Charn

[SunshineRose]

One of the most interesting elements in MN is the world of Charn. Even though readers spend only about two chapters in Charn, we get a strong image of the setting. It is a world with a dying red sun, crumbling courtyards and pillars. It was once ruled by kings and queens who were wise and benevolent but ultimately descended further down the path of cruelty and lust for power. The Hall of Images is a particularly haunting place, Jadis’ words about how she brought the world to an end are chilling, and Aslan’s admonition to Digory and Polly to learn from Charn’s fate is poignant, so I thought it would be interesting to talk about what we know (and speculate) about Jadis’ home world and what we, as people facing the problems of the twenty-first century, can learn from Charn’s fate. To begin our discussion, I have a few questions:

1)Why do you think that the citizens of Charn chose to build a Hall of Images? Was it made as a tribute to great rulers, or was it intended to be a visual testament to their history? Was it made to impress visitors from other cities with the length of the ruling dynasty sort of like a modern portrait gallery of ancestors? Do you think that every king and queen of Charn from the creation of the world was represented there, or do you think that the Hall of Images was made after a few rulers had already come and gone? If the Hall of Images came later in Charn’s history, do you think that the first rulers were as benevolent and wise as the images suggested them to be, or do you think that the images might be a reflection of what the hall builders wanted to believe about their first leaders?

2)If the Hall of Images shows an accurate progression of Charn’s descent into evil, what do you think causes the sudden transformation of the rulers from friendly faces to stern ones and then from stern ones to cruel ones? Do you think that there was some sort of Fall as there was on Earth, or was it a more gradual degradation? Did the ruling dynasty perhaps change from a kinder line to a crueler one?

3)Jadis says that the early rulers of Charn knew that there was a word capable of destroying their world and that those rulers forbid their ancestors from seeking the knowledge of that word. How do you think that these rulers gained this knowledge and how might Jadis have discovered the Deplorable Word? Do you think her knowledge of how to discover the Deplorable World helped her to gain power in the Narnian world?

4)When she first encounters Aslan in Narnia, Jadis seems to both understand Him more deeply than any of her companions and to be more revolted and terrified than anyone else present at Narnia’s creation. Do you think that, like the cabby, she knew Him on another world (Charn), and, unlike the cabby, was hostile to Him there?

5)What do you take away from Aslan’s warning to Polly and Digory in the Wood between the Worlds at the end of the book? What do Aslan’s comments tell you about Charn and our world?

I have thoughts, but I’ll share them once I’ve given others a chance to do so

 

[EveningStar]

I think that any world ruled by creatures created by God will eventually either implode upon itself or outlive its usefulness. We pray to God "Thy kingdom come, thy will be done" because only a world ruled by a creator can keep its vitality indefinitely.

 

[Peepiceek]

Hmm, interesting questions.

No ideas really on (1) to (3). On (4), I hadn't thought of it before, but I think CS Lewis would have intended Jesus to exist in some form in every world, so I think he must have been there... good point. On (5), I am definitely a subscriber to the view that Lewis had nuclear weapons in the forefront of his mind, but that's not to say that there couldn't be other legitimate connections drawn.

Peeps

 

[SunshineRose]

EveningStar, I think that you are right about all worlds run by God’s creatures either destroying themselves or just reaching a point where they are so choked by evil that they no longer serve God’s glory. I think, ultimately, only a world ruled by God could be eternal and could keep its vitality forever, as you say. So, I think that it was only natural that Charn should come to an end, but Jadis’ ending it in the way she did was unnatural though consistent with the idea that evil can eventually reach such a pitch within people with an awful amount of power that their world is brought to an end through their wicked, deliberately destructive behavior. That willingness to destroy people and nature is something that I think readers can see in our world

Peepiceek, glad you found the questions interesting Questions one to three really are all about speculation, so I understand you not really having any ideas for those.

With Question four, I am inclined to agree with you that my reading of Lewis is that every world would have some manifestation of Christ, so I do think that He would have been there in some form. I kind of envision Him having only a couple of followers left in Charn by the time the world ended, and them encountering some level of persecution from people like Jadis as they try to follow His teachings during that final civil war between Jadis and her sister. I guess it could be a little bit like in LB during Charn’s last days.

With Question five, I’m also convinced that nuclear weapons and their ability to destroy the world was at the forefront of Lewis’ mind. Before the development of nuclear weapons, people had the power to do great damage to one another and to their world, but never before had they had the ability to destroy it and all life on it so completely. I think Lewis was warning people against destroying themselves and their world in the name of hatred. I think that is still a relevant message in today’s world when nuclear weapons are still a major concern, as the recent incident with North Korea demonstrates. I’m sure that there can be other interpretations of Aslan’s warning and I’m interested in those, but my mind always goes to nuclear warfare when I read that bit in the Wood between the Worlds.