the problem of Susan

[bonny_kate]

Why isn't Susan in Narnia, at the end? This question continues to be a source of discussion among people who like Narnia. Most see it as a weakness of the story. I don't. I think it is purposeful, and successful.

Before looking directly at the problem that Susan's absence provides, I want to first talk a little about Dante. This isn't actually a rabbit trail, as Lewis really liked the medievals, especially Dante. He liked the medieval worldview; their idea of how the world functioned (see The Discarded Image). To take just one example, look at what stars are in Narnia. They are people, different, perhaps incomprehensible in many ways, but they are souls with fiery, corporeal bodies. Dante has the same idea of stars. So, looking at Dante can help us understand Lewis, as well as the other way round.

All the souls in Dante's hell are there because they want to be there (see my earlier post "gollum and hell"). Hell is horrible, but the most horrible thing about it in many ways is that it is a chosen evil. No truly good person can be in hell. They may have appeared good, but in the end they did not choose that ultimate good. Like the animals in the Last Battle, they had that one moment of clearly seeing, they saw Aslan, and they said, "not this." This is a very strange picture of hell. The animals stream away in both directions, some towards the light, but some to be lost in the darkness. Aslan does not judge them. He merely lets them choose whether they want him, or not. As in Dante's hell, the judgment is not what we easily picture. It is merely giving them what they want.

So, if Susan is not in Narnia, the real Narnia, it is not because of some judgment against her, but because she chose otherwise. This is also supported within the book. We are told that Susan is no longer a friend of Narnia, that she no longer wants it, that she prefers other things instead (it does not really matter what other things she chose as much as that choice). She does not come back to Narnia because she does not want to. One objection is that Eustace and Edmund are horrid, and yet they are let into Narnia, although (especially in the case of Eustace) it isn't what they want. There is a difference, though, in type. Neither Eustace or Edmund have, at that point, actually experienced Narnia. They are not rejecting it with the full knowledge of what it is. Susan rejects Narnia having gone there, and having reigned as queen. She experienced it, she lived there, she met Aslan, and yet she still calls it a game. This seems a much more serious offense.

In Lewis, and Susan's defense, I should like to point out that we don't know what happens to Susan in the end. She might find her way back to Narnia. Once a king or queen in Narnia, always a king or queen. She may never find her way to Narnia. But if she doesn't, it will not be for choosing lipstick and flirting with boys. She will not be in Narnia because she didn't really want it. This is still sad, but a different kind of sadness. It is sad, not because lipstick is so bad, but because she would choose anything over Narnia.

That is my response to the problem of Susan. It seems to me to be supported textually and thematically. Is it a satisfying response, or am I missing something in my understanding of the text?

Comments

[charismitaine.livejournal.com]

Awesome post, Kate. *applause*

[bonny-kathryn.livejournal.com]

Thanks. *blushes*

[reading-angel.livejournal.com]

Yes, exactly.