Yeah, I doubt Lewis gave much thought to Peter and Susan's titles -- they're the most generic and gender-archetypal, after all, whereas Edmund's refers directly to his time with Jadis and Lucy's is part of her role as heroine and the one who ventures into the unknown. But that doesn't mean readers and fanfic writers can't think about them in greater depth. :-) And Lewis does portray goodness (in the person of Aslan) as a powerful and terrifying force, so presumably gentleness, which is a related concept, should also have potential for strength.
You are right that there's no guarantee Eustace, Jill, and Polly are correct in their assessment of Susan. After all, Tirian is completely confused upon entering the stable, Emeth has no idea what's going on, and the Dwarfs are completely blind to Aslan's country all around them. Clearly death alone doesn't make people all-seeing or all-knowing. I think Lewis probably WAS trying to use Susan as an example of a person who turns away from faith/belief -- her secondhand words about Narnia being a childhood game certainly fit that role -- but he spends the entirety of TLB sending horribly mixed messages that in many cases directly contradict everything he spent the prior six books saying, so Susan is simultaneously the one who turns away from Narnia and Aslan AND the only one who remains faithful and obedient, by creating a life centered on England and staying away from the Rings. It's a huge mess! And I think the best conclusion is that both sides are right on some issues and wrong on others. Susan was wrong to turn away so thoroughly from the things that shaped her as a person, but the others were also wrong to cling so tightly to Narnia and the chance of returning there someday.
Anyway, I look forward to a story from you about Susan, whenever you get your thoughts sorted out.
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Date: 2014-10-13 01:01 am (UTC)You are right that there's no guarantee Eustace, Jill, and Polly are correct in their assessment of Susan. After all, Tirian is completely confused upon entering the stable, Emeth has no idea what's going on, and the Dwarfs are completely blind to Aslan's country all around them. Clearly death alone doesn't make people all-seeing or all-knowing. I think Lewis probably WAS trying to use Susan as an example of a person who turns away from faith/belief -- her secondhand words about Narnia being a childhood game certainly fit that role -- but he spends the entirety of TLB sending horribly mixed messages that in many cases directly contradict everything he spent the prior six books saying, so Susan is simultaneously the one who turns away from Narnia and Aslan AND the only one who remains faithful and obedient, by creating a life centered on England and staying away from the Rings. It's a huge mess! And I think the best conclusion is that both sides are right on some issues and wrong on others. Susan was wrong to turn away so thoroughly from the things that shaped her as a person, but the others were also wrong to cling so tightly to Narnia and the chance of returning there someday.
Anyway, I look forward to a story from you about Susan, whenever you get your thoughts sorted out.