Blog #6: The "Little Abortive Secondary World" of Narnia: So Much Sexism! - Vickie GG

For the most part, I would argue that, in terms of mythopoeia, Lewis is a "successful sub-creator. He makes a Secondary World which your mind can enter. Inside it, what he relates is 'true': it accords with the laws of that world. You therefore believe it, while you are, as it were, inside." (Tolkien, "On Fairy Stories," 60). 

However, there is one thing that keeps booting me out of the world of Narnia, such that I'm "then out in the Primary World again, looking at the little abortive Secondary World from outside": rampant sexism. I always seek and am granted re-entry back into Narnia after sexist moments in the texts, but it is a little frustrating to be so frequently ejected from the Secondary World. The question is: are these frequent ejections really Lewis's "fault" as writer / World creator, or is the shortcoming actually my own? In other words, is it fair to hold authors of past times to the social standards of our modern times, or is it my responsibility as a reader to recalibrate my expectations to the time period in which the book was written so that I may more firmly live in the created Secondary World that is of necessity beholden to the socially-accepted morals of the author's time period? If the latter, the big question is how to do that? How do I get past of all this sexism so I can more fully live in and learn the truths of Narnia? 

To help answer the final three questions (since I do suspect the shortcoming is mine and that this issue could theoretically be overcome), here are some specific examples of sexist moments that, for me, break the fourth wall. (These are not comprehensive, because ain't nobody got time to write down every single sexist thing in these books...)

The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe

• "Battles are ugly when women fight" (118 - 119) 
  When Father Christmas is doling out gifts to three of the Pevensies (Peter, Susan, and Lucy), he gives Peter a sword and a shield to prepare him for eventual battle, gives Susan a bow and arrow but tells her "I do not mean you to fight in the battle, and gives Lucy her (very cool!) healing potion but notes "you also are not to be in the battle." When Lucy objects that she thinks she "could be brave enough" to fight in battle, Father Christmas replies "that is not the point...battles are ugly when women fight." If I'm being charitable, I could interpret this to mean that female lives are so precious that spilling their blood in battle is an ugliness even beyond the normal terrors of battle and thus something that shouldn't be allowed. But even that seemingly-positive interpretation is 1) somewhat infantilizing or exoticizing and 2) still suggests some kind of substantial difference between men and women, which is problematic. Ultimately, both Susan and Lucy show tons of courage and physical prowess, so I see no reason why they shouldn't be allowed to fight if they want to, other than sexism. 
  
  
• "She was just going to faint" (144)
  During battle, Peter observes Susan climbing a tree to escape and hopefully shoot with her bow and arrow a wolf that is chasing her. He says she only got to the second branch, and "he wondered why she did not get higher or at least take a better grip. Then, he realized that she was just going to faint" (143-144). Peter is also young and in his first battle, but the book doesn't describe him as "about to faint," for that's obviously the purview of females, who are of course frail and pass out over anything. Also, Susan's moment of panic and lightheadedness isn't even told from her own perspective but through Peter's (a male's) observation. 
  
  
• "Asking for her hand in marriage" (201)
  At the book's end, the narrator describes what each Pevensie child is known for as a royal, and the descriptions are pretty sexist. Susan is known for her "gentleness," a traditionally female-associated quality, and her worth is in part determined by the fact that so many prestigious people sought her hand in marriage. Likewise, Lucy is defined by how many "princes in those parts desired her to be their Queen" (201). But whether or not people sought Peter's or Edmund's hand in marriage is never mentioned, so the implication is that what makes women most prized is whether or not they are sought by males, yet whether or not Peter or Edmund are appealing to women is of no consequence. And while Lucy at least has the moniker "the Valiant" (which is not particularly female-coded and probably more male-coded), both Susan and Lucy still also get their hair-color mentioned, which Peter and Edmund also do not. 
  

The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

• "Squints, and has freckles" (23)
  Caspian says, just as an aside, that the reason he didn't marry the Duke of Galma's daughter because she "squints, and has freckles." Because, of course, a woman is not worthwhile unless she looks good, and apparently freckles are ugly...?
  
  
• "That's because she's a girl" (32)
  Caspian tells Eustace that he gave Lucy his quarters (the nicest ones on the boat) "because she's a girl." This is a pretty classic example of sexism masquerading as chivalry. 
  
  
• "And Susan was jealous of the dazzling beauty of Lucy" (165) 
  In the book of spells, Lucy comes across one that will "make beautiful her that uttereth it beyond the lot of mortals" (163). This, of all the spells, is the one that tempts Lucy, since obviously what all women care about most is being good-looking. Lucy's jealousy that Susan "had always been the beauty of the family" (164) is so reductive, reinforcing the stereotypes that women only care about looks and that all women are constantly comparing themselves to and judging other women's looks. 
  
  
• "Caspian married Ramandu's daughter" (270)
  First, as opposed to the "freckled" girl Caspian refused to marry, he decides to marry "Ramandu's daughter" (whose name I'm not sure we ever get in this book, since being someone's daughter is enough, I guess?). She is noted for her beauty, of course: "And when they looked at her, they thought they had never before known what beauty meant" (214-215). And though she and Caspian do share one little flirtatious moment (about "kissing the princess" before or after breaking an enchantment), the matter-of-fact way it just says at the end "Caspian married Ramandu's daughter," - not they married each other, but more so he just stopped by on the way back and acquired her - is kind of insulting (again, especially when she's practically divine because she's a star.) 

The Silver Chair 

• "Girls do that kind of thing better than boys" (131)
  It says that "Scrubb and Puddlegum both did their best [at being cute and sweet to try to gain the giantess' favor], but girls do that kind of thing better than boys." This statement is insulting to both girls and boys. Why do girls have to be known for their cuteness and amiability? Why can't boys be known for those things? 
  
  
• "Men who are bossed about by their wives" (166) 
  When Rilian is still enchanted and everyone still doesn't know it is him, Jill is frustrated that "the Knight" seems to let the Enchantress have so much power over him. "'Where I come from,' said Jill, who was disliking him more every minute, 'they don't think much of men who are bossed about by their wives.'" Wow. Just wow. 
  
  
• "Faint...or Blub" (194)
  While multiple males were slaying the Green Witch Serpent (you know, like males do, because they are so gallant and stuff), "Jill had very wisely sat down and was keeping quiet; she was saying to herself 'I do hope I don't faint -- or blub -- or do anything idiotic'" (193-194). 
  So, not only is it wise for a woman to step aside and be quiet while men are doing manly work, but - as with Susan in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe - we see this recurring theme that women can't do anything but faint or cry in the face of violence / battle. 
  
  
• "Those Northern Witches" (240) 
  After hearing Rilian's tale about the Green Serpent Witch, a (supposedly) wise old Dwarf says "Those Northern Witches always mean the same thing." This is a capstone to the overall impression all these books give that women can only be one of the three Bs: 1) Babies (i.e. pure children / women, like Susan and Lucy); 2) Brides (like Ramandu's daugther); or 3) Bitches (like the Witches, none of whom, you'll notice, are married).  

The Horse and His Boy 

• "Only a girl" (31) 
  When Shasta meets Aravis, he's relieved when he realizes "why, it's only a girl!" And while Aravis immediately rebukes his use of "only," Lewis definitely could have phrased this differently
  
  
• "As Good as a Man...or a Boy" (196)
  Queen Susan is described by Corin as "not like Lucy, you know, who's as good as a man, or at any rate as good as a boy. Queen Susan is more like an ordinary grown-up lady." 
  
  
• "All the sort of things girls do talk about" (229) 
  Despite all the badass stuff Aravis does throughout this book, when she and Lucy meet, they are described as having gone "away together to talk about Aravis's bedroom and Aravis's boudoir and about getting clothes for her, and all the sort of things girls do talk about on such occasions." Because girls only love talking about clothes and décor and the like... 

**In fairness, though, this book is way less sexist / more feminist than any of the others (which maybe still isn't saying much?). Aravis is shown to be a very strong character, the book talks about how Narnia is good because women are not forced to marry against their will (40) vs. in Tashbaan, where the Prince wants to take Susan as his wife by force (118), Hwinn the female horse is shown to be right over Bree the male horse (145-146), etc. But don't worry: what this book lacks in sexism in makes up for in championing colonialism and painting colonialized places as barbaric. 

The Magician's Nephew 

• "Magnificent clothes" (52) 
  When Polly and Digory are in the room with the frozen people, it says "This time, Polly took the lead. There was something in this room which interested her more than it interested Digory: all the figures were wearing magnificent clothes." As already explained just above in The Horse and His Boy, all females love talking about and looking at clothes, and no males do.

The Last Battle 

• "If She Was a Boy..." (81) 
  After Jill releases Puzzle the donkey from the shed, Eustace says "If she was a boy, she'd have to be knighted, wouldn't she, Sire?" "If she was a boy, said Tirian, she'd be whipped for disobeying orders." So, clearly some double-standards here that disadvantage males and females.
  
  
• "Nylons and lipstick" (169) 
  Perhaps the most sexist and definitely the most irritating moment in all of the Narnia books is when Peter says "my sister Susan...is no longer a friend of Narnia," and Lucy continues "she's interested in nothing nowadays except nylons and lipstick and invitations." We could interpret this to be pro-feministic, showing that Lucy is still in Narnia because she is not concerned with those "grown-up" but also markedly "female" things, meant to attract the male gaze. But the reason this moment makes me so mad is that it puts women, like Susan, in a Catch-22 situation. As we saw in The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe, Susan is celebrated for her ability to draw the attention and marriage proposals of the men of Narnia, in part because of her beauty (a beauty also emphasized, as noted above, in The Voyage of the Dawn Treader). Yet here Susan is denigrated and excluded for attending to the physical trappings of femininity that she's been taught, in her land, to partake of. So - she would be wrong if she tried to take part in battles or act like a man, but she is also wrong when she tries to do the things her place and time tells her are the marks of womanhood. Seems like a lose-lose situation to me.