Reawakened Wonder - Jacob (Blog Post 14)

 There is a great line in Chesterton's essay on “The Ethics of Elfland”. He writes, “we all like astonishing tales because they touch the nerve of ancient instinct of astonishment.” For Chesterton, the magic contained within fairy stories is not that they take us out of our world. Rather, it is that they connect us to the reality that our own world is no less mysterious than any fantasy world. “They make rivers run with wine only to make us remember, for one wild moment, that run with water.” We have forgotten the wonder contained within creation" (Chesterton). When a fairy story does its job, it helps us to remember. It is like the toy garden which stirred in Lewis the peculiar feeling of joy. It did not detract from the beauty in the world. Instead, it helped Lewis to see the beauty that surrounded him. This gets at the purpose of all art. It give us eyes to see what we have often been so blind to.  

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