Fixing Susan in C.S. Lewis's THE LAST BATTLE
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Those of you who’ve been following me for a while know that I spent several years doing a C.S. Lewis re-read over at Tor.com (now ReacTor). The big article we built up to was one that went into great detail about the fate of Susan Pevensie, the Narnian queen who got left behind in the final novel.
As part of that article, I shared an (imagined) scrap of story that I figured Lewis just accidentally forgot to include.
This week, a sweet young woman named Catherine wrote me and asked if she could translate that article into Russian so she could share it with Russian-speaking Lewis fans, AND she drew a bit of fan art to go along with it. So it’s some fan art for my fan art, which is pretty fun. You can read the full article “The Problem(s) of Susan” in English or Russian, but I’m going to include the “deleted scene” from The Last Battle in full below:
It was Lucy who remembered Susan then, and cried out to Aslan, “Susan, Susan, but what’s to become of Susan?”
Aslan came to her, the joy in his face replaced for a moment with sorrow. “Her story is not yours to know, Daughter of Eve.”
“But she’s alone,” Lucy said, and tears sprang from her eyes.
“She’s not alone,” Aslan said, his voice low and soft, and Lucy leaned against his broad back, just as she and Susan had done, oh, years ago. “But she must find her own way.”
“But what if she doesn’t?”
“Emeth found his way,” Aslan said. “Do you truly think our good Queen Susan the Gentle will fail to find a doorway home when the time comes?”
“I know that I’m meant to be happy here, Aslan, it’s just…it’s just that it’s terribly sad.”
Great, shining tears stood in the Lion’s eyes. “She will know more sorrow than you. But perhaps her joy will be greater, too, in time.”
His tears fell to the bright grass and formed a crystal pond, bright and clear. Aslan blew upon the water, and where the water was troubled she could see Susan, sitting in her room at home, looking at herself in the mirror, putting on her mascara.
“Susan, Susan!” Lucy cried, and her sister looked up for a moment, as if she heard a voice in another room.
“She does not yet know,” Aslan said, “What has happened to you and your brothers and your parents. She does not yet know the pain that lies ahead of her. But because of your great love for her, Lucy, you may speak one last sentence to her. One sentence to help her on her way.”
Lucy fell to her knees beside the pool, her tears mingling with Aslan’s. She did not know what to say, and she began to wonder whether it was better to say nothing at all, when the great lion said, “Speak, dear heart, it will mean more than you can know in the years to come.”
Lucy leaned close, so close to Susan she felt she could reach into the water and touch her, and she said, “Dear Susan—dear, beloved Susan—always remember…once a queen in Narnia, always a queen in Narnia.”
Susan set down her mascara. “Lu, is that you? Are you home so soon?” A gentle smile came onto her face. “How strange. For a moment I thought…but of course that can’t be. I’ll have to tell Lucy all about it when she gets home.”
Aslan blew on the water again, and Susan was gone.
Lucy threw her arms around Aslan’s great neck and buried her face in his golden mane. “Was it enough, Aslan? Did I say the right thing?”
As for Aslan’s answer, well, that is Lucy’s story to tell.
If you want some Girl Scout Cookies mailed to you
My daughter would be glad to be your dealer.
This is the section where I talk about my books
It honestly feels a little weird to talk about my upcoming books and events with all the other things going on in the world. I’m working hard to not just spout off about things I don’t understand well, and to not duplicate great things that are being said by others already. Which means I’m doing a lot of self-editing right now!
There are two book/event things I want to mention to you this week, though. One is about sales and giveaways related to God With Us, and the other is a local event with me and Kathy Khang here in Portland, Oregon!
First the sale, which is only good through TODAY (Friday), so apologies if you’re one of the folks who open this on Saturdays (SORRY!).
If you’d rather try to get yourself a free copy, there’s always this Goodreads giveaway! And more information (including a free chapter), as always, at GodWithUsBook.com.
AND DON’T FORGET:
Kathy and I are going to be speaking together in Portland, OR, February 15 and 16. Don’t be deceived by last week’s email, which claimed it would be in April. That’s just evidence of someone who shouldn’t be allowed to write without an editor, that’s all. SIGN UP TO JOIN US HERE.
Take a Breath
The world is still here, you are still here. Breathe deep.
The following poem, by Czeslaw Milosz, was written in Warsaw in 1944.
A Song on the End of the World
On the day the world ends
A bee circles a clover,
A fisherman mends a glimmering net.
Happy porpoises jump in the sea,
By the rainspout young sparrows are playing
And the snake is gold-skinned as it should always be.
On the day the world ends
Women walk through the fields under their umbrellas,
A drunkard grows sleepy at the edge of a lawn,
Vegetable peddlers shout in the street
And a yellow-sailed boat comes nearer the island,
The voice of a violin lasts in the air
And leads into a starry night.
And those who expected lightning and thunder
Are disappointed.
And those who expected signs and archangels’ trumps
Do not believe it is happening now.
As long as the sun and the moon are above,
As long as the bumblebee visits a rose,
As long as rosy infants are born
No one believes it is happening now.
Only a white-haired old man, who would be a prophet
Yet is not a prophet, for he’s much too busy,
Repeats while he binds his tomatoes:
There will be no other end of the world,
There will be no other end of the world.
Bruce in the Box
In a last ditch effort to try to keep Bruce from nibbling on various items in our home that we prefer unbitten, we gave Bruce a living room box to chew on.
Did it work?
YES!
For about 40 seconds.
I tried to get several pictures during that nearly-a-minute of Bruce chewing on something he’s allowed to chew on.
May your week be filled with plans that work for longer than a minute!
Peace to you,
Matt
People don't like the ambiguity of Susan, but I've always felt like Lewis was leaving the door open for those who have lost sight of Narnia and aren't even looking for the Wardrobe anymore. Maybe the wardrobe will find them when they least expect it.
I like your fanfic addition, haha.
That poem. I don't get stopped in my tracks by poetry as often as some, but man. You can read it a couple entirely different ways. Gonna be pondering.
But the first thing that caught my eye was this: "I’m working hard to not just spout off about things I don’t understand well, and to not duplicate great things that are being said by others already. Which means I’m doing a lot of self-editing right now!" I've written and deleted so many words already. Plenty make it through nonetheless. It's so hard to know how much to keep calm and carry on these days. Maybe I need to spend more time watching the bee circle a clover.