Unanswered Questions in Narnia?

jasmine tarkheena

jasmine tarkheena

Active member
There are actually a lot of questions in the books that don't get answered. Though it wouldn't surprise me if a movie or series find a way to explore the answers on. There are some that come to my mind-

1. While it may not be important to the story, I've wondered what kind of relationship Digory may have with his father. In book, Digory mentions that his father is away in India, perhaps serving as a diplomat, and Digory and his mother are living with her siblings, Letitia and Andrew. Digory's mother is ill and is about to die. I wonder if Digory and his father somehow wrote letters to each other. Maybe after Mabel is recovered from the illness, Digory writes a letter to his father, informing him the news, "Mother has recovered!" It may not be that important to the story, though.

2. Rishda doesn't believe in Tash or any of the supernatural, but it's never clear on how or why. I've got the impression that he was so fixated on gaining more power, the supernatural doesn't mean anything to him. But I'm sure there's more to it than that. Perhaps he would go to the rituals of Tash in Calormen, but doesn't really believe in him all this time.

Any thoughts? And are there any questions in the books that would you like a film or a series to give answers to?
 
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Serious answer. Napoleon Bonaparte, though crowned by the Archbishop, did not believe in God. When asked why, he said he had witnessed too many horrible things in war to believe in a good God and didn't want to believe in a bad one. Later in his final days he was reconciled with the church and took final unction before his death. His last words, "France...The Throne...JOSEPHINE!"
 
Well, given that Rishda was a military leader, so he would have fought in a lot of wars. But I don't know if it would make sense if he wanted to believe in a good god and not a bad one. I don't think that's fitting for his character.
 
Actually, historically it has been pretty common for people in the ruling class to disbelieve in the official religion, even while encouraging the lower classes to believe it fervently. Makes them easier to control. And if one has made it to the top by (what one believes to be) one's own effort and skill, it may not feel altogether necessary to diligently serve a god.
 
I would love to know more about the wider geography of the Narnian world. Is it really flat? What lies to the extreme north, south and west? (The Last Battle does mention a western sea and islands, but gives no details.) I'd also like to know how the stars move through the night and through the seasons (there is some ambiguity in Lewis's descriptions).

I'd also like to know more about the time between the Pevensies' departure from Narnia and the Telmarine invasion, and indeed about the Telmarine kings up to Miraz.

That's for starters :)
Peeps
 
Peepiceek said:
Actually, historically it has been pretty common for people in the ruling class to disbelieve in the official religion, even while encouraging the lower classes to believe it fervently. Makes them easier to control. And if one has made it to the top by (what one believes to be) one's own effort and skill, it may not feel altogether necessary to diligently serve a god.
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That's true. I actually didn't think about that.
Peepiceek said:
I would love to know more about the wider geography of the Narnian world. Is it really flat? What lies to the extreme north, south and west? (The Last Battle does mention a western sea and islands, but gives no details.) I'd also like to know how the stars move through the night and through the seasons (there is some ambiguity in Lewis's descriptions).
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Interesting thought. In each book, we get glimpses of each region in Narnia. So it might be interesting if a movie or series explores on each of them.
 
Peepiceek said:
I would love to know more about the wider geography of the Narnian world. Is it really flat? What lies to the extreme north, south and west? (The Last Battle does mention a western sea and islands, but gives no details.) I'd also like to know how the stars move through the night and through the seasons (there is some ambiguity in Lewis's descriptions).

I'd also like to know more about the time between the Pevensies' departure from Narnia and the Telmarine invasion, and indeed about the Telmarine kings up to Miraz.

That's for starters :)
Peeps
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Classical flat earth cosmologies had the "dome of heaven" upon which the stars sat equidistant. It would have moved around the earth in an oscillating manner, both rotating and progressing. Lewis would have been familiar with this.
 
I wonder how they would incorparate Digory's relationship with his parents. Will we see his father before he leaves for India? Perhaps when Mabel becomes sick, Mr. Kirke helps for a while. Then when he gets ready to leave for India, he will be the one to suggest that Mabel and Digory will be living in London with her siblings, Letitia "Letty" and Andrew.
 
I'm pretty sure they will handle Digory the way they handled Peter Pevensie...father's photo. Perhaps also a letter. I could imagine when Mrs. Kirke is sick she re-reads his last letter, or perhaps she is writing him one. "My Dearest Paul, I thought I was feeling a little better yesterday, but the doctor did not share my optimism...."
 
EveningStar said:
I'm pretty sure they will handle Digory the way they handled Peter Pevensie...father's photo. Perhaps also a letter. I could imagine when Mrs. Kirke is sick she re-reads his last letter, or perhaps she is writing him one. "My Dearest Paul, I thought I was feeling a little better yesterday, but the doctor did not share my optimism...."
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There's an idea. Perhaps we might see a shot of Digory's father in India writing a letter in voice-over. Walden did that with Susan for VDT, where we saw her in America, writing to Edmund and Lucy.
 
EveningStar said:
Classical flat earth cosmologies had the "dome of heaven" upon which the stars sat equidistant. It would have moved around the earth in an oscillating manner, both rotating and progressing. Lewis would have been familiar with this.
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Yes, and at the end of VDT they seem to reach the edge of that dome where the sky actually comes down to meet the ground. However, with regard to stars and constellations, Lewis seems inconsistent. In the classical medieval picture, the stars move east to west, as does the sun, but Lewis says in VDT that the constellations they saw in the east of the world were constellations that had never been seen in Narnia, so that east to west rotation can't be the case in Narnia. At the same time, the constellations are not fixed, since in another place it describes Narnia's summer constellations, implying that there are different constellations in winter. Also, one of the centaurs (or is it Doctor Conrelius, or both?) describes the 'dance' of the stars and their shapes foretelling events, which makes me wonder if the stars themselves move around rather than being fixed (especially since the stars are depicted as human-like forms), though the 'dance' metaphor is not conclusive evidence against fixed stars: the Narnian world does have at least two planets, so the dance could be the dance of the planets through the fixed stars, as in our world. But the fact that stars can retire and rest and constellations thus change over time implies a different picture from the straightforward medieval view.

Peeps
 
I was just thinking on Rishda's reason for not believing in Tash. I came across Tales of Narnia from BBC Radio 4, where it starts with Rishda in the temple of Tash. While it works fine for a radio drama, I don't know how well it would work for a movie. Here it all it goes-

High Priest of Tash: Oh great and powerful Tash, mighty god of Calormen, you of the curved beak that are cruel, hear this prayer. Hear the plea of your humble servant, Rishda Tarkaan, captain of the armies of the Tisroc, your chosen lord and ruler over the earth (may he live forever). Are you ready to make your petitions to Tash, Rishda Tarkaan?

Rishda Tarkaan: I am. I beseech you, O Tash, to give me victory in my quest to overthrow Narnia, and to bring that land under the power and lordship of the Tisroc (may he live forever).

High Priest of Tash: Enfold your black wings over Rishda Tarkaan. Protect him in the task that he undertakes in your name! Reach forth your mighty talons, that it may give the strength of Tash to his arm.

Rishda Tarkaan: If I bring about the end of Narnia, it will be my own strength and cunning, not by any help of a gruesome vulture-headed god. But I will let Tash take the credit, since the Tisroc will need someone to rule the country for him. And who'd better than the servant of the devout believer in Tash?
 
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