Irene, Lucy, and an Homage

C. S. Lewis did not hide that he drew inspiration from George MacDonald. I'm a huge Narnia fan, so as I was reading The Princess and the Goblin, it didn't surprise me much when reading about Irene that I was made to think of Lucy and Narnia. I always find it interesting how well done homages are not mere formulaic copies--they can be expansions and can even reverse details or outcomes--but have a unity between the source and homage. In The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, two of my favorite scenes pay homage to a fleeting scene in The Princess and the Goblin. Have a look! 

From Chapter 22 of The Princess and the Goblin by MacDonald:

And from somewhere came the voice of the lady, singing a strange sweet song, of which she could distinguish every word; but of the sense she had only a feeling--no understanding. Nor could she remember a single line after it was gone. It vanished, like the poetry in a dream, as fast as it came. In after years, however, she would sometimes fancy that snatches of melody suddenly rising in her brain must be little phrases and fragments of the air of that song; and the very fancy would make her happier, and abler to do her duty.

 From Chapter 10 of The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by Lewis:

On the next page she came to a spell "for the refreshment of the spirit." The pictures were fewer here but very beautiful. And what Lucy found herself reading was more like a story than a spell. It went on for three pages and before she had read to the bottom of the page she had forgotten that she was reading at all. She was living in the story as if it were real, and all the pictures were real too. When she had got to the third page and come to the end, she said, "That is the loveliest story I've ever read or ever shall read in my whole life. Oh, I wish I could have gone on reading it for ten years. At least I'll read it over again."

But here part of the magic of the Book came into play. You couldn't turn back. The right-hand pages, the ones ahead, could be turned; the left-hand pages could not.

"Oh, what a shame!" said Lucy. "I did so want to read it again. Well, at least I must remember it. Let's see . . . it was about . . . about . . . oh dear, it's all fading away again. And even this last page is going blank. This is a very queer book. How can I have forgotten? It was about a cup and a sword and a tree and a green hill, I know that much. But I can't remember and what shall I do?"

And she never could remember; and ever since that day what Lucy means by a good story is a story which reminds her of the forgotten story in the Magician's Book.

And from Chapter 16 of The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by Lewis:

And suddenly there came a breeze from the east, tossing the top of the wave into foamy shapes and ruffling the smooth water all round them. It lasted only a second or so but what it brought them in that second none of those three children will ever forget. It brought both a smell and a sound, a musical sound. Edmund and Eustace would never talk about it afterward. Lucy would only say, "It would break your heart." "Why," said I, "was it so sad?" "Sad!! No," said Lucy.

I may not have noticed the connection between these passages if the above Narnia quotes weren't some of my favorite passages in the series. In all three instances, there is a message or moment that is valued but not quite comprehended. It has come and gone, yet, while remembered however vaguely, is a formative moment. Irene's moment is ever valued as encouragement, and when Lewis pays homage the appreciation has deepened to a longing. Longing for those fleeting moments of eternity in the now. Longing for peace, calm, wholeness, completeness. Longing for heaven. In MacDonald, the rest of heaven encourages and enables completion of labor required on earth. In Lewis, the weariness of earth creates a longing for the rest of heaven. Lewis understood this moment of not-quite-comprehended eternity in MacDonald, and the echoes are heard in Narnia.

If Lucy and Irene were to meet, they would surely be friends and would understand each other, even when what is understood is, paradoxically, inexpressible and beyond comprehension.

Princesses in Pretty Pink Books

I finally got around to reading  The Princess and the Goblin by George MacDonald. The edition I read, Looking Glass Library, has a beautiful pink cover. It's pretty obvious whose eye they are trying to attract with the cover design. I'm such a rebel, I not only read the book, but read it openly in public! Maybe people stared, but I was too busy reading to notice. This will most likely be the first of multiple posts prompted by the story, but I'm going to start with a discussion of princesses. (Sorry, goblins).

Every time a new princess movie comes out, the internet is inundated with more discussion about how the stereotypical princess is ruining girls' self-reliance and view of the world, and either blasts or praises the movie for reinforcing or shattering the princess mold. Sometimes I wonder how this "stereotypical princess" mold even came about based on a number of stories I've read, but I'll give my thoughts on this later. Now, let's look at how The Princess and the Goblin deals with what princesses should be like as a specific case study.

Here are some quotes from the story on the topic of princess characteristics:

She did not cry long, however, for she was as brave as could be expected of a princess her age [8 years old]. After a good cry she got up and brushed the dust from her frock. Oh, what old dust it was! Then she wiped her eyes with her hands, for princesses don't always have their handkerchiefs in their pockets, any more than some other little girls I know of. Next, like a true princess, she resolved on going wisely to work to find her way back.

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Not to be believed does not at all agree with princesses; for a real princess cannot tell a lie.

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"Nurse, a princess must not break her word," said [princess] Irene.

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She never forgot Curdie, but him she remembered for his own sake, and indeed would have remembered him if only because a princess never forgets her debts until they are paid.

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Some little girls would have been afraid to find themselves thus alone in the middle of the night, but Irene was a princess.

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Lootie had very foolish notions concerning the dignity of a princess, not understanding that the truest princess is just the one who loves all her brothers and sisters best, and who is most able to do them good by being humble toward them.

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Here I should like to remark, for the sake of princes and princesses in general, that it is a low and contemptible thing to refuse to confess a fault, or even an error. If a true princess has done wrong she is always uneasy until she has had an opportunity of throwing the wrongness away from her by saying, "I did it, and I wish I had not; and I am sorry for having done it."

Let's summarize the character traits a true princess shows according to these quotes:

• Bravery
• Resolve
• Resourcefulness
• Honesty
• Trustworthiness
• Responsibility
• Morality
• Independence
• Selflessness
• Humilty
• Compassion
• Honor

Isn't that a horrifying list? We definitely can't have girls acting like princesses and showing those traits! If we look past the quotes about princesses at princess Irene's actions, including holding her resolve in the face of mockery and rescuing Curdie, the male hero in the story, we can also add these traits.

• Leadership
• Initiative
• Faith
• Confidence
• Lovingness
• Kindness

It just keeps getting worse doesn't it! She's out of control!

How can we go from heroic princesses to a stereotype of helpless, destructive princesses? I think the answer lies in the concept of duty. In The Princess and the Goblin, Irene understands that being royal comes with demands. This sense of duty instills deep senses of responsibility and morality, which require her to be able to act independently, resolutely, and strongly when doing good is the hard or unpopular choice. If we lose this sense of duty, this sense of responsibility, this sense of morality, we are left with superficiality. Princesses are left with nothing they are obligated to do, so society makes them pretty objects to envy and desire. And without duty, society has replaced selflessness and responsibility with selfishness and self-absorption. When the right to be a privileged princess is demanded while avoiding being demanded of, it's no wonder morality disappears along with duty.

I mentioned before that it is obvious the book cover designer was not trying to appeal to males in its design choice. I find this to be too bad. Sure the title has "the princess" in it, but what we have is a fairy tale with two heroes: the princess Irene, and the miner Curdie. There is absolutely no reason the heroism of both of these characters can't be appreciated by both boys and girls. But I'm a man who likes princess books, so what do I know?