follow. It is thanks to myth that a person discovers the rationality and interconnection of everything that happens in life.

2. Creativity of K.S. Lewis. The history of the creation of the book "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe."

By his main specialty, C.E. Lewis was a literary historian. For most of his life he taught the history of literature of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance at Oxford, and in the end he headed a department created especially for him at Cambridge. Besides five scientific books and a huge number of articles, Lewis published eight books in the genre of Christian theology. During the Second World War, BBC programs on religion made him famous throughout Britain, Europe and the United States, a spiritual autobiography, three parables, three science fiction novels and two collections of poetry. The books for children that brought Lewis world fame were far from the most important things he wrote.

Lewis liked to say that The Chronicles of Narnia began long before they were written. The image of a faun walking through a winter forest with an umbrella and bundles under his arm haunted him from the age of 16 and came in handy when Lewis for the first time - and not without some fear - came face to face with children with whom he did not know how to communicate. In 1939, his house near Oxford was home to several girls evacuated from London during the war. Lewis began to tell them fairy tales: this is how the images that lived in his head began to move, and after a few years he realized that the emerging story needed to be written down. The prototype of Lucy Pevensie is considered to be June Flewett, the daughter of a teacher of ancient languages ​​at St. Paul's School, who was evacuated from London in 1939 and ended up in Lewis's house.

Lewis did not invent the country of Narnia, but found it in the Atlas Ancient world, when I studied Latin in preparation for entering Oxford. Narnia is the Latin name for the city of Narni in Umbria. Blessed Lucia Brocadelli, or Lucia of Narnia, is considered the city's heavenly patroness.

The geographical prototype that inspired Lewis is most likely located in Ireland. Lewis loved northern County Down from childhood and traveled there more than once with his mother. He said that "heaven is Oxford transported to the middle of County Down." Lewis even named the exact place that became the image of Narnia for him - the village of Rostrevor in the south of County Down, more precisely the slopes of the Mourne Mountains, overlooking the glacial fjord of Carlingford Lough.

3. Images of ancient mythology in the book by K.S. Lewis's The Chronicles of Narnia. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe."

Book "Lev. The Witch and the Wardrobe" is not just filled with characters from ancient mythology - fauns, centaurs, dryads and maenads. K.S. Lewis, who was well versed in ancient mythology, does not just show us ancient mythological heroes, “purified” of everything rough and cruel, but tries not to transfer them to modern reality, despite the fantasy genre.

The episode of the first meeting between Lucy and Mr. Tumnus is interesting.“A few more seconds passed, and a very strange thing appeared from behind the tree.creature. It was a little talltaller than Lucy and holding an umbrella, white with snow, over her head. Top parthis body was human, andlegs,covered with black shiny hair, they were goat-like, with hooves below. He also had a tail, hewas neatthrown over the hand - the one in whichthis creature was holding an umbrella to prevent its tail from draggingin the snow. AroundA thick red scarf was wrapped around his neck, matching the color of his reddish skin. He had a strangebut a very nice face with a short sharp beard andcurly hair. On both sides of the forehead made of hairhorns were peeking out."

In ancient mythology Faun(Pan)- spirit or deity of forests and groves, god of shepherds and fishermen in Greek mythology. This is a cheerful god and companion Dionysus, always surrounded forest nymphs, dances with them and plays the pipe for them. It is believed that Pan had the gift of prophecy and endowed Apollo with this gift. He loved to scare travelers with his bizarre whispers and rustles, and sometimes he could confuse a person and not show him the way home. There was another role that the faun played with success. These are various fortune-telling and predictions that he whispered with his chosen rustle of leaves of sacred trees. The god of forests inherited the prophetic gift from his father, the ancient deity Peak, the patron saint of hunters and farmers. If anyone wanted to receive a prediction, he had to come on a certain day to a sacred grove, lie down on the fleece of a sacrificed sheep and receive the prophecy in his dream. The faun was considered a crafty spirit who stole children.

So in the case of Lucy, Mr. Tumnus wanted to steal her to take her to the White Witch, but as a true, well-mannered English gentleman, Mr. Tumnus quickly repented of what he had done and offered to take Lucy back to the lamppost so that she could get home sooner.

In addition to the faun Tumnus, the book “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” contains a large number of other ancientmythological characters:

Centaur – in ancient mythology, the embodiment of rural savagery and anger, but “the fairest of centaurs,” was the mentor of Achilles, whom he taught the arts of music, warfare, and even medicine and surgery. Centaurs in the Chronicles of Narnia, creatures with the head and torso of a man on the body of a horse, were brave and good hero who fought on the side of Aslan (good).

Faun (Pan) - the spirit or deity of forests and groves, the god of shepherds and fishermen in Greek mythology. This is a cheerful god and companion of Dionysus, always surrounded by forest nymphs, dancing with them and playing the flute for them. In The Chronicles of Narnia, Mr. Tumnus the Faun has a “strange but pleasant face,” curly hair, horns on his forehead, and a long tail (good).

Minotaur in ancient Greek mythology, a monster with the body of a man and the head of a bull, who lived in a labyrinth on the island of Crete. In The Chronicles of Narnia, the Minotaur was the same as in ancient mythology, and he fought on the side of the White Witch (evil).

Nymphs in ancient Greek mythology, the personification of living elemental forces in the form of girls, noticed in the murmur of a stream, in the growth of trees, in the wild beauty of mountains and forests. And in the Chronicles of Narnia, the nymphs were exactly the same as in ancient mythology. They were on the side of good, they served Aslan and watched everything that happened in the forest. (pre-juro)

Unicorn - a mythical creature that symbolizes chastity. He is usually represented as a horse with one horn coming out of his forehead. In The Chronicles of Narnia, the hero Peter rode a white unicorn (good)

Griffins - mythical winged creatures with the body of a lion, the head of an eagle or a lion. They have sharp claws and snow-white or golden wings. Griffins are contradictory creatures that simultaneously unite Heaven and Earth, Good and Evil. In The Chronicles of Narnia they were exactly the same. They fought on Aslan's side (good)

4. Myth and reality in Lewis's book The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.

While reading"The Chronicles of Narnia. A lion. The Witch and the Wardrobe"One regularity attracts attention: transitions from real world into the fantastic and back are accomplished, firstly, without any effort on the part of the heroes, and secondly, very quickly, literally in a split second, and therefore unnoticed by the children themselves. But as soon as the guys enter the space of other existence, everything immediately changes. To explain this pattern, let’s try to understand what the writer sees as the meaning of traveling to Narnia.

In my opinion, this meaning in all cases, without exception, is associated with the fulfillment of a higher purpose, with the accomplishment of a feat. The “sons of Adam” and “daughters of Eve” are called upon in order to, acting in accordance with the will of Aslan, fulfill the Creator’s plan for the world and man. The fight against the forces of evil takes place on another level, namely, in the soul of each of the characters. The journey to Narnia should lead all characters to spiritual transformation. But in order for the heroes to achieve this goal, it turns out that it is not enough to simply “transfer” them to the Other World, because the spiritual state of a person, in addition to purely external circumstances, is also influenced by something much more important. Therefore, it is not enough to be in others, although better conditions- you need to go through a series serious tests, presupposing labor, fidelity to duty, self-sacrifice and, ultimately, the moral degeneration of the individual.

To be able to grow morally, the heroes need three things: 1) their own understanding of how it “works” moral world(the story of how the White Witch turned Mr. Tumnus into a statue because he refused to tell her about his meeting with Lucy); 2) role models (you can learn kindness and hospitality from Beavers); 3) “skills” that need to be developed in order to do the right thing, even when it is difficult or dangerous (a walk with Aslan before the meeting at the Stone Table with the White Witch). When all the necessary lessons are learned, the moral growth of the heroes occurs, and they again return to the starting point of their wanderings for the possibility of new moral growth - all to the same mysterious doors of the wardrobe.

III. Conclusion.

In conclusion, I would like to note that the book by K.S. Lewis“The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” is an amazing and beautiful story in which love and kindness rule, and good always triumphs over evil. This book teaches the reader not only how to grow morally, above oneself or life circumstances, but also that in real life There is always a place for miracle and magic. And this applies not only to children, because, as the author wrote, “But someday you will grow up to the day when you start reading fairy tales again.”

IV. Used Books.

    K.S. Lewis Chronicles of Narinia. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe", "Eksmo" 2016- 192 p.

    Literaryencyclopedic dictionary/Under general. ed. V. M. Kozhevnikova, P. A. Nikolaeva. Editorial team: L. G. Andreev, N. I. Balashov, A. G. Bocharov et al.-M.: Sov. encyclopedia, 1987.-752 p.

    Legends and myths Ancient Greece Kun N.A., Veche, 2010, -464 p.

The Chronicles of Narnia by Clive Staples Lewis, at the top of most lists best books of all times and peoples, is a mysterious phenomenon, the key to which has not yet been found. Let's try to figure out how to read them.

His main specialty was a literary historian. For most of his life he taught the history of literature of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance at Oxford, and in the end he headed a department created especially for him at Cambridge. In addition to five scientific books and a huge number of articles, Lewis published eight books in the genre of Christian apologetics (BBC programs on religion during the Second World War made him famous throughout Britain, and “Letters of a Screwtape” - in Europe and the USA), a spiritual autobiography, three parable stories, three science fiction novels and two collections of poetry. As was the case with Lewis Carroll, John R. R. Tolkien and many other "children's" writers, the children who brought Lewis world fame were far from the most important things he wrote.

The main difficulty of Narnia is the incredible heterogeneity of the material from which they are collected. This is especially noticeable against the backdrop of the fiction books of John Tolkien, Lewis’s closest friend and fellow member of the Inklings literary community, a perfectionist extremely attentive to the purity and harmony of themes and motifs. Tolkien worked on his books for years and decades (most were never finished), carefully polishing the style and carefully ensuring that no outside influences penetrated into his carefully thought-out world. Lewis wrote quickly (Narnia was written from the late 1940s to 1956), cared little about style, and lumped together different traditions and mythologies. Tolkien did not like The Chronicles of Narnia, seeing in them an allegory of the Gospel, and allegorism as a method was deeply alien to him (he never tired of fighting off attempts to present The Lord of the Rings as an allegory in which the War of the Ring is World War II, and Sauron is this is Hitler).

Allegorism is indeed no stranger to Lewis, and yet to see Narnia as a simple retelling of biblical stories is to oversimplify them.

The first part of the cycle features Father Christmas, the Snow Queen from Andersen's fairy tale, fauns and centaurs from ancient Greek mythology, endless winter from Scandinavian mythology, English children straight from the novels of Edith Nesbit, and the plot about the execution and revival of the lion Aslan duplicates the gospel the story of the betrayal, execution and resurrection of Jesus Christ. To understand what The Chronicles of Narnia are, let’s try to decompose their complex and diverse material into different layers.

The confusion begins with the order in which The Chronicles of Narnia should be read. The fact is that they are not published in the order in which they were written. The Magician's Nephew, which tells the story of the creation of Narnia, the appearance of the White Witch there, and the origin of the Wardrobe, was written next to last, followed by The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, which retains much of the charm of the original story. In this sequence, it was published in the most efficient Russian edition - the fifth and sixth volumes of the eight-volume collected works of Lewis - and most film adaptations of the book begin with it.

After The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe comes The Horse and His Boy, then Prince Caspian, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, The Silver Chair, then the prequel The Sorcerer's Nephew and finally Last fight".

Surges of interest in The Chronicles of Narnia in last years associated with the Hollywood film adaptations of the series. Any film adaptation inevitably confuses fans of the literary source, but here the fans’ rejection of the new films turned out to be much more acute than in the case of The Lord of the Rings. And, oddly enough, it’s not even a matter of quality. The film adaptation of books about Narnia is complicated by the very allegorism, or, more precisely, parable, of the country of Aslan. Unlike “The Lord of the Rings”, where the dwarves and elves are primarily dwarves and elves, behind the heroes of “Narnia” the background often clearly appears (when the lion is not just a lion), and therefore a realistic film adaptation turns a parable full of hints into a flat one action. Much better are the BBC films made between 1988 and 1990, with a plush Aslan and fabulous talking animals: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Prince Caspian, The Treader of the Dawn Treader and The Silver Chair.


Where did it come from?

Lewis liked to say that Narnia began long before it was written.

The image of a faun walking through a winter forest with an umbrella and bundles under his arm haunted him from the age of 16 and came in handy when Lewis for the first time - and not without some fear - came face to face with children with whom he did not know how to communicate. In 1939, his house near Oxford was home to several girls evacuated from London during the war. Lewis began to tell them fairy tales: this is how the images that lived in his head began to move, and after a few years he realized that the emerging story needed to be written down. Sometimes interactions between Oxford professors and children end up like this.

Lucy

The prototype of Lucy Pevensie is considered to be June Flewett, the daughter of a teacher of ancient languages ​​at St. Paul's School (Chesterton graduated from it), who was evacuated from London to Oxford in 1939, and in 1943 ended up in Lewis's house. June was sixteen and Lewis was her favorite Christian author. However, only after living in his house for several weeks did she realize that the famous apologist C. S. Lewis and the owner of the house, Jack (as his friends called him), were one and the same person. June entered drama school(and Lewis paid for her tuition), became a famous theater actress and director (her stage name is Jill Raymond) and married the grandson of the famous psychoanalyst Sir Clement Freud, writer, radio host and member of parliament.

“Narnia” is dedicated to Lewis’s goddaughter, Lucy Barfield, the adopted daughter of Owen Barfield, the author of books on the philosophy of language and one of Lewis’s closest friends.

Hobo Quackle

The hobo croak Puddleglum from The Silver Chair is based on the outwardly gloomy but kind inside gardener Lewis, and his name is an allusion to a line of Seneca, translated by John Studley (in English his name is Puddleglum - “sullen ooze”, Studley had “stygian gloomy slurry" about the waters of the Styx): Lewis examines this translation in his thick book dedicated to the 16th century.

Narnia

Lewis did not invent Narnia, but found it in the Atlas of the Ancient World when he was studying Latin in preparation for entering Oxford. Narnia is the Latin name for the city of Narni in Umbria. Blessed Lucia Brocadelli, or Lucia of Narnia, is considered the city's heavenly patroness.

The geographical prototype that inspired Lewis is most likely located in Ireland. Lewis loved northern County Down from childhood and traveled there more than once with his mother. He said that "heaven is Oxford transported to the middle of County Down." According to some reports, Lewis even told his brother the exact place that became for him the image of Narnia - this is the village of Rostrevor in the south of County Down, more precisely the slopes of the Mourne Mountains, which overlook the glacial fjord of Carlingford Lough.

Digory Kirk

The prototype of the elderly Digory from The Lion and the Witch was Lewis's tutor, William Kirkpatrick, who prepared him for admission to Oxford. And here is the chronicle “The Sorcerer’s Nephew,” in which Digory Kirke resists the temptation to steal an apple eternal life for his terminally ill mother, is connected with the biography of Lewis himself. Lewis experienced the death of his mother at the age of nine, and this was a severe blow for him, leading to the loss of faith in God, which he was able to regain only at the age of thirty.


How The Chronicles of Narnia Connects to the Bible

Aslan and Jesus

The biblical layer in Narnia was most important to Lewis. The Creator and ruler of Narnia, “the son of the Emperor-beyond-the-sea,” is depicted as a lion not only because this is a natural image for the king of a land of talking animals. Jesus Christ is called the Lion of the Tribe of Judah in the Revelation of John the Theologian. Aslan creates Narnia with song - and this is a reference not only to the biblical story of creation by the Word, but also to creation as the embodiment of the music of the Ainur from Tolkien's The Silmarillion.

Aslan appears in Narnia at Christmas, giving his life to save the “son of Adam” from the captivity of the White Witch. The forces of evil kill him, but he is resurrected, because the ancient magic that existed before the creation of Narnia says: “When instead of a traitor, one who is not guilty of anything, who has not committed any betrayal, ascends to the sacrificial Table of his own free will, the Table will break and death itself will recede before him.”

At the end of the book, Aslan appears to the heroes in the form of a lamb, symbolizing Christ in the Bible and early Christian art, and invites them to taste fried fish- This is an allusion to the appearance of Christ to the disciples on Lake Tiberias.

Shasta and Moses

The plot of the book “The Horse and His Boy,” which tells about the escape of the boy Shasta and the talking horse from the country of Tarkhistan, which is ruled by a tyrant and where false and cruel gods are worshiped, to free Narnia, is an allusion to the story of Moses and the exodus of the Jews from Egypt.

Dragon-Eustace and baptism

The book “The Dawn Treader, or Voyage to the End of the World” describes the internal rebirth of one of the heroes, Eustace Harm, who, succumbing to greed, turns into a dragon. His transformation back into a human being is one of the most striking allegories of baptism in world literature.

The Last Battle and the Apocalypse

The Last Battle, the final book in the series, telling of the end of the old and the beginning of the new Narnia, is an allusion to the Revelation of John the Evangelist, or Apocalypse. In the insidious Monkey, who seduces the inhabitants of Narnia, forcing them to bow to the false Aslan, one can guess the paradoxically presented plot about the Antichrist and the Beast.


Sources of The Chronicles of Narnia

Ancient mythology

The Chronicles of Narnia are not just filled with characters from ancient mythology - fauns, centaurs, dryads and sylvans. Lewis, who knew and loved antiquity well, is not afraid to scatter references to it at the most different levels. One of the memorable scenes of the cycle is the procession of Bacchus, Maenads and Silenus, freed from the yoke of natural forces, led by Aslan in “Prince Caspian” (the combination is quite risky from the point of view of church tradition, which considers pagan gods to be demons). And at the most sublime moment in the finale of “The Last Battle,” when the heroes see that beyond the old Narnia a new one is opening, relating to the old one as a prototype to an image, Professor Kirke mutters to himself, looking at the surprise of the children: “Plato has all this, everything from Plato... My God, what are they taught in these schools!”

Medieval literature

Lewis knew and loved the Middle Ages - and even considered himself a contemporary of ancient authors rather than new ones - and he tried to use everything that he knew and loved in his books. It is not surprising that Narnia contains many references to medieval literature. Here are just two examples.

The Marriage of Philology and Mercury, a work by the fifth-century Latin writer and philosopher Marcianus Capella, tells how the virgin Philology sails to the end of the world on a ship along with a lion, a cat, a crocodile and a crew of seven sailors; preparing to drink from the cup of Immortality, Philology throws out books in the same way as Reepicheep, the embodiment of chivalry, in The Treader of the Dawn, throws away his sword on the threshold of Aslan's country. And the awakening of nature in the scene of Aslan’s creation of Narnia from “The Sorcerer’s Nephew” resembles the scene of the appearance of the Virgin Nature from “Nature’s Lament” - a Latin allegorical work by Alan of Lille, a 12th-century poet and theologian.

English literature

Lewis's major was history. English literature, and he could not deny himself the pleasure of playing with his favorite object. Narnia's main sources are his two best-studied works: Edmund Spenser's The Faerie Queene and John Milton's Paradise Lost.

The white witch is very similar to Spencer's Duessa. She tries to seduce Edmund with oriental sweets, and Digory with the apple of life, just as Duessa seduced the Knight of the Scarlet Cross with a knight's shield (even the details coincide - the bells on the White Witch's carriage were given to her by Duessa, and the Green Witch from The Silver Chair, like Lie turns out to be beheaded by her captive).

The Ape dressing up Burdock's donkey as Aslan is a reference to the sorcerer Archmage from Spenser's book creating the false Florimella; the Tarkhistanis - to Spencer’s “Saracens”, attacking the main character, the Knight of the Scarlet Cross, and his lady Una; and the fall and redemption of Edmund and Eustace - to the fall and redemption of the Knight of the Scarlet Cross;
Lucy is accompanied by Aslan and the faun Tumnus, like Spenser's Una - a lion, a unicorn, fauns and satyrs.

The silver chair also comes from The Faerie Queene. There on the silver throne underground kingdom Proserpina sits. Particularly interesting is the similarity between the scenes of the creation of the world through song in “Paradise Lost” and “The Sorcerer’s Nephew” - especially since this plot has no biblical parallels, but is close to the corresponding plot from Tolkien’s “The Silmarillion”.


"The Narnia Code", or How the Seven Books Are United

Despite the fact that Lewis has repeatedly admitted that he did not plan a series when he began working on the first books, researchers have long been trying to unravel the “Narnia code,” the plan that unites all seven books. They are seen as corresponding to the seven Catholic sacraments, the seven degrees of Anglican initiation, the seven virtues or the seven deadly sins. The English scientist and priest Michael Ward went the furthest along this path, suggesting that the seven “Narnias” correspond to the seven planets of medieval cosmology. Here's how:

"The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" - Jupiter

Its attributes are royalty, a turn from winter to summer, from death to life.

"Prince Caspian" - Mars

This book is about the war of liberation waged by the indigenous people of Narnia against the Telmarines who enslaved them. An important motive of the book is the fight against the usurper of local deities and the awakening of nature. One of the names of Mars is Mars Silvanus, “forest”; “This is not only the god of war, but also the patron of forests and fields, and therefore the forest going to war against the enemy (a motif of Celtic mythology, used by Shakespeare in Macbeth) - doubly on the part of Mars.

"Treader of the Dawn Treader" - Sun

In addition to the fact that the edge of the world where the sun rises is the goal of the book’s heroes’ journey, it is filled with solar and sun-related symbolism; the lion Aslan also appears in radiance as a solar being. The main antagonists of the book are snakes and dragons (there are five of them in the book), but the sun god Apollo is the conqueror of the dragon Typhon.

"Silver Chair" - Moon

Silver is a lunar metal, and the influence of the Moon on the ebb and flow of tides connected it with the water element. Paleness, reflected light and water, swamps, underground seas are the main elements of the book. The abode of the Green Witch is a ghostly kingdom inhabited by those who have lost their orientation in space big world"sleepwalkers".

"The Horse and His Boy" - Mercury

The plot is based on the reunion of twins, of which there are several pairs in the book, and the constellation Gemini is ruled by Mercury. Mercury is the patron of rhetoric, and speech and its acquisition is also one of the most important themes of the book. Mercury is the patron of thieves and deceivers, and the main characters of the book are a horse who was kidnapped by a boy, or a boy who was kidnapped by a horse.

"The Sorcerer's Nephew" - Venus

The White Witch closely resembles Ishtar, the Babylonian equivalent of Venus. She seduces Uncle Andrew and tries to seduce Digory. The creation of Narnia and the blessing of animals to inhabit it is a triumph of the productive principle, bright Venus.

"The Last Battle" - Saturn

It is the planet and deity of unfortunate events, and the collapse of Narnia occurs under the sign of Saturn. In the finale, the giant Time, who in the drafts is directly called Saturn, having risen from sleep, blows his horn, opening the way to a new Narnia, just as the circle of times in Virgil’s IV eclogue, when completed, brings the eschatological kingdom of Saturn closer.


What does all of this mean

There are a lot of stretches in this kind of reconstruction (especially since Lewis denied the existence of a single plan), but the popularity of Ward’s book - and it was even made into a documentary film - indicates that one should look for references in Narnia to everything Lewis did with He was very passionate about being a scientist, an extremely rewarding and exciting occupation. Moreover, a careful study of the connections between Lewis's scientific studies and his artistic writings (and in addition to the tales of Narnia, he wrote an allegory in the spirit of John Bunyan, a kind of novel in letters in the spirit of Erasmus of Rotterdam, three fantasy novels in the spirit of John Milton and Thomas Malory, and a parable novel in the spirit of Apuleius’s “Golden Ass”) and through apologetics shows that the confusion so noticeable in Narnia is not a flaw, but an organic part of his method.

Lewis did not simply use images of European culture and literature as details to decorate his intellectual constructions, nor did he simply stuff his tales with allusions to surprise his readers or wink at his colleagues. If Tolkien, in his books about Middle-earth, constructs a “mythology for England” based on the Germanic languages, Lewis in “Narnia” reinvents the European myth. European culture and literature were for him a living source of delight and inspiration and a natural building material, from which he created everything he wrote - from lectures and scientific books to sermons and fiction.

The effect of such free and enthusiastic mastery of the material is the ability to speak in the language of fairy tales about a huge number of quite serious things - and not just about life and death, but about what lies beyond the line of death and what mystics and theologians dared to talk about in the Middle Ages so beloved by Lewis .

Whoever was king in Narnia will always remain king in Narnia.

The dictionary will be under the sea, not yet finalized.

BACCHUS, Bromium, Bassareus, Aries - the names of Dionysus, in Greek mythology the god of the fruitful forces of the earth, vegetation, viticulture,
winemaker, son of Zeus and Semele, daughter of the Theban king. One day, in
While sailing in the Aegean Sea, Dionysus was kidnapped by sea robbers
and they put him in chains to sell him into slavery, but the chains themselves
fell from the hands of Dionysus; entwined with vines and ivy around the mast and
sails of the ship, Dionysus appeared in the form of a bear and a lion. The pirates themselves
They rushed into the sea out of fear and turned into dolphins. Everywhere on
On his way, Dionysus teaches people viticulture and winemaking. IN
The procession of Dionysus was attended by bacchantes, satyrs, maenads or bassarides with
wands entwined with ivy. Girdled with snakes, they crushed everything
on their way, seized by sacred madness. With cries of "Bacchus, Evoe"
they praised Dionysus-Bromius ("stormy", "noisy" and beat the tympanums.
Dionysus was also identified with the Egyptian sun god Amun,
Amun's sacred animal is the ram (Aries).


GHOUL, werewolf - in Slavic mythology a werewolf,
having the supernatural ability to transform into a wolf.

GNOMES- in the mythology of the peoples of Europe, small, humanoid
creatures that live underground, in the mountains or in the forest. They are as tall as
child or the size of a finger, but endowed with supernatural power, wear
long beards and live much longer than humans. In the bowels of the earth
gnomes keep treasures - precious stones and metals; they are skillful
artisans can forge magic rings, swords, etc. Usually
gnomes give people good advice, but they are also hostile to them (especially
black gnomes).

GINNS- .in Muslim mythology, spirits, often evil. According to
Muslim tradition, jinn were created by Allah from smokeless fire and
They are airy or fiery bodies with intelligence.
They can take on any form and carry out any orders.

BOWNIE- in East Slavic mythology, the spirit of home. Introduced himself
in the form of a person, often on the same face as the owner of the house, or as
a small old man with a face covered with white fur. From a well-wisher-
The health of the livestock depended on the hostility of the brownie.
The brownie often became close to evil spirits and, according to belief, could
turn into a cat, dog, cow, sometimes into a snake, rat or
frog.

DRYADS- in Greek mythology, nymphs, patroness of trees,
some of them were born and died along with the tree. It was believed that
those who plant trees and care for them enjoy special
patronage of dryads.

UNICORN- a mythical animal (in early traditions with the body of a bull,
in later ones with the body of a horse, sometimes a goat), called by the most
characteristic feature - the presence of one straight long horn on
forehead. In the medieval Christian tradition, the unicorn is considered
as a symbol of purity and virginity. In Russian "Azbukovniki" 16-17
centuries the unicorn is described as a terrible and invincible beast, like
a horse whose entire strength lies in its horn. Unicorn horn
healing properties were attributed (according to folklore
The unicorn uses its horn to purify water poisoned by the snake).

CENTAURS- in Greek mythology, wild creatures, semi-humans
half-horses, inhabitants of mountains and forest thickets, are distinguished by their violent temperament and
intemperance, but some centaurs, such as Chiron, embody
wisdom and benevolence, bring up the heroes of Greek myths.

KIKIMORA- in East Slavic mythology, the evil spirit of the house, a small invisible woman (sometimes considered the wife of a brownie). At night, she disturbs small children, confuses yarn, and is hostile to men.
May harm domestic animals, particularly chickens.

http://dragons-nest.ru/glossary/img/hecate.jpg WITCHES, witches - in mythology and popular beliefs, women who entered into an alliance with the devil (or other evil spirits) in order to gain supernatural abilities.

Goblin- in East Slavic mythology an evil spirit, incarnation
forests as a part of space hostile to humans. Leshy is the owner
forests and animals, he is represented dressed in animal skin, sometimes with
animal attributes - horns, hooves.

MINOTAUR- in Greek mythology, a bull-man monster who lived on
Crete. He was in an underground labyrinth, where he was annually brought
seven young men and women were sacrificed. Athenian prince Theseus voluntarily
went to Crete among those destined to be devoured by the Minotaur,
killed the monster, and with the help of the thread of the king's daughter in love with him
Ariadne got out of the labyrinth.

NAIADS- in Greek mythology, nymphs of sources, streams and springs, guardians of water. Bathing in their water cures diseases.

NYMPHS- in Greek mythology, the deity of nature, its life-giving and fruitful forces: rivers, seas, springs, lakes, swamps, mountains, groves, trees. Some of them are mortal, such as tree nymphs - they are inseparable from the tree in which they live. They are the owners of ancient wisdom, the secrets of life and death. They heal and heal, predict the future.

WEREWOLVES

SATIRE- in Greek mythology, fertility demons who were part of
retinue of Dionysus. They are covered with fur, long hair, bearded, with
horse or goat hooves, with horse tails, horse
or goat ears, but their torso and head are human. They
bullies love wine.

STRONG- in Greek mythology, fertility demons, the embodiment
elemental forces of nature. They are part of the retinue of Dionysus, ugly, snub-nosed,
thick-lipped, with bulging eyes, with a horse's tail and hooves. They
They are famous for their cocky disposition and passion for wine. Depicted sitting
on a donkey and sipping wine from the skin.

SIRENS- in Greek mythology, demonic creatures, semi-
half-bird women who inherited a divine voice from their mother-muse.

TRITON- in Greek mythology, a sea deity, the son of Poseidolnos. He lives in the depths of the sea in a golden house. Sea creatures newts love to frolic and blow shells.

GHOUL- in Slavic mythology, a dead man who attacks people and animals.

FAUN- in Roman mythology, the god of forests, fields, pastures, animals. The faun was considered a crafty spirit who stole children.