Editing Narnia

We have just taken the girls to see the movie of Prince Caspian. I finished reading the book to the girls a couple of nights ago, so they knew the story, but we warned them that some parts could be changed, and even some extra bits added, because books don’t always translate well to the big screen.

The movie is a considerable improvement on the book, which has a fabulous plot, but its dialogue and rampant sexism have not aged well. The movie has much more prominent, interesting, and dangerous and daring parts for Susan and Lucy, instead of them being relegated to the frothy bits on the side of the main action. I approve!

And thank goodness, the sexism has been edited out. I did a fair bit of editing as I read the books to the girls, changing words and phrases so that I didn’t end up reading misogyny out loud to my lovely daughters. For example:

Peter leaned forward, put his arms round the beast and kissed the furry head: it wasn’t a girlish thing for him to do, because he was the High King.

Of course. Men are unmanned by kissing, and Peter only gets away with it because he has the biggest penis highest position. Moreover, you can deride some action by saying it is girlish. Lovely.

I just completely omitted the second clause.

“You talk like an old woman, Glozelle,” said the King. [Miraz, the usurper]

To be fair, these are words put in the mouth of the ‘baddie’ in the book. Nevertheless, it’s clear that the way to question someone’s courage is to say that they are female.

I read it out loud to the girls as: “You talk nonsense, Glozelle.”

And then there’s the fattism.

Then she saw the Lion, screamed and fled, and with her fled her class, who were mostly dumpy, prim little girls with fat legs.

And therefore completely unworthy of joining in the revels with the Lion, because they dared to be a bit chubby. Again, I just completely omitted the last clause.

Eventually, Miss Nine noticed what I was doing, and said, “Mum, you changed the words. Why did you do that?”

So I told her. “Because it’s sexist crap which I refuse to read out loud to my children.”

And she was just fine about that.

The writings of C. S. Lewis are not sacred scripture, so I have no qualms whatsoever about editing them as I go. Of course, the Narnia books are very much products of their time, but that’s a thought too far for my six year olds, and possibly a bit too complicated even for my very well read and thoughtful nine year old. I knew when I started reading the books to the girls that I would have to contend with the jejeune theology but I was fairly confident that it would simply pass straight over their heads, and they would see the books as straightforward tales of magic and adventure. I also knew that the books had fairly stereotypical gender roles, but even so, I thought the stories were worth reading. However I had forgotten the sexism tangled into the language, until I started reading it out loud, and quickly amended the words. I shouldn’t have been surprised; after all C. S. Lewis is known for saying that we are all as females before god i.e. weak, inferior, and altogether lesser beings.

The Voyage of the Dawn Treader is next on our reading list. I wonder what joys I will find in there?

The movie was very enjoyable, ‘though I did feel very homesick at the sight of the pohutakawa trees around the site of Cair Paravel, and the beautiful South Island rivers made me long for home too. I was confused by the geography; the battle at Aslan’s How is fought on flat ground, but moments later, the Telmarine soldiers are on a river bank, with steep hills rising right behind them. However Mr Strange Land pointed out that if I could accept talking beasts, moving trees and centaurs, I should perhaps not quibble about the land formations. He was concerned about the Telmarines’ cohort formations. He felt they were too close together to allow for effective combat, and further, that the cavalry should have been used on the flanks instead of in dramatic charges. Proud to be Pedants!