Erin Minear
ENGL 210: Children's Fantasy Literature
The College of William and Mary
February, 2009
In his fantasy series The Chronicles of Narnia, C.S. Lewis's protagonists often face struggles which can only be overcome by force of arms. Over the course of these conflicts, Lewis draws a parallel between his characters and the particular swords they wield, linking each weapon with the personal identity of its proper owner. While swords thus function as an extension of individuality in Narnia, the author repeatedly denies his female characters the right to use these weapons in the same fashion as their male counterparts. By removing this key mark of personal identity throughout the books, C.S. Lewis effectively deprives his female characters of any notion of self.
Over the course of the novels, the wielding of swords becomes closely associated with individual identity. In The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe, Peter Pevensie is knighted as "Sir Peter Wolf's-Bane" by the Lion Aslan, who borrows his sword and "[strikes] him with the flat of the blade" (145). As the epithet indicates, Peter has earned this name through using his sword to defend his weaponless sisters against a marauding Wolf. Elsewhere in the books, a similar link exists between a warrior's sword and his given name, as seen in The Last Battle:
"This is my password," said the King as he drew his sword. "The light is dawning, the lie broken. Now guard thee, miscreant, for I am Tirian of Narnia." (87, emphasis in the original)For King Tirian, the act of drawing one's sword is so closely associated with identifying oneself as to be a nearly synonymous action. A disguise entails both a hiding of one's name and a sheathing of one's sword, and before engaging an enemy each of these must be uncovered and presented. Later on Tirian again reveals himself from hiding, through a similar display of name and weapon:
The King's sword flashed in the firelight as he waved it above his head and cried in a great voice: "Here stand I, Tirian of Narnia, in Aslan's name, to prove with my body that Tash is a foul fiend, the Ape a manifold traitor, and these Calormenes worthy of death. To my side, all true Narnians." (Battle 142)Like that of Sir Peter Wolf's-Bane, King Tirian's name is inextricably linked to the weapon he employs in battle. Indeed, his sense of identity itself seems reflected in the blade drawn before his foes.
The unique relation between warrior and weapon is not a universal one, whereby characters are defined by sword-use in general. Rather, in Lewis's eyes, there exists for each fighter one specific sword or sword-type which reflects his distinct personality. Peter's sword, gifted to him personally by Father Christmas, is "just the right size and weight for Peter to use" (Lion 118). Similarly, when Tirian and his companions rescue a young Dwarf from his Calormene captors, the miniature Narnian identifies himself as "Me, Poggin the Dwarf. I've only just managed to get away from the others. I'm on your side, Sire: and on Aslan's. If you can put a Dwarfish sword in my fist, I'd gladly strike a blow on the right side before all's done" (Battle 93-4). Poggin does not require just any sword to fully commit to Tirian's cause; it must be one which serves as an adequate extension of his character. Like Peter's, the sword Poggin asks for and receives is not interchangeable with any other weapon, but stands as a mark of his individuality.
At times, of course, the correct type of sword for a certain character cannot be found, and the relation between the two must be compromised. For example, at one point King Tirian and Eustace Scrubb have no option but to arm themselves with the "curved Calormene swords and little round shields" (Battle 69) which are available to them at the time. While utilizing these weapons is acceptable as a last resort, it is clear that their use does not suit the characters as well as proper Narnian swords would:
Then he had tried to teach Eustace how to use his sword and shield. Eustace had learned quite a lot about sword fighting on his earlier adventures but that had been all with a straight Narnian sword. He had never handled a curved Calormene scimitar and that made it hard, for many of the strokes are quite different and some of the habits he had learned with the long sword had now to be unlearned again. (Battle 72)While having a sword in general helps Eustace establish and maintain his identity as a defender of Narnia, this role is weakened by his lack of a familiar weapon. A Calormene blade does not suit him or his fighting style, and while he is able to make some use of the foreign sword, it is an uncomfortable process. As soon as possible, Tirian and Eustace divest themselves of their borrowed blades and switch back to more fitting weaponry. However, the King's comments at the time reveal that the suitability of these weapons reaches beyond mere familiarity:
They rearmed themselves in true Narnian style, with straight swords and three-cornered shields. "Body of me," said Tirian. "That is better. I feel a true man again." (Battle 107)Using Calormene swords does not merely require Eustace and Tirian to employ an unusual fighting style; for these characters it is their essential humanity which is threatened when their familiar weaponry is displaced. Tirian's sense of personal identity thus comes from using not just any sword, but one that makes him "feel a true man."
Given this precedent, it is perhaps surprising that female characters in Narnia are not given similar weapons to define and complete them. Instead, Lewis continually denies these characters the ability to bear arms in the fashion of their male companions. While Peter receives from Father Christmas the gleaming sword that suits him so perfectly, his sisters Susan and Lucy are instead given a bow and a dagger respectively. At the time, Father Christmas remarks that he has given them these instruments only so that the girls can defend themselves "in great need…for I do not mean you to fight in the battle" (Lion 118). And when Lucy questions him on this seeming slight on her bravery, the man replies, "That is not the point… But battles are ugly when women fight" (ibid. 119). In other words, it is women using swords at all which Lewis is asserting through Father Christmas to be an ugly practice. While misogynistic to begin with, in the context of Lewis's established dynamic between sword-use and personal identity, these remarks serve to deny the women of Narnia a basic notion of self.
In addition to paternal authority in the form of Father Christmas disapproving of female sword-use in general, there appears in Lewis's narrative to be no swords which would even suit a woman. In contrast to the sword which is "just the right size and weight for Peter to use," when Tirian and Eustace arm themselves they can find "no sword light enough for [Eustace's friend] Jill" (Battle 69). Even in the land beyond the stable door at the end of The Last Battle, where her "dirt and tears and an old drill dress half slipping off one shoulder" have been magically changed to be "cool and fresh, as fresh as if she had just come from bathing" (167), Jill's rejuvenated appearance does not include a sword as Peter's does. In that land, Tirian encounters Jill with six other Kings and Queens of Narnia, "all with crowns on their heads and all in glittering clothes," but it is only the Kings who "had their swords drawn in their hands" (Battle 166). Even here, in their essential and ageless forms, Narnia's women are denied access to the weapons which define their male counterparts. In the framework of Lewis's narrative, this denial is equivalent to the active effacing of any sense of female identity.
Throughout the texts, C. S. Lewis's female characters are continually marginalized during scenes of battle and deprived of the sort of weaponry which male characters regularly employ. By wielding swords, Lewis's male figures enforce and assert their own personal identities, which are reflected in the sorts of weapons which they feel most comfortable using. Whenever possible, these characters avoid using unfamiliar swords in battle, as such weapons lead to existential crises and feelings of inadequacy. Narnia's women, however, lack even this option for truncated personal expression. In a narrative framework wherein sword-use and personal identity are intricately linked, Lewis's female characters are told flatly that battles are not a proper place for them. As the author views wielding a blade as equivalent to stating one's identity, his denial of swords to his female characters is essentially a rejection of their basic personal individuality. By preventing the women of The Chronicles of Narnia from utilizing swords, C. S. Lewis separates their characters from those of his men, effectively denying his female protagonists any sense of personal identity or self.
Lewis, C. S. The Last Battle. New York: HarperTrophy, 1994. Lewis, C. S. The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe. New York: HarperTrophy, 1994.
<==BACK==<
