The Narnia Code by Michael Ward dives into the imagination of C. S. Lewis, particularly as it relates to his seven beloved children's stories, The Chronicles of Narnia. Ward thinks he has made a discovery that will reshape how we think about Narnia and shed light on all seven of the chronicles.
Many
scholars have puzzled over the seeming disconnect and lack of
continuity between many of the finer details of the Narnian world—why
does Father Christmas appear in The Lion, the Witch, and
the Wardrobe, only to never be
mentioned again? Why does Bacchus do so in Prince Caspian?
Why does the passing of winter play such a central role in Lion,
when thick forests and undergrowth dominate Caspian and
wind and rain permeate The Silver Chair?
In short, why does each of the books feel so distinctly unique,
despite belonging to the same world? Does some kind of meta-plan make
sense of the different atmospheres?
Ward wants to say
yes. He wants to say that Lewis wrote the Narnia chronicles in such a
way that each one of the books has themes and atmospheres that are
linked to one of the seven pre-Copernican planets (the Moon, Mercury,
Venus, the Sun, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn).
Lewis was
well-versed in Medieval worldviews, and he thought very highly of the
Medieval tendency to use powerful symbolism when thinking about “the
heavens” – that is, the planets. In pre-Copernican thought, each
planet had strong associations—“flavors,” if you will. Jupiter
had an air of jollity and royalty, Mars of war and sylvan landscapes,
the Sun (considered a planet before the Copernican Revolution) of
turning things to gold and slaying serpents—and the list goes on.
Ward's thesis is
that Lewis took his love of pre-Copernican astrology and imbued it
into each one of the Narnia books so that each one would have its own
strong unifying feel (strong, but subtle) for the sake of the
ultimate goal of a fuller and richer portrayal of the person of
Christ. If each book could powerfully capture some aspect or portion
of the nature of Christ, then together they could paint a fuller
picture (though by no means an all-inclusive picture).
The book has its
weaknesses: at times Ward comes across a bit heavy-handed, like he
might be trying to hammer his idea into your skull, and at times his
prose sounds as if he's attempting to explain to readers in grade
school. Many parts of his arguments are underdeveloped, and some feel
as though either the first or second half of the argument are simply
missing.
But I
believe we can extend some grace to Ward on these points, given that
The Narnia Code is
simply the popularized version of his dissertation, Planet
Narnia, where he flushes his
ideas out fully, but I still wish the book was more tightly
constructed.
That
being said, his proposition is fascinating to say the least, even if
not particularly well-delivered in this form. Does he overemphasize
the practical implications of his thoughts? I believe so. I do not
think most readers will find Narnia suddenly
revolutionized before them. But he does provide a powerful framework
for the further enriching and making sense of these delightful tales.
He
tantalizes you, makes you want to simultaneously run out and buy
Planet Narnia that you
might go deeper with his theories, while also making you want to
immediately scour the books themselves, looking to see to what extent
the texts confirm his thoughts to be true.
As to
whether or not Lewis intentionally may or may not have constructed
his books in such a way—I am entirely able to believe that he did
so. Lewis was a man of towering imagination, meticulous craft, and
great love not only for symbolism and astrology, but also of course
for stories and all that makes them great. And for him, one of the
most important aspects of any story was its air,
its atmosphere, the small details on the peripherals that made the
whole thing drip with the nature at the story's core.
