Christians, if you've read "The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe,"

[Dustybug]

what did you think about the reference to Adam's "first wife Lillith?" I have only read this book twice in the past: once as a child and once a few years back and I honestly never caught this reference. We began reading this aloud about a week ago and tonight we came to the part that told about the White Witch's ancestry and how she came from Adam's first wife.

 

I have to admit, I'm a little uncomfortable with this and really wonder why I never caught it before. If you've read this yourself or to your children, how did you handle this reference?

[Jean in Newcastle]

Even as a child I remember noting that reference. I just tell them that it was part of Jewish folklore but wasn't part of the canonical Scriptures.

[1bassoon]

Honestly, I didn't worry about it.

 

C.S. Lewis himself said that he never intended his Narnia series to be an allegory:

 

 

 

You are mistaken when you think that everything in the books 'represents' something in this world. Things do that in The Pilgrim's Progress [a 1678 allegory by John Bunyan] but I'm not writing in that way. I did not say to myself 'Let us represent Jesus as He really is in our world by a Lion in Narnia': I said, 'Let us suppose that there were a land like Narnia and that the Son of God, as he became a Man in our world, became a Lion there, and then imagine what would happen.'

 

C.S. Lewis, quoted in Walter Hooper, C. S. Lewis: A Companion and Guide

 

 

 

 

 

If my kids ever asked, I would just explain that the author didn't mean for everything to be exact; it's just part of the story.

 

 

But then again, my philosophy tends to be "don't sweat the small stuff". YMMV.

 

 

:) Hope this helps!

 

 

[Bluegoat]

If I recall correctly, the narrator does not tell us that - it is something the Narnians say about her.

[bolt.]

Lewis' writings are full of folklore and legends, so I'm no more surprised to encounter a descendant of 'Lilith' than I am encountering fawns and dryads. In fact, before he was a Christian (and plausibly after) I think I'm recalling that folklore (or something closely related to it) was Lewis' area of study in his academic life.

 

The interesting thing (to our generation) is the content of the tale of Adam & Lilith -- which is that she was supposedly evil because she denied Adam's supposed authority over her as his wife. That's a touchy subject right about now, which is why people probably have more feelings about 'her' in a Christian-authored work than when they encounter other known mythical characters such as Merlin. From Lewis' view, he probably Lilith and Merlin equally fictional, and would have expected readers to take their appearances equally non-seriously.

 

(Merlin appears in the last book of the Cosmic Trilogy IIRC.)

[susankenny]

I just thought of it as another element of the fiction/fantasy honestly. There are giants, centaurs, talking lions. Obviously CS Lewis is mixing his faith in a world of full-on fantasy and borrowed from other creation stories - it doesn't take away from the book though, at least not for me.:)

 

Susan

[Ellie]

Meh ::shrugs:: we didn't think much about it at all.

[Carol in Cal.]

Lewis' writings are full of folklore and legends, so I'm no more surprised to encounter a descendant of 'Lilith' than I am encountering fawns and dryads. In fact, before he was a Christian (and plausibly after) I think I'm recalling that folklore (or something closely related to it) was Lewis' area of study in his academic life.

 

The interesting thing (to our generation) is the content of the tale of Adam & Lilith -- which is that she was supposedly evil because she denied Adam's supposed authority over her as his wife. That's a touchy subject right about now, which is why people probably have more feelings about 'her' in a Christian-authored work than when they encounter other known mythical characters such as Merlin. From Lewis' view, he probably Lilith and Merlin equally fictional, and would have expected readers to take their appearances equally non-seriously.

 

(Merlin appears in the last book of the Cosmic Trilogy IIRC.)

 

Reference to Lillith appears in the last book of that trilogy as well.

[PeacefulChaos]

The book is fiction. So I really haven't thought twice about it.

[happyhomemaker]

Even as a child I remember noting that reference. I just tell them that it was part of Jewish folklore but wasn't part of the canonical Scriptures.

 

:iagree: There are fawns and other creatures from mythology in the books which Lewis would obviously not have believed in. He paints a broad picture of Christ and his works in LWW, but I seriously doubt he meant for Lilith to be taken factually.

[chepyl]

It is such a quick reference that I don't even remember it until I read it again or until it is mentioned. I have read that book at least 10 times. I would not worry about it. If your child asks, just mention the folklore aspect of the book.

[Dustybug]

Thank you for all your replies. I guess it wasn't a big deal to ME when I read it for my own pleasure(which is why I didn't remember it), but I was worried about planting a seed in my child's minds.

 

To me, it is different from the mythology because all of that just doesn't even seem real, if that makes sense. My DD, especially will pick up on little details, so I did address the reference as soon as it came out of my mouth.