Fictionally Ranting: Narnia, The Last Battle

Ok I wanted to do a rants page for all the emotions I feel when reading/watching certain books/movies. I'm not sure how different this is from my tea and thoughts segment but let's just say this is much much harsher and this segment lacks ALL the formalities that my tea thoughts segment has. I'm probably just going to keyboard smash my way into this post.

I read the last book of the Narnia Chronicles, The Last Battle, when I was about 9 or 10. I never really fully understood the ending and all because of everything that's going on in the book. But today I happened to read Neil Gaiman's short story, "The Problem of Susan." AND I AM NOT FINE. NEVER WILL I BE FINE. I WILL LIVE MY FREAKIN LIFE IN DARKNESS. MY CHILDHOOD CRUMBLED TO DUST. WHY? WHY??? (p.s. read on only if you are brave and emotionally stable enough to handle such a big reveal.)


I knew Susan didn't enter Narnia. I understood that she grew up and got interested in "lipstick and nylon" but what I didn't understand when I was 9 or 10 is that the other Pevensie children

DIED DIED DIED. ALL 3 OF THEM. LUCY. EDMUND. PETER. DIED.

Now, it makes sense why they were to stay in Narnia. FOREVER. Now, it makes sense why they crossed that big gate to "the real Narnia." It was because they DIED IN A TRAIN CRASH WITH EVERYBODY ELSE. Yes, their mom and dad. Jill and Diggory. All the friends of Narnia have been sent to Narnia to live a wonderfully happy life. I'm quite okay with that. Since, Narnia has become a heaven of sorts and I guess that ending isn't too bad for the other three Pevensie children. But what's been haunting me is the fact that Susan is still alive and has to live with the fact that everyone she has ever loved is dead. Her teenage sister and brother (Lucy-17, Edmund-18) and her elder brother (Peter-22) is dead and even her parents. Imagine a 21 year-old trying to live life despite that fact. I don't think that "lipstick and nylon" symbolizes sexual awareness for Susan. I think it symbolizes her growing up. She grew up. She got over it. But why is she left behind? She didn't die, I could assure you that. Even C.S. Lewis wanted to write a book on her life after the crash but didn't get to. Why was she treated so badly by in Narnia? (Peter and the others saying she isn't a friend of Narnia anymore.)  What really happened to her? These questions left me baffled."The Problem of Susan" is a great short story, brilliant actually. But Neil Gaiman didn't quite capture C.S. Lewis' trademark religiously allegorical style. If anything, the short story was actually anti-religious. I want to know what happened to Susan, how she felt, and if she ever believed again. I want to see it through C.S Lewis because I know that only through him can I get an honest to goodness answer. Too bad he died before writing the "Susan of Narnia" book. I think Susan grew up, yes she did and she stopped believing. But maybe, her siblings' death is a way for her to believe again. To have hope. Maybe. I don't know. Her story arc is so unfinished, it leaves one wondering. I used to spite Susan before when I didn't understand it all. Now, I feel nothing but compassion for her.