ENG 498: Senior Seminar: Feminism in C.S. Lewis' The Chronicles of Narnia

C. S. Lewis, fantasy novelist, literary scholar, and Christian apologist, is one of the most original and well-known literary figures of the twentieth century. As one who stood at the crossroads of Edwardian and modern thinking, he is often read as a sexist or even misogynistic man of his time, but this fresh rereading assesses Lewis as a prescient thinker who transformed typical Western gender paradigms. The Feminine Ethos in C. S. Lewis's 'Chronicles of Narnia' proposes that Lewis's highly nuanced metaphorical view of gender relations has been misunderstood precisely because it challenges Western chauvinist assumptions on sex and gender. Instead of perpetuating sexism, Lewis subverts the culturally inherited chauvinism of #65533;masculine#65533; classical heroism with the biblically inspired vision of a surprisingly #65533;feminine#65533; spiritual heroism. His view that we are all #65533;feminine#65533; in relation to the #65533;masculine#65533; God - a theological feminism that crosses gender lines - means that qualities we tend to consider to be feminine, such as humility, are the qualities essential to being fully human. This book's theoretical framework is Lewis's own, grounded in his view of biblical thinking, as he was informed by writers such as Milton, Wordsworth, and George MacDonald, and in terms of the uniquely progressive implications for twentieth-first century cultural studies. This highly insightful and entertaining study of theological feminism in Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia will be compelling for anyone interested in children's and fantasy literature, Inklings scholarship, gender discourse, ethical and spiritual discourse, literature and theology, and cultural studies in general.

A collection of interviews and essays from a group of distinguished scholars and bloggers writing on the theme of Lewis and women, in his life and writings   Sexism in Narnia? Or Screwtape? Or among the Inklings? Critics have labelled C.S. Lewis a sexist, even a misogynist. Did the life and writing of the hugely popular British author and professor betray attitudes that today are unacceptable, even deplorable? The younger Lewis was criticized for a mysterious living arrangement with a woman, but his later marriage to an American poet, Joy Davidman, became a celebrated love story. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien formed a legendary literary group, the Inklings - but without women. Women and C.S. Lewis features academics and writers who come together to investigate the accusations: Alister McGrath, Randy Alcorn, Monika Hilder, Holly Ordway, Don W. King, Kathy Keller, Colin Duriez, Crystal Hurd, Jeanette Sears, David C. Downing, Michael Ward, Devin Brown, Malcolm Guite, Joy Jordan-Lake, Steven Elmore, Andrew Lazo, Mary Poplin, Christin Ditchfield, Lyle W. Dorsett, Paul McCusker, Crystal Downing, Kasey Macsenti, Brett McCracken, John Stonestreet, Kelly Belmonte, Brad Davis. Women and C.S. Lewis provides broad and satisfying answers. Editors are Carolyn Curtis, veteran journalist and book auth∨ Mary Pomroy Key, Director, C.S. Lewis Study Center, Northfield, Massachusetts.