Posted: November 05, 1999 at 11:18:29: by shadowfax
: Had it not been for Lewis, LOTR may never have been finished, for it was Lewis who stayed on Tolkien to keep writing it. I've never understood why Tolkien was suspicious and jealous of the Narnia books, because they don't horn in on Tolkien's territory at all. In their lightness of tone, their obvious allegorical content, and their different style and lack of detailed history and languages they are very different from Tolkien's works. They are very interesting and enjoyable to read, however. I read it first when I was 13 and again in my early 20s and it was amazing how much had gone over my head the first time around. The theological argument with the deceiving witch in The Silver Chair and the Platonic imagery in The Last Battle (the real England, e.g.) are two examples.I agree that the Narnia books can hardly be seen as competition to JRRT's own works. But even so, just out of academic interest. There are some interesting parallels: in ME, Aman is reached by sailing West across the sea.
in Narnia, Reepicheep reaches Aslan's country by sailing East. is this mutual inspiration, or is there a common mythological origin of the Land of the Gods lying beyond a sea? There are also other parallels, such as the underworld of the Silver Chair containing elements of Moria? Complete with sleeping Balrogs? And references to deeper worlds unknown to us surface dwellers?
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