Chronology questions

Children today learn much more at earleier ages than they did in the 1940s and earlier. This is also in terms of mature subjects.

"I also get the feeling that Lewis didn't really have much of a feel for how children behave at different ages - so there wouldn't be much difference between what he woud write an 8-year-old doing and what he would write a 12-year-old doing."

That is true, Peep. Lewis was not an expert in child behaviour. However, it seemed that Lewis made children seem younger than they actually were, not older.

"That's true, but I think I remember reading somewhere that Lewis started Lion when Lucy was younger, then shelved it for a few years...I also remember reading that though the book was dedicated to Lucy Barfield, the Lucy character was actually modelled on one of two girls who came to stay at The Kilns to escape the bombing in London"

PotW, I heard the second part, but not so much the first. Whichever the case, the fact that he dedicated the book to Lucy specifically and not the other girls who stayed with him is telling.

MrBob
 
MrBob said:
That is true, Peep. Lewis was not an expert in child behaviour. However, it seemed that Lewis made children seem younger than they actually were, not older.
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I'm not quite sure which way round you mean this. Do you mean that if he were writing about a 12-year-old he would ascribe to them actions more fitting to an 8-year-old, or that if he were writing about an 8-year-old he would ascribe to them actions more fitting to a 12-year-old?

Either way round, it doesn't make much difference to the points raised, since we have pointed to a range of things that suggest younger ages and a range of things that suggest older ages. Hence I argue that we shouldn't base our judgements about chronology on our perception of the children's ages through their actions and words but only on the hard facts given in the books.

Peeps
 
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We do have some - that's what I was gathering together in the first post of this thread, and have been encouraging others to contribute others.

Peeps
 
"Do you mean that if he were writing about a 12-year-old he would ascribe to them actions more fitting to an 8-year-old, or that if he were writing about an 8-year-old he would ascribe to them actions more fitting to a 12-year-old?"

The former. The number of times he described one of the girls stomping mad or crying. It got annoying considering how mature they sounded in their verbiage and minds. When "discussing" with the Monipods that they were not ugly, it states (p. 184 in my version), "But we're saying just the opposite." said Lucy,stamping her foot ith impatience. That is the only example I feel like looking up right now. A little girl can be expected to stamp her foot with impatience, not an 11-13-year-old.

MrBob
 
I'm currently reading TSC, and noticed this thing that would support my chronology in post #28 (ie. that Lucy was about 12 in LWW).

Eustace and Jill attend Experiment House, which clearly seems to have the feel of a secondary school. Moreover, it is the autumn term, and they were at the school last term, and so it must be at least their second year. This means that Eustace and Jill must be at least 12, heading towards 13 at the time of TSC.

It is generally assumed that Lucy was older than Eustace (I'm sure it says somewhere that she was a year older, but I can't remember where). Also, from the fact that Lucy had left school in TLB, but Eustace and Jill were still at school (this doesn't conclusively prove she was older, since they may have stayed on beyond compulsory schooling years, but it does make it likely she was at least a year older than they.) Since LWW takes place a little over two years before TSC, this suggests that she cannot have been younger than 11 at that time.

(If you could make a case for Experiment House being a middle school rather than a secondary school, that would push the ages down; similarly, if it were an upper school it would push them up. However, since it is emphasied how modern its focus is, I think it likely that it followed the pattern of most UK secondary schools since the War, ie. that students enterwhen they are aged 11, turning 12 during their first year.)

Peeps
 
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