Thursday, September 18, 2008

On hope and the existence of fauns, dwarfs, and talking beasts

I'm reading Prince Caspian aloud to my two beautiful children.

Clive Staples Lewis writes:

"... You can search through all the nooks and wild places of the land to see if any Fauns or Talking Beasts or Dwarfs are perhaps still alive in hiding."

"Do you think there are any?" asked Caspian eagerly.

"I don't know--I don't know," said the Doctor with a deep sigh. "Sometimes I am afraid there can't be. I have been looking for traces of them all my life. Sometimes I have thought I heard a Dwarf-drum in the mountains. Sometimes at night, in the woods, I thought I had caught a glimpse of Fauns and Satyrs dancing a long way off; but when I came to the place, there as never anything there. I have often despaired; but something always happens to start me hoping again. I don't know. But at least you can try to be a King like the High King Peter of old, and not like your uncle."


Bloody C.S. Lewis, nailing that whole unavoidableness of hope thing. Lazarus wasn't safe even after he was dead.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Picky feminazi aunt is poking her nose in and hoping a few gentle plot changes are made on your way through the narnia chronicles. make sure the girls know that not all female authority is evil, and they can kick as much arse as the boys if they need to.
xx s.

Megs said...

hear hear! around here it's ass the girls kick! Eowyn and Coco are such delighters in the wonderfulness of being women - I hate to think of their first encounter with ugly patriarchy, and hope they are prepared well to fight it! thanks seren and bens for helping fortify them! we all love our feminazi aunt seren!

fauns and satyrs dance in our glade at night, our enchanted wood, beneath the mountain ash and chestnut and cedars and pear, apple and plum trees at the bottomw of our garden.

Megs said...

and dryads of course!!!