Narnia is a part of my childhood. When I was about four or five years old, my Dad started reading us the Narnia books, recording his reading for our later enjoyment. His recordings became a family treasure, affording numerous hours of entertainment as we re-listened to them. These dear stories recall days of happiness, family unity, home life, and peace; but the books themselves cover themes that are anything but halcyon. The series starts out (if you start with The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe) with themes of war, tyranny, and repression. And it is in a time when all three are very much alive in our world that I have begun sharing these same books with others, this time as a tool for learning English.
Before February of 2022, I lived in Odessa, Ukraine, and taught literature and history at a small school for the children of missionaries. When the threat of war became severe, I relocated with my family to a smaller town near the Romanian border. When Russia attacked, we fled to Romania. We were able to finish out the school year online, but, since our last day of school in 2022, that school has not functioned. We have instead worked to help and support the numerous other people who also fled from Ukraine to Romania. One service we offer is English lessons. And one resource I have used with several of my students is the Narnia series.
The first book in the Narnia series (according to the order in which the books were written, not the order of the events in the books), includes a reference to the evacuation of children from London to the more peaceful countryside. I remember my father explaining to me about Hitler and the bombing of Britain, but air raids were a far away reality. Now, when I read that opening paragraph, my students generally ask me what the word "air raid" means, not because they don't know what an air raid is, but because they don't know the English word. I answer with a term that is now all too common in Ukraine. Those who left after the attacks started, or those who have been back, know the meaning of "air raid" even better than that.
The concept of evacuation is also all too familiar. Many families are living separated. Since male Ukrainian citizens may not leave the country (a few exceptions exist), most of those living in this new diaspora are women and, like the Pevensies, children. At times, people's new living situations have brought opportunities for fun as well as grief. At one point, numerous Ukrainian families were living in the same complex, creating a kind of village. Children were able to go freely about, playing with friends.
This same book also echoes the horrors of enemy occupation. When we first enter Narnia, it is occupied by an unlawful, repressive ruler. Although the book does not give a picture of anything like the horrors of Russian occupation, it does give a picture of a tyrant and the hope of liberation.
With most of my students, when we finished The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, we did not continue with other Narnia books. But with one student, I have continued into Prince Caspian. Like the previous book, this book has Narnia occupied, this time by humans. These humans have not only conquered but displaced the native inhabitants, the talking animals, dwarfs, fauns, centaurs, etc. They have been killed off, and those who survive have been driven into hiding. The rulers covered up the crime. They denied that such creatures had ever existed in Narnia. I discussed this state of affairs with my student. It was then that we both used a word I had never before associated with Narnia; the word genocide. This word is all too familiar to Ukrainian people. Although Putin is not succeeding at getting rid of the Ukrainian people, his rhetoric, and the rhetoric of others in his following, shows a desire to get rid of Ukrainians. I will not go into the horrible details here, but they exist for those with the stomach to read them. The supreme irony is that this genocide goes on under the cover of "de-Nazification," in other words, opposition to a regime and a philosophy that has become synonymous with genocide.
Not only is the act of genocide a relevant concept in this war, so is misinformation and repression of speech. In Prince Caspian, the titular prince's nurse is sent away when the king, Caspian's uncle, finds out she has been telling her nursling stories of the true history of Narnia. Later, the prince's tutor refuses to openly tell him the true history, warning him that, if he does so, they will both be punished. (He later tells Prince Caspian about Narnia's true history, but only at night when they are in a place far from prying ears. )In Russia, a similar situation exists. A child drew a picture critical of the war. She was taken from her father, and her father was placed under house arrest. Ukrainians with friends or relatives in Russia find that these people do not want to talk about the war. Some even refuse to believe that their friends or relatives in Ukraine are being bombed, instead quoting Russian propaganda. Anyone who has looked at Twitter posts about the war has seen how many people (or bots) are spewing misinformation about the war, and how many people are believing it.
No doubt, as I continue on this journey through books dear to me since my early years, I will see other connections. But perhaps the most important connection is the call to be strong, to do right, and to believe in God in the face of trouble and evil. Let us answer that call.
