Narnia thoughts; also thoughts on books read as children vs. as adults

[valis2]

I enjoyed it, absolutely. I have not read the book in many years and couldn't recall much of it going into it, but that turned out not to matter. It proceeded at a steady pace, and I thought that the actors did a brilliant job, especially the four children who are the main characters. Lucy was terrific. They all were.

There were thoughts I had, like I remembered a scene where Edmund is in the castle of the White Witch and she sends him into a room filled with Turkish Delight, and he eats and eats, but perhaps I'm making that up, because it wasn't in the movie. I really thought it was, though, because I remember it so vividly, and how wonderful it sounded. Finding out that it was enchanted, and that it would only ever cause one to want more of it...it was profoundly affecting. I remember thinking that no matter what happened there would be times where Edmund would crave it, even though he could never have it again.

Reading a book as a child is such a different experience than reading it as an adult. As a child I would be totally immersed in the story, and I would experience it almost without barriers, so to speak. It would come alive for me in a completely different way than it does now.

I'm not saying that I can't get into books now. I'm just saying that the connection is not as strong. As an adult I am not only reading the story, but I am aware that I am reading the story. I am aware of the author's background, the reviews I've read of the story, the possible biases of the author/reviewers, and I'm looking for more than just a straight reading of the story. I'm looking for other levels as well. Levels of meaning, of symbolism, of allusions to other works. As a child I was simply reading it, submerging myself within the world, but as an adult, there is this distinct awareness that accompanies you into all but the best of books. There is a layer separating you that is difficult to pierce.

So seeing the movie now was an emotional experience. It's a little like looking at oneself from the distance of years, and seeing something that once filled you with wonder. I was close to tears many times during the movie, and not just because of the Big Tearful Moments, but because of little ones. Seeing Mr. Tumnus was like seeing a very old and dear friend. The wonder of the wardrobe was...it's hard to put a finger on it. It's as if you now have the pony you always wanted when you were six. It is an empty satisfaction, somehow. The heart sees it, and there is a feeling of awe and joy, but at the same time, the mind is working, thinking and knowing and reminding you of all the years between you, and that a pony is not something that will make you complete any longer.

I don't think I will need to see it again. It is primarily a simplistic story, with none of the trappings that intrigue me as a fannish adult. I find I have no desire to linger in Narnia any longer. Yes, there are definitely levels to it, I completely understand. I know if I spent time analyzing it I would see many interesting things. But I just don't want to let my mind map it all out, cut it to bits, and reassemble it, I think. I would like it to stay as Narnia in my mind, with a room in the White Witch's castle full of Turkish Delight.

Comments

[gillieweed.livejournal.com]

Glad to hear you enjoyed it, despite never getting that pony. I'm sure I'll be taking the daughter to see it once school's out.
No need to spend any time analyzing. Rest assured you'll be seeing plenty of that. We'll all be inundated with wank over missing scenes and, annoying actors and screenwriters Missing The Point which will dissolve into essays on the real meaning of it all that serve only to cure the insomniacs among us--until the fighting breaks out over who actually knows what the author really meant as opposed to every other reader/viewer who've just plain Got It All Wrong.
Then the slash and crossover fics will start. I predict Firienze/Tumnus will get things started, then all bets are off!

Pass that Turkish Delight!

[valis2.livejournal.com]

Firenze/Tumnus! Bwahahahahah!!! Oh, of course.

You're totally right...at some point there will be a f_w entry about people battling over how they "got it all wrong". *laughs again*

No pony for me now...have to work out obtaining the Stoned...er, Stone Lion. The Greeeeaaat Stone Lion.

[vanityfair00.livejournal.com]

Have you seen the movie Shadowlands? It's about CS Lewis and in it there is a scene where a boy visits him at his house. The boy finds a wardrobe in the attic, and Lewis has to deal with his disappointment at learning it was all just made up. That the wardrobe won't take him to Narnia. It's such a sad scene. But this post reminded me of it.

[valis2.livejournal.com]

As a child I was forced to have such a strong view of reality that it was often bitter for me to read things like Narnia and Elfquest because I would so much rather have been there instead of my own life.

It sounds like a powerful scene. I totally sympathize.

[gillieweed.livejournal.com]

You should rent Shadowlands.

[rexluscus.livejournal.com]

I think the room full of Turkish Delight was the Witch's promise to Edmund, and he imagined it quite vividly himself, but alas, he never got any more after that one box in the sled. I think that's how it happened, anyway.

[valis2.livejournal.com]

Heh...yet again, my brain stubbornly rewrites things for me. How amusing!

[zoepaleologa.livejournal.com]

There was no room, but when the witch first spoke to Edmund she promised that at her house, there were rooms full of Turkish Delight.

First Peter/Susan fic already referred to somewhere on my flist this am.

[valis2.livejournal.com]

My brain is quite mixed up sometimes about childhood things. *laughs*

Peter/Susan? Y'know, I had a feeling about that as I was watching the movie...fandom certainly warped me. That said, unless it is recommended as a lovely continuation of the books, I will not be reading any Narnia!fic. ;) I have no desire to accidentally stumble across Lucy/Mr. Tumnus.

[zoepaleologa.livejournal.com]

It was R rated. No I didn't click the link...

I can't read fanfic set in universes that are complete - hence no LOTR, or other Tolkien, and no Narnia, either, and no Potter probably after book 7.

[catsintheattic.livejournal.com]

As a child I was simply reading it, submerging myself within the world, but as an adult, there is this distinct awareness that accompanies you into all but the best of books. There is a layer separating you that is difficult to pierce.

That is why I refuse to reread some books about cowboys and indians that I just loved as a kid. I cherished the stories and relived them in my head over and over again, taking the role of one of the heroes. I even used to invent new story lines - fanficioning in my mind, so to speak. And I don't want to destroy that nostalgia now by taking a dissecting look from the distance of adulthood.

There are other books from my childhood, although. Like 'Never-ending Story' or 'Momo'. Those I can read again as an adult and am still able to find some of their wonders. They touched something deeper, more to my inner core. I can feel the nostalgia of the young girl but also the wonder of the grown up woman that these words still work for me. Those are the books that cover some of the truth of life - at least for me. I suppose that everybody has books/film/stories like that, that could tell a lot about what we value and hold dear.

[valis2.livejournal.com]

Those I can read again as an adult and am still able to find some of their wonders.

Oh yes. The Hobbit is one of my favorites. I reread it every other year, and I can hear John Huston's voice narrating bits of it. It's definitely a favorite, and is only enhanced by my adult self's reading of it.

[valis2.livejournal.com]

Yes, I enjoyed it very much. I don't think I'll see it again, but it was definitely worth it!

I must say that Aslan's death in the book devastated me as a child, and it was so much less devastating in the movie. I'm not certain why, but I think it was because there is that elusive inner monologue that movies cannot do as well as books.

[lady-branwyn.livejournal.com]

[Let's try this again with all of the words.]

I am glad to hear that you liked the movie--the Disney involvement made me very nervous, LOL!
Regarding your degree of immersion in books, now that I try to write my own fiction, I find myself beta-reading every damn thing I read! Very distracting. :-P

[valis2.livejournal.com]

Ah! Now I understand!

Yes, I have the same revising thoughts! Even when I read the B&H catalog, I notice errors now, and think of ways they could have written it in a clearer manner. *laughs*