Editing The Chronicles of Narnia (section)

==Criticism==
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===Consistency===
Gertrude Ward noted that "When Lewis wrote ''The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe'', he clearly meant to create a world where there were no human beings at all. As the titles of Mr. Tumnus' books testify, in this world human beings are creatures of myth, while its common daily reality includes fauns and other creatures which are myth in our world. This worked well for the first volume of the series, but for later volumes Lewis thought up plots which required having more human beings in this world. In ''[[Prince Caspian]]'' he still kept the original structure and explained that more humans had arrived from our world at a later time, overrunning Narnia. However, later on he gave in and changed the entire concept of this world{{snds}}there have always been very many humans in this world, and Narnia is just one very special country with a lot of talking animals and fauns and dwarves etc. In this revised world, with a great human empire to the south of Narnia and human principality just next door, the White Witch would not have suspected Edmund of being a dwarf who shaved his beard{{snds}}there would be far more simple and obvious explanations for his origin. And in fact, in this revised world it is not entirely clear why were the four Pevensie children singled out for the Thrones of Narnia, over so many other humans in the world. […] Still, we just have to live with these discrepancies, and enjoy each Narnia book on its own merits."<ref>{{cite book|last=Ward|first=Gertrude|chapter=Narnia Revisited|editor-last=Wheately|editor-first=Barbara|title=Academic Round Table to Re-Examine 20th Century Children's Literature}}</ref>

===Accusations of gender stereotyping===
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NOTE TO EDITORS: There is a lengthy discussion on this section of the article on the talk page. We are working toward a consensus of what should be presented in this section and how to best present it. Please read through that discussion before editing. So far we seem to be in agreement on the following:

1) All information should be cited (criticisms and defences) as per Wikipedia:Cite
2) It is preferable to quote critics verbatim when short self contained quotes are available
3) Brief context should be provided for those not familiar with issues (i.e. Susan information)
4) defences should be short summaries rather than quotes
-->
In later years, both Lewis and the ''Chronicles'' have been criticised (often by other authors of fantasy fiction) for [[gender role]] stereotyping, though other authors have defended Lewis in this area. Most allegations of [[sexism]] centre on the description of Susan Pevensie in ''The Last Battle'' when Lewis writes that Susan is "no longer a friend of Narnia" and interested "in nothing nowadays except nylons and lipstick and invitations".

[[Philip Pullman]], inimical to Lewis on many fronts, calls the ''Narnia'' stories "monumentally disparaging of women".<ref name="Ezard">{{cite news|last1=Ezard|first1=John|title=Narnia books attacked as racist and sexist|url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2002/jun/03/gender.hayfestival2002|access-date=26 March 2015|newspaper=The Guardian|date=3 June 2002|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150208163207/http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2002/jun/03/gender.hayfestival2002|archive-date=8 February 2015}}</ref> His interpretation of the Susan passages reflects this view:
{{blockquote|Susan, like [[Cinderella]], is undergoing a transition from one phase of her life to another. Lewis didn't approve of that. He didn't like women in general, or [[human sexuality|sexuality]] at all, at least at the stage in his life when he wrote the Narnia books. He was frightened and appalled at the notion of wanting to grow up.<ref name="Pullman">{{cite web|last=Pullman|first=Philip|author-link=Philip Pullman|url=http://www.crlamppost.org/darkside.htm|title=The Dark Side of Narnia|work=The Cumberland River Lamppost|date=2 September 2001|access-date=10 December 2005|archive-date=16 November 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101116162137/http://www.crlamppost.org/darkside.htm|url-status=usurped}}</ref>}}

In fantasy author [[Neil Gaiman]]'s short story "The Problem of Susan" (2004),<ref>{{cite book|last=Gaiman|first=Neil|author-link=Neil Gaiman|chapter=The Problem of Susan|title=Flights: Extreme Visions of Fantasy Volume II|editor-last=Sarrantonio|editor-first=Al|publisher=New American Library|location=New York|year=2004|isbn=978-0-451-46099-8|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/flightsextremevi0000unse}}</ref><ref name="WagnerGolden2008">{{cite book|first1=Hank|last1=Wagner|first2=Christopher|last2=Golden|first3=Stephen R.|last3=Bissette|title=Prince of Stories: The Many Worlds of Neil Gaiman|url=https://archive.org/details/princeofstoriesm0000wagn/page/395|url-access=registration|date=28 October 2008|publisher=St. Martin's Press|isbn=978-1-4299-6178-3|pages=395–}}</ref><ref name="Gaiman2010FragileThings">{{cite book|author=Neil Gaiman|title=Fragile Things: Short Fictions and Wonders|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NoFHsQiguDIC|date=9 February 2010|publisher=HarperCollins|isbn=978-0-06-051523-2}}</ref> an elderly woman, Professor Hastings, deals with the grief and trauma of her entire family's death in a train crash.  Although the woman's maiden name is not revealed, details throughout the story strongly imply that this character is the elderly Susan Pevensie. The story is written for an adult audience and deals with issues of sexuality and violence and through it Gaiman presents a critique of Lewis's treatment of Susan, as well as the [[problem of evil]] as it relates to punishment and salvation.<ref name="WagnerGolden2008"/>

Lewis supporters cite the positive roles of women in the series, including Jill Pole in ''The Silver Chair'', Aravis Tarkheena in ''The Horse and His Boy'', Polly Plummer in ''The Magician's Nephew,'' and particularly Lucy Pevensie in ''The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe''. [[Alan Jacobs (academic)|Alan Jacobs]], an English professor at [[Wheaton College (Illinois)|Wheaton College]], asserts that Lucy is the most admirable of the human characters and that generally the girls come off better than the boys throughout the series (Jacobs, 2008: 259){{cnf|date=February 2020}}.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.livejournal.com/users/synaesthete7/176635.html|title=The Problem of Susan|first=RJ|last=Anderson|date=30 August 2005}}</ref>{{unreliable source?|date=February 2020}}<ref name="RilstoneLipstick">{{cite web|url=http://andrewrilstone.blogspot.com/2005/11/lipstick-on-my-scholar.html|title=Lipstick on My Scholar|first=Andrew|last=Rilstone|date=30 November 2005}}</ref>{{unreliable source?|date=February 2020}} In her contribution to ''The Chronicles of Narnia and Philosophy'', Karin Fry, an assistant professor of philosophy at the [[University of Wisconsin]], Stevens Point, notes that "the most sympathetic female characters in ''The Chronicles'' are consistently the ones who question the traditional roles of women and prove their worth to Aslan through actively engaging in the adventures just like the boys."<ref name="Bassham">{{cite book|last=Fry|first=Karin|editor1-last=Bassham|editor1-first=Gregory|editor2-last=Walls|editor2-first=Jerry L.|chapter=13: No Longer a Friend of Narnia: Gender in Narnia|title=The Chronicles of Narnia and Philosophy: The Lion, the Witch and the Worldview|publisher=Open Court|location=Chicago and La Salle, Illinois|year=2005}}</ref> Fry goes on to say:
{{blockquote|The characters have positive and negative things to say about both male and female characters, suggesting an equality between sexes. However, the problem is that many of the positive qualities of the female characters seem to be those by which they can rise above their femininity{{nbsp}}... The superficial nature of stereotypical female interests is condemned.<ref name="Bassham"/>}}

Nathan Ross notes that "Much of the plot of 'Wardrobe' is told exclusively from the point of view of Susan and Lucy. It is the girls who witness Aslan being killed and coming back to life – a unique experience from which the boys are excluded. Throughout, going through many highly frightening and shocking moments, Susan and Lucy behave with grown up courage and responsibility. Their experiences are told in full, over several chapters, while what the boys do at the same time – preparing an army and going into battle – is relegated to the background. This arrangement of material clearly implies that what girls saw and did was the more important. Given the commonly held interpretation – that Aslan is Jesus Christ and that what the girls saw was a no less than a reenacting of the Crucifixion – this order of priorities makes perfect sense".<ref>Nathan Vernon Ross, "Narnia Revisited" in "Is Children's Literature Intended Only For Children?", 2002 essay collection edited by Cynthia McDowel, p. 185-197</ref>

Taking a different stance altogether, Monika B. Hilder provides a thorough examination of the feminine ethos apparent in each book of the series, and proposes that critics tend to misread Lewis's representation of gender. As she puts it "...we assume that Lewis is sexist when he is in fact applauding the 'feminine' heroic. To the extent that we have not examined our own chauvinism, we demean the 'feminine' qualities and extol the 'masculine' – not noticing that Lewis does the opposite."<ref name="Hilder, 2012">{{cite book |last1=Hilder |first1=Monika B. |title=The Feminine Ethos in C. S. Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia |date=2012 |publisher=Peter Lang |location=New York |isbn=978-1-4331-1817-3 |page=160}}</ref>

===Accusations of racism===
<!--
NOTE TO EDITORS: There is a lengthy discussion on this section of the article on the talk page. We are working toward a consensus of what should be presented in this section and how to best present it. Please read through that discussion before editing. So far we seem to be in agreement on the following:

1) All information should be cited (criticisms and defences) as per Wikipedia:Cite
2) It is preferable to quote critics verbatim when short self contained quotes are available
3) Brief context should be provided for those not familiar with issues (ie Susan information)
4) defences should be short summaries rather than quotes
-->
In addition to sexism, Pullman and others have also accused the Narnia series of fostering racism.<ref name="Ezard"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/4347226.stm|title=Pullman attacks Narnia film plans|work=[[BBC News]]|date=16 October 2005}}</ref> Over the alleged racism in ''The Horse and His Boy'', newspaper editor [[Kyrie O'Connor]] wrote:
{{blockquote|While the book's storytelling virtues are enormous, you don't have to be a bluestocking of [[political correctness]] to find some of this fantasy anti-[[Arab]], or anti-Eastern, or anti-[[Ottoman Turks|Ottoman]]. With all its stereotypes, mostly played for belly laughs, there are moments you'd like to stuff this story back into its closet.<ref name="OConnor">{{cite web|url=http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=%2F20051201%2FLIVING%2F512010303%2F1007|first=Kyrie|last=O'Connor|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051214153306/http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=%2F20051201%2FLIVING%2F512010303%2F1007|title=5th Narnia book may not see big screen|work=[[Houston Chronicle]]|publisher=IndyStar.com|date=1 December 2005|archive-date=14 December 2005}}</ref>}}

[[Gregg Easterbrook]], writing in ''[[The Atlantic]]'', stated that "the Calormenes, are unmistakable Muslim stand-ins",<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2001/10/in-defense-of-c-s-lewis/302301/|title=In Defense of C. S. Lewis|last=Easterbrook|first=Gregg|date=1 October 2001|website=The Atlantic|access-date=21 March 2020}}</ref> while novelist [[Philip Hensher]] raises specific concerns that a reader might gain the impression that Islam is a "Satanic cult".<ref>{{cite web|first=Philip|last=Hensher|author-link=Philip Hensher|url=http://www.discovery.org/scripts/viewDB/index.php?command=view&id=907|title=Don't let your children go to Narnia: C. S. Lewis's books are racist and misogynist|publisher=Discovery Institute|date=1 March 1999}}</ref> In rebuttal to this charge, at an address to a C. S. Lewis conference, Devin Brown argued that there are too many dissimilarities between the Calormene religion and Islam, particularly in the areas of polytheism and human sacrifice, for Lewis's writing to be regarded as critical of Islam.<ref>{{cite web|last=Brown|first=Devin|work=Keynote Address at The 12th Annual Conference of The C. S. Lewis and Inklings Society Calvin College|date=28 March 2009|url=http://www.narniaweb.com/resources-links/are-the-chronicles-of-narnia-sexist-and-racist/|title=Are The Chronicles of Narnia Sexist and Racist? |publisher=NarniaWeb}}</ref>

Nicholas Wanberg has argued, echoing claims by Mervyn Nicholson, that accusations of racism in the books are "an oversimplification", but he asserts that the stories employ beliefs about human aesthetics, including equating dark skin with ugliness, that have been traditionally associated with racist thought.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Wanberg |first=Nicholas |year=2013 |title=Noble and Beautiful: Race and Human Aesthetics in C. S. Lewis's The Chronicles of Narnia |url=http://journal.finfar.org/articles/noble-and-beautiful-universal-human-aesthetics-in-c-s-lewiss-the-chronicles-of-narnia/ |journal=Fafnir: Nordic Journal of Science Fiction and Fantasy Research |volume=1 |issue=3 |access-date=28 October 2015}}</ref>

Critics also argue whether Lewis's work presents a positive or negative view of [[colonialism]]. Nicole DuPlessis favors the anticolonial view, claiming "the negative effects of colonial exploitations and the themes of animals' rights and responsibility to the environment are emphasized in Lewis's construction of a community of living things. Through the negative examples of illegitimate rulers, Lewis constructs the 'correct' relationship between humans and nature, providing examples of rulers like Caspian who fulfil their responsibilities to the environment."<ref>{{cite book|last=DuPlessis|first=Nicole|chapter=EcoLewis: Conversationism and Anticolonialism in the Chronicles of Narnia|title=Wild Things: Children's Culture and Ecocriticism|editor1-first=Sidney I.|editor1-last=Dobrin|editor2-first=Kenneth B.|editor2-last=Kidd|location=Detroit|publisher=Wayne State University Press|year=2004|page=125}}</ref> Clare Etcherling counters with her claim that "those 'illegitimate' rulers are often very dark-skinned" and that the only "legitimate rulers are those sons and daughters of [[Adam and Eve]] who adhere to Christian conceptions of morality and stewardship – either white English children (such as Peter) or Narnians who possess characteristics valued and cultivated by the British (such as Caspian)."<ref>{{cite journal|last=Echterling|first=Clare|title=Postcolonial Ecocriticism, Classic Children's Literature, and the Imperial-Environmental Imagination in The Chronicles of Narnia.|journal=The Journal of the Midwest Modern Language Association|volume=49|issue=1|year=2016|page=102}}</ref>