Definitely interesting conversation! And I'm probably as much at fault with the confusion, since I wrote my answers late at night and probably didn't process your comments as well as I should have.
I think where we fell of the track was the difference between reading and writing. I believe that everyone has a right to their own interpretation of what they're reading, particularly if they're reading for enjoyment. I know I missed most of the Christian symbolism the first time I read Narnia, and I was raised in a very Christian home. And, like I mentioned, even Christians have problems with Narnia, including Lewis's best friend, Tolkien, because of the way they read it.
When writing in a fandom, though, I tend to be harder on the purist angle. I know not everyone agrees with me that author intent matters, but to me it's important to get into the author/creator's mind in order to write a fic that is coherent within that world, no matter what the fic writer's own beliefs are. If I were to write in the Northern Lights fandom (and I don't, I petered out after the first book), I would have to take Pullman's consideration when creating that world in mind when writing in it. I couldn't have the faux!Catholic church represent anything other than what Pullman sees as a corrupt church in our own world, despite the fact that I disagree with him vastly. But to do otherwise would be un-canon. I could create a splinter group within the church which worked for good, but I could not change the foundation of it.
I think my problem with understanding your relation of Aslan as a pagan deity stems from long years studying Greek, Roman, and Norse myths, combined with my understanding of them being 'real' in the sense that there were spiritual entities that took those 'forms' and were worshiped by many. There are certainly levels of power within pantheons, but none of them had the absolute power that Aslan seems to have over the other deities in Narnia. Zeus/Jupiter was only king because he overthrew his father (who overthrew his father), and was always wary of being overthrown himself (hence swallowing Metis and marrying Thetis off to Peleus). I saw the Zeus/father-god figure in Narnia as more along the lines of Tash: the most powerful god in the pantheon, but not all-powerful. After all, Zeus was subject to fate (hence he couldn't save his son Sarpedon), while the majority of the Norse pantheon actually die (and stay dead. Well, except Baldur, but some scholars think he might have been influenced by the Christian monks who actually wrote the myths down). Aslan just never fit my image of the pagan gods I've studied since I was a little kid.
But, again, that comes from our different experiences. I was raised a Christian, and have an intense interest in ancient myths, which influenced me to view things a certain way which others might not see the same. Which is why it's interesting to hear how you see things differently. I look forward to hearing more!
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Re: REALLY long comment, part 1
Date: 2009-05-08 04:22 am (UTC)I think where we fell of the track was the difference between reading and writing. I believe that everyone has a right to their own interpretation of what they're reading, particularly if they're reading for enjoyment. I know I missed most of the Christian symbolism the first time I read Narnia, and I was raised in a very Christian home. And, like I mentioned, even Christians have problems with Narnia, including Lewis's best friend, Tolkien, because of the way they read it.
When writing in a fandom, though, I tend to be harder on the purist angle. I know not everyone agrees with me that author intent matters, but to me it's important to get into the author/creator's mind in order to write a fic that is coherent within that world, no matter what the fic writer's own beliefs are. If I were to write in the Northern Lights fandom (and I don't, I petered out after the first book), I would have to take Pullman's consideration when creating that world in mind when writing in it. I couldn't have the faux!Catholic church represent anything other than what Pullman sees as a corrupt church in our own world, despite the fact that I disagree with him vastly. But to do otherwise would be un-canon. I could create a splinter group within the church which worked for good, but I could not change the foundation of it.
I think my problem with understanding your relation of Aslan as a pagan deity stems from long years studying Greek, Roman, and Norse myths, combined with my understanding of them being 'real' in the sense that there were spiritual entities that took those 'forms' and were worshiped by many. There are certainly levels of power within pantheons, but none of them had the absolute power that Aslan seems to have over the other deities in Narnia. Zeus/Jupiter was only king because he overthrew his father (who overthrew his father), and was always wary of being overthrown himself (hence swallowing Metis and marrying Thetis off to Peleus). I saw the Zeus/father-god figure in Narnia as more along the lines of Tash: the most powerful god in the pantheon, but not all-powerful. After all, Zeus was subject to fate (hence he couldn't save his son Sarpedon), while the majority of the Norse pantheon actually die (and stay dead. Well, except Baldur, but some scholars think he might have been influenced by the Christian monks who actually wrote the myths down). Aslan just never fit my image of the pagan gods I've studied since I was a little kid.
But, again, that comes from our different experiences. I was raised a Christian, and have an intense interest in ancient myths, which influenced me to view things a certain way which others might not see the same. Which is why it's interesting to hear how you see things differently. I look forward to hearing more!