"Dearest," said Aslan very gently, "you and your brother will never come back to Narnia."
"Oh, Aslan!!" said Edmund and Lucy both together in despairing voices.
"You are too old, children," said Aslan, "and you must begin to come close to your own world now."
"It isn't Narnia, you know," sobbed Lucy. "It's you. We shan't meet you there. And how can we live, never meeting you?"
"But you shall meet me, dear one," said Aslan.
"Are — are you there too, Sir?" said Edmund.
"I am," said Aslan. "But there I have another name. You must learn to know me by that name. This was the very reason why you were brought to Narnia, that by knowing me here for a little, you may know me better there."
C.S. Lewis, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (1952; this edition: HarperCollins, 1994) 247.
I was very happy with the great new The Voyage of the Dawn Treader movie! We went to see it on the weekend as part of my son's birthday celebration. And we all thought it was great.
ReplyDeleteI'm especially happy they preserved this key quote from the book given in today's reading. It's a great way to conclude the three movies with the Pevensie children.
Sounds great, maybe you will have to see it twice? Perhaps this Saturday? gary
ReplyDeleteI loved the movie, too... The ending was especially poignant and beautiful. I had forgotten that the Pevensie children were told they could never return to Narnia, and I found that moment incredibly moving, along with Eustace's voiceover narration at the VERY end... (Incidentally, his transformation was AMAZING! His entire face changed.) My nine-year-old daughter adored the movie as well. My husband – not a Lewis fan – thought it was "just okay." I wonder if one has to be a Lewis fan, a Christian, or a child (or some combo of the three) to enjoy this film... ?
ReplyDeletePerhaps, Gary. I would certainly love to see it again, maybe even in 3D this time!
ReplyDeleteI don't know that I've ever said this before, but, in this case, as much as I like the novel, I think the movie is actually better! It really brought the novel alive and drove home its message.
Anyone else seen it and care to comment?
Yes, Margaret, I agree that Eustace's "transformation was AMAZING! His entire face changed." This is one of the things I liked better in the movie than in the novel. By having Eustace remain as a dragon longer than in the novel, he changed more gradually, more dramatically and he endured more suffering. As a result, the whole dragon-thing become more integral to the story rather than just a chapter. And the encounter with Aslan all the more dramatic!
ReplyDelete"Now you are a lioness!" said Aslan. (Check it out here)
ReplyDeleteGreat to have you visiting the blog and reading more C.S. Lewis :)
what is it?
ReplyDeleteLewis is telling us that in the character of Aslan in The Chronicles of Narnia, we may learn something about Jesus which is not to say the Narnia chronicles are allegory. Lewis has Aslan explain it to Lucy and Edmund, saying, "There I have another name. You must learn to know me by that name. This was the very reason why you were brought to Narnia, that by knowing me here for a little, you may know me better there." Much of what we learn about Aslan turns out to be true of Jesus.
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