I’ve mentioned before that there is one Narnia story that remains to be written. C.S. Lewis ought to have written it himself, and I think he would have, if he’d lived longer.
Narnia fans will remember that, in The Last Battle, all the children and adults who visited Narnia return as kings and queens. They’ve all come back to stay–all of them, that is, except for Susan. As Lewis wrote:
“…Has not your Majesty two sisters? Where is Queen Susan?”
“My sister Susan,” answered Peter shortly and gravely, “is no longer a friend of Narnia.”
“Yes,” said Eustace, “and whenever you’ve tried to get her to come and talk about Narnia or do anything about Narnia, she says, ‘What wonderful memories you have! Fancy you still thinking about all those funny games we used to play when we were children.'”
“Oh, Susan!” said Jill. “She’s interested in nothing nowadays except nylons and lipstick and invitations. She was always a jolly sight too keen on being grown-up.”
“Grown-up, indeed,” said the Lady Polly. “I wish she would grow up. She wasted all her school time wanting to be the age she is now, and she’ll waste all the rest of her life trying to stay that age…”
The odd thing about this conversation is that all the speakers are dead. They have passed on into the afterlife. So apparently Susan has not yet died, and is lost to Narnia forever.
But what did Aslan do to Susan, her brothers, and her sister in the first Narnia book, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe? He made them kings and queens of Narnia. And what did he say?
“Once a king or queen in Narnia, always a king or queen.”
To those who understand the stories, it’s inconceivable that Aslan could be wrong. That he could have made an error in judgment in making Susan a queen. That he could have said “always” when he really meant, “for a little while or so.”
To be sure, Susan has been sidetracked by the cares and seductions of her life in the “real” world.
And so the story that needs to be written is, How does she get back to Narnia? How does Aslan rescue and redeem her?
We have all gone astray, at one time or another in our lives. We have all kept the Good Shepherd busy. But if He means to save you, He will. Period.
I would very much like to know Susan’s story, after her brothers and sister have died and been brought back to live eternally in Aslan’s country (of which Narnia and England are but parts).
Isn’t it about time someone wrote it?
Now you have me intrigued. But who would be qualified? Bring Jack back!
Bring him back to where? Oh, don’t worry about Jack from Bell Mountain. I don’t think I’m done with him yet.
Jack was CS Lewis’ nickname.
Duh! Oh, yeah, of course… I plum forgot.
Whom would you suggest? Take a look around. What do you see? Maybe you should ask the question of your fans! I’m not sure the picking would be very successful.
Lee, You should write it! Paul
Paul Herbert : family of Zimmerman sui juris sovereign living soul, holder of the office of “Bexar County Sheriff” Inhabitant on the land of Texas republic
Actually, you’d be surprised at the number of Susan-redemption stories in the fanfiction world 😀 I wrote two of them myself not too long ago (one of them was slightly non-canon, but only because I can’t reconcile Biblical teachings on eternal security with Susan’s blatant denial of Narnia and, by extension, Aslan; so in one of the stories I wrote her as not denying Narnia, but her siblings misunderstanding what she said). Anyways, if you’d like to read them to get some ideas, here they are (one has several chapters, the other is a one-shot):
http://www.fanfiction.net/s/8228289/1/Fears
http://www.fanfiction.net/s/7586847/1/My-Dear-Sister (at the top and bottom of the story is a button that says ‘next chapter’.)
I hope you enjoy!
How about that? You’ve already done the job!
I’ve read both your “Susan” pieces, Laura, and they’re awfully good. When I think of what an idiot I was when I was your age, I cringe. Shows you what a public education, plus some college, will do–folly factories, both of them.
Hey, everybody else around here–read Laura’s short stories (follow the links)! Read ’em now, before she becomes a famous writer. She already is a good one.
Thanks! I’m not sure if I want to become a famous writer, but if I ever do become one I’ll be sure to give you credit for helping it happen 😉 I was surprised when I got into the fanfiction world that there were SO MANY Susan redemption stories. Of course, most of them are pretty pathetic (and a lot of them of course have the reason she fell away as being because she and Caspian couldn’t be together; puh-leaze). But there are some gems that inspired me and some that are better than mine (only a few! LOL).
Anyways, thank you for the reviews. They made my day (well, night)!
I call ’em like I see ’em, Laura.