Curiosity Killed the Cat

Nikia

Nikia

New member
I was just rereading The Magician's Nephew and I started to think about Digory on Charn abd how he just had to ring the bell. And I was reminded of the old saying "curiosity killed the cat, satisfaction brought it back." And I believe it rings true in Digory's case. But in a more round-about way.
He rang the bell and brought Jadis back. His curiosity was really what brought her all the way back to London to reek havic. Which in turn forced Digory to get her back into the Wood which led them all into Narnia. And in Narnia he is able to get the apple that saves his mother's life. Thus his curiosity brought him satisfaction. A bit of a stretch, but to the point of the thread:
I feel that in The Magician's Nephew curiosity and fate are tied together. Obviously Digory was meant to ring the bell or there'd be no story. His curiosity led him to his fate. Is this apparent in any of the other Narnia books?
Lucy was curious about the wardrobe and going through brought misfortune (Tumnus turned into stone), but in the end it was part of her fate to go inside, once again satisfaction restoring everyone who had been stone.
Can anyone else think of other examples in Lewis's work?
 
Nikia said:
I was just rereading The Magician's Nephew and I started to think about Digory on Charn abd how he just had to ring the bell. And I was reminded of the old saying "curiosity killed the cat, satisfaction brought it back." And I believe it rings true in Digory's case. But in a more round-about way.
He rang the bell and brought Jadis back. His curiosity was really what brought her all the way back to London to reek havic. Which in turn forced Digory to get her back into the Wood which led them all into Narnia. And in Narnia he is able to get the apple that saves his mother's life. Thus his curiosity brought him satisfaction. A bit of a stretch, but to the point of the thread:
I feel that in The Magician's Nephew curiosity and fate are tied together. Obviously Digory was meant to ring the bell or there'd be no story. His curiosity led him to his fate. Is this apparent in any of the other Narnia books?
Lucy was curious about the wardrobe and going through brought misfortune (Tumnus turned into stone), but in the end it was part of her fate to go inside, once again satisfaction restoring everyone who had been stone.
Can anyone else think of other examples in Lewis's work?
Click to expand...


That's interesting. No, I couldn't point out anything else on that subject.
 
Digory in Charn reminds me of the saying, "You can't unring a bell." After he rang the bell, he released evil from her long sleep. And Jadis causes many problems not only with him, but at his home and eventually in Narnia. This is a problem that he cannot solve, but it is a problem that he can help to contain. He does this by resisting temptation again and following Aslan's instructions.

As for other examples of "curiosity killed the cat, satisfaction brought it back."

In VotDT, Eustace's adventure fills that to the letter. Without going too deep into plotlines, he wanders off on an island after they have all gone through a horrible storm. He still is being his terrible self-centered a$s whom everyone hates--and the feeling is mutual. But his selfishness and greed leads him to an unwelcome adventure that he finaly ends with Aslan's help. And he has been humbled and a changed person after it.

In SC, Jill's showing off at the edge of the cliff at the beginning leads her to believe that Eustace dies. But the task she is given is worth it in the end, even if she is not exactly great with the steps of the task.

MrBob
 
Back
Top