Does Susan go to the "New Narnia"?/Whatever happened to Susan?

I am going to note that C.S. Lewis never does state whether Susan has completely fallen away from any sort of faith. She states that Narnia was a kid's game, but it must have left some sort of impression on her. And besides, she didn't die as far as I can tell. She has the rest of her life to come back. I think that there's hope for her.
 
That's true, WarriorSatyr, but Tirian also has a good point - one that I'm growing to appreciate more and more: we are called to deliver the message of the good news, we are not responsible for its acceptance and adoption.

In our time, we're steeped in what I call a "marketing" mentality, where we think that we have to "sell" someone on something, and if they don't accept it, then the fault must have been in our "pitch". In our parish study of St. Matthew's Gospel, particularly ch 10, we're seeing that that is clearly not Jesus' way. He commissions the apostles to spread the Gospel of the Kingdom and sends them out, forewarning them that some will accept the message and some will reject it. The apostles were not responsible for the rejection, but were to shake the dust from their shoes and move on. This did not mean that the town was automatically damned, but that they were responsible for how they received the Gospel, not the apostles for how they delivered it.

So yes, there is a chance that Susan eventually found her way to Aslan's country. But at the same time, the other Friends were right not to "fash" themselves about it: her rejection was not their responsibility.
 
So, they tried, but what happened after that wasn't their fault. That makes sense. I'm just thinking that Susan must be in her...twenties at most? By the end of the book of course. That should be plenty of time for her to realize her mistake.
 
Oh, sure. Especially after the trauma of losing her whole family at once. What happened to Susan vis a vis Narnia wasn't a comment about her eternal destiny.
 
"After briefly describing Susan's poor choices, her siblings don't even want to talk about her anymore! That's it. I think one of them says "Let's talk about something else." And then we don't hear anymore about Susan."

tirian, Peter's admonition had more to do with not gossiping about Susan than not wanting to talk about her. They are in a perfect place and complaining about Susan.

"I'm just thinking that Susan must be in her...twenties at most? By the end of the book of course."

Warrior, I say sixteen. If she was 12 in the first book, thirteen in the second, fourteen in the third book (LWW, PC, VotDT) and then two years later, the last book took place. The "official" timeline, which I don't believe, states it was seven years between VotDT and TLB, which would put her at 21.

MrBob
 
I actually have no idea of what age anyone in the books is and I haven't looked at the timeline. I placed Susan in her twenties because Edmund is old enough to be disguised as a workman, so I assumed he was in his late teens. Since Susan is next oldest, I guessed that sh would be twenty or so.
 
I think that at the very least, this would be a fascinating topic for a fan fiction story... Susan somehow remembering (either as a young or old woman) that she was once a queen in Narnia, and somehow being called back by Aslan to join her brothers and sisters in the afterlife. It certainly would be interesting. :)
 
There have been one or two examples of fan fiction on The Dancing Lawn, exploring this very theme. They are to be found in 'The Professor's Writing Club'. One example is Prince of the West's ongoing story "Seeking the Lost".
 
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CORIN THUNDERFIST II said:
There have been one or two examples of fan fiction on The Dancing Lawn, exploring this very theme. They are to be found in 'The Professor's Writing Club'. One example is Prince of the West's ongoing story "Seeking the Lost".
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I just went and read "Seeking the Lost" and was thoroughly engrossed in it. I think that avenue for fan fiction has been more than successfully filled by that story.
 
Though I have contributed fan fiction to this forum, that particular thread isn't mine, but is written by Hermit of Archenland.
 
PrinceOfTheWest said:
Though I have contributed fan fiction to this forum, that particular thread isn't mine, but is written by Hermit of Archenland.
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If you rember J.J.Tolkien was astonished by Lewis portrayal of Susan and was dismayed by his remark.Susan in Narnia was a Queen and was one for at least 20 years, it was not till she got back into our world as a teenager and did teenager things (and who did not) that Aslan said she could not come back.
 
Jadis-the-White said:
But Peter is a Male.
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No offense, but often your 'logic' is just baseless/pointless. What difference does it make if Peter is a male or not? more often than not, men tend to stray further from their childhood beliefs than do women, not vice versa. And, may I add: men are typically the ones more prone to party hard/'do teenage things' than women. Typically, not always.

As for myself, I have always thought that Lewis intended Susan to be viewed as a person who has never solidified their belief in Christ. That is, their 'Christianity' is only on the surface and a decision has never really been made. Whether or not this means that SUsan would eventually come back to her faith and actually believe in Narnia/Aslan is something Lewis did not tell us, and I don't think we're really meant to know. Does she remain skeptical? Does she realize her siblings were right and come back to her childhood faith and really believe? Who knows. It's one aspect of Lewis' writing that has always aggravated me. He leaves so much to the imagination it's frustrating.
 
Frustrating, AK? Perhaps. But that is one of the more lifelike qualities of the Chronicles of Narnia.

When you've been around long enough to have someone you love and admire turn from their old interests and affections to become someone you hardly recognize, you'll understand.

The Chronicles do not end up all nice and tidy because life does not. On the other hand, I'm pretty sure Susan is going through a phase, one that will end with her feeling a lot of hurt and more than a little foolish, but most people come around.

I've never been a wild and crazy chap, but I do find that a bit of age makes me tend to focus better on what is truly important and to steer away from drama and toward constructive thinking. I'm pretty sure Susan feels that way in her late 80s.
 
Aravis Kenobi said:
No offense, but often your 'logic' is just baseless/pointless. What difference does it make if Peter is a male or not? more often than not, men tend to stray further from their childhood beliefs than do women, not vice versa. And, may I add: men are typically the ones more prone to party hard/'do teenage things' than women. Typically, not always.

As for myself, I have always thought that Lewis intended Susan to be viewed as a person who has never solidified their belief in Christ. That is, their 'Christianity' is only on the surface and a decision has never really been made. Whether or not this means that SUsan would eventually come back to her faith and actually believe in Narnia/Aslan is something Lewis did not tell us, and I don't think we're really meant to know. Does she remain skeptical? Does she realize her siblings were right and come back to her childhood faith and really believe? Who knows. It's one aspect of Lewis' writing that has always aggravated me. He leaves so much to the imagination it's frustrating.
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Yes Lewis' writing dose leave a lot to the imagination he layed down the blueprint and left the rest up to the reader that was his genius. Susan never realy belived in Narnia she wanted to leave just after they arrived her heart was never realy in it.Out of the 4 Lucy was the only true beliver in Narnia for it was she who saw Aslan in PC and not the others and like when she first told them that she had been to Narnia they did not belive her,they did not belive her when she said she saw Aslan, another thing Peter had to say he was sorry for.
 
But Peter is a Male.
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CORIN THUNDERFIST II said:
Totally irrelevant what one's gender is. There are exceptionally good men and exceptionally good women in reality, as well as fantasy. Conversely, there are examples of thoroughly evil men and thoroughly evil women.
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Agreed that that was an irrelevant post.

Anyway, going back to the original question, in the context of the story I think as she gets older she starts to remember about Aslan and Narnia, starting to piece together all her memories, which in turn makes her further sad about her lost family. (Really, why did it have to end that way, meaning with the crash. I get that they go to the mock Narnia in their 'death' and are so happy to be reunited with old friends and family, but it still seems so tragic and cutting short of their life. I can't imagine how awful it would have been on Susan, regardless of loss of faith or not. Who close has she left in the world? Anyway, sorry to rant off there.) So when she does die at a great age, because she had remembered and cared again about her time in Narnia, she is met by Aslan and he takes her to the land to join her friends and family, while also making her more youthful again.
 
Has anyone ever considered the similarities between Judas and Susan?

Of course I want her to get it right in the end. I would not assert that Judas "went to Hell." However the picture of his fate painted in the Gospels is grim. That's the same impression I'm left with in regard to Susan when reading The Chronicles.

I think they are very similar. Being an apostole was probably the most honorary position a human could have. In Narnia being queen was an honor. Both Judas and Susan rejected their master (Jesus, Aslan) for something vain (silver, nylons/lipstick/invitations). Sure, I'll still root for Susan. The main lesson for me though is how she's an example of what NOT to become.
 
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