C.S. Lewis: Views on "The Love That Dare Not Speak Its Name" and What Lewis Actually Criticized the Most

On Votaries, I discuss the great flawed character: Edmund. 

For awhile, I have been kicking around in my head a fan-fiction story in which Edmund, King of Narnia, marries a prince of the merpeople. 

I will likely never write it down or post it since it would offend, oh, everybody--not just the religious right but all the progressive types who would bemoan a heterosexual woman "appropriating" an orientation not her own. Or--oddly enough from the folks who insist that "gay" is a culture, not a matter of biology--those who would bemoan a gay Christian man with middle class, possibly conservative values.

Or some other bemoaning. I don't know. I don't keep track of dogmatic bullies, those who insist, The world must be the way I tell it to be because I'm one of the truly saved who deserves to be in the right kind of utopia! 

But contemplating Edmund fan-fiction led me back to C.S. Lewis. In many way, C.S. Lewis was a man of his time. He was also very much himself. He does get used and borrowed by Humanists and LDS folks and Catholics and Evangelists (except for the ones who are bothered by his love for paganism). All is fair in the world of art! 

But it also matters to be accurate. Like Dante, C.S. Lewis considered the physical sins far less problematic and objectionable than the sins of the spirit:

1. He likely considered homosexuality a sin.

2. However, in Mere Christianity, when he states that he is going to address individual sins/temptations and how to cope with each, he states that there are certain sins/temptations about which he isn't going to give advice (in a non-fiction lecture) because he can't speak to them personally. He establishes a line that he rarely crosses. He rarely addresses homosexuality. The advice he is giving is to help individuals in their personal lives, not train individuals in service to a political or, even, theological agenda.

3. One exception: In Surprised by Joy, in his discussion of public schools (what Americans think of as "private schools") and the bullying that went on there, Lewis disagrees with condemnations of love affairs that occurred in the schools between the boys, some consummated, some not. To Lewis, those relationships were 

"the only foothold or cranny left for certain good things...the only counterpoise to the social struggle; the one oasis...in the burning desert of competitive ambition. Eros, turned upside down, blackened, distorted, and filthy, still bore the traces of his divinity."

Some readers might be offended by the characterizations of Eros. They should move back in the text to figure out what C.S. Lewis fully condemned without any exceptions at all. 

4. Lewis reserves his most strident distaste for cliques and the attendant games of superiority played by one person or group trying to do another person or group down--in the name of religion or so-called progress or superior intellect or social prestige: 

"Spiritually speaking, the deadly thing was that school life was a life almost wholly dominated by the social struggle: to get on, to arrive, or, having reached the top, to remain there, was the absorbing preoccupation...and from it, at school as in the world, all sorts of meanness flow." 

Lewis correctly includes the intelligentsia as well as the politicians and prigs, the left, the right, all of us, as those in danger of being pulled into this "social struggle."

In sum, Lewis's fictional hells--from Edmund's betrayal of his siblings in icy Narnia to Screwtape's admonishments to his devil nephew--are always about self-aggrandizement at the expense of a generous spirit. 

End of NCIS "Call of Silence" in which

Yost realizes that though the Japanese man

who helped him didn't fight opposite him 

on Iwo Jima, he did at Guadalcanal.

"I want what I want when I want it, even if it means disparaging someone else" captures the worst aspects of the human soul (aspects often exacerbated by social media), not only the worst aspects of the fearful physical self but the worst aspects of the demanding spiritual self. 

Two soldiers who fight earnestly for their sides, then meet and shake hands are less contemptible, if at all, in Lewis's eyes, than two posturing theorists who are sure that "you have so many of the wrong opinions, you won't be allowed in my utopia."

Hence my admonishment to religions: Concentrate on preparing people to love and meet God rather than deciding who deserves to love and meet God.

I could extend the same admonishment to, oh, all of us. Wanting to tell others who/what they are and where they will end up is a human trait. And despite the plethora of life-coaches in our modern world, not a terribly nice one. 

The Disguise of Enaga in Punks Triangle

My latest A-Z List on Votaries looks at character who transform, either internally (they change into better people) or externally (they adopt or shed disguises). The character of Enaga or Ai in Punks Triangle is a great example of the external change.

The trope of external change carries with it loads of problems--in particular, will the disguise truly fool anyone? There's a hilarious scene in Lois & Clark where Tempus teases Lois by mimicking Clark and taking his glasses on and off. How galactically dumb was she?  

The "disguise" of Enaga or Ai, however, rests on something that Agatha Christie uses and that I find quite valid: 

• First, human beings are actually quite awful at recognizing faces. 
• Second, the disguise here is that Enaga not only gives off a different persona in his non-model persona--he is in a different location and behaving in a different way.

Enaga

Chiaki is so sure that his idol exists at a distance that he doesn't see what may seem obvious until it is obvious. 

The manga is quite enchanting, in part because it falls into the same category as Metalhead, a manga about vocations or hobbies. While I don't mind the enormous number of "romance in the office" manga out there, a change in setting is nice!  

Ai

Will Stanton and Barney Drew: Possible Couple

I mention in my review of the Dark is Rising series that I would get Will and Barney together in the future. (In the world of romance, I also think Jane and Bran from the same series would make an interesting couple.) 

The reason isn't only because I think the current ending--Will as the only remaining Old One and character who knows the truth--is rather sad and pointless... 

I also consider it dull.  

Barney is the youngest of the Drews. He is also an artist (like his mother). In the books, he is portrayed as possibly ten or younger. That is, he doesn't appear to age between the first summer and the final denouement. In character, he is entirely insouciant, being one of the few people on the train at the end who is entirely caught up in the moment. He is also, going back further, fascinated by King Arthur and makes some of the earliest, valid connections between clues and quest. 

Possible Barney

I decided that Barney grows up to be a tall, insouciant, happy artist. He never loses his interest in King Arthur. He may even end up on a couple of archaeological digs, and he would, of course, admire the show Time Team. 

Subsequently, he has always wondered if more was going on in Wales than what he and his sister and brother technically remember. And he has always wondered if there is more to Will Stanton than meets the eye. 

(In the books, he is initially the most reluctant to accept Will into their group. He is later, however, the most willing to follow Will's lead.) 

Grown-up Barney does some research in Cambridge or Oxford (a la Gandalf doing research in Minis Tirith), connects Will to the Old Ones, and tracks him down. 

Possible Will

In the books, Will's father is a jeweler/trader in unique antiques. Since I am not a fan of "I have all this knowledge--oh, the angst" personalities (one reason I like Elementary so much is that neither Sherlock nor Joan let Sherlock give him a pass because of his "special" burdens). I think Will would adjust to everyday life. He would use a background in antiquities to locate interesting pieces for his dad. 

So when Barney finds Will, he finds him at an older estate, hunting up a rare item. He informs Will of what he has figured out and then sticks with him. 

The positive here is that as art/antiquity experts, Barney and Will could have their own series as they figure out historical mysteries and/or fraud-theft mysteries! Their differences--Barney is impulsive, artistic, and extroverted while Will is reserved, supposedly Mr. Ordinary, and ironic--would make for a more than decent and interesting partnership, romantic or otherwise. 

Trips to Shrines in Romance Manga

Trips to local shrines on New Year's are more common events in manga than couples spending Christmas together. Many times, couples do both. 

The shrine trip is less romantically charged than Christmas. Like with Hallmark movies, the Christmas moment carries a strong expectation of something outside of everyday life. In comparison, the shrine trips are more likely to evoke complaints about the weather, the crowds, the time of day as well as, with certain manga, worries about school. They are more likely, too, to supply jokes. The romance slides in unexpectedly as part of everyday life. 

While I enjoy some sentimentality, a little goes a long way. Ultimately, I find the everyday life romance somewhat more enchanting. I will grant that part of that enchantment could be the cultural uniqueness (for me). 

But even there, I rather like how cultural uniqueness is treated as "Hey, this is life!" 

 

What Makes This Manga Different From Others: Snow Fairy

It's the season for snow in the Northeast! 

Below is a review of a manga that celebrates this time of year in Japan.

* * * 

On the surface, Snow Fairy by Tomo Serizawa is a classic romance plot without frills. It offers an uncomplicated story (which adjective isn't a negative) without frills. 

Despite the simplicity, once read, the manga stays with the reader. It is memorable for several reasons:

1. It takes place in the boondocks, specifically Hakkaido, a nice change from the usual setting of Tokyo. 

Tokyo is to Japan what London is to Britain, which means, there's a very good reason so many stories take place around Tokyo. Still, the boondocks, specifically the boondocks with snow, is a great variation. The characters get snowed in at one point!

The main character's parents died in a car accident. Some extended family members think he should leave the area, but he feels entirely connected to his community. As he states to his lover, "In such a small town, even one person's absence can be a burden."

2. The characters don't automatically assume that separation means a lack of love. 

I recently watched the Thai drama, The Boss and the Babe, which I enjoyed, but I got irritated by the idea that a few weeks--even months--separation somehow meant that the characters didn't really love each other or that other people were unfairly separating them or whatever. Just wait until the internship is over! 

I went along with the premise since it was intelligently tied to other factors, including Cher's deep-rooted tendency to put on a "clown's" face for others rather than to admit to any negative feelings. 

But. Still. 

The wonderful aspect of Snow Fairy is that Narumi and Haruki's relationship will not falter should Narumi take another journey for his photography. They both have lives that absorb them. They can survive separation, especially since Haruki offers a home base. 

A grown-up relationship!

3. The outdoor/indoor scenes are lovely. 

Growing up, one of my favorite experiences was drying off/warming up after being outside: swimming in a pond during the summer or playing in the snow during the winter. Of course, one had to go outside to come back in and dry off/warm up, so going outside was pleasurable too. 

Snow Fairy captures that sensation: the wonder of being out in crisp, cold air surrounded by heaps of snow and the coziness of coming inside to a warm room and lots of blankets. 

Christmas Together in Manga Romance

A very common trope in Romance Manga is the couple spending Christmas together. New Year's, of course, is the bigger holiday. However, New Year's is rather like Thanksgiving and July 4th and family camping trips rolled into one. 

Christmas has a more private, one-on-one connotation. A kind of optional extra. So the "will we spend Christmas together?" question comes up more than once with couples. 

In Yamada's No One Loves Me, reserved Katushiro takes a leap in his relationship with Masafumi when he brings Christmas chicken. 

In Fake, Dee shows up to Ryo's apartment with his teeny tiny tree! 

In The Metalhead Next Door, baker Soshi invites Kento to share a yule log with him. 

In 10 Things I Want to Do Before I Turn 40, the male protagonists have an actual lovely run-to-each-other moment (but not in an airport!) when they decide to spend December 24th together.  

Romance is all about fragile hope--appropriate for the season, which is so often associated with a single birth, a winter solstice, a candle in the window, a space of warmth in snowfall.

The Snow Queen in Manga

On Votaries, I discuss fairy tale characters that change--or don't change (such as Cinderella). 

One fantastic fairy tale retelling in manga is Allure by Yuri Ebihara, based on Hans Christian Andersen's "The Snow Queen." What makes it especially effective is that main character, Dr. Hizuki, undergoes an internal transformation. 

At first, Dr. Hizuki seems to be the Snow Queen figure who lures away Kay or Kai to Norway. In the original tale, the Snow Queen is a constant, a force. She doesn't change because she isn't meant to change. 

Dr. Hizuki starts out as cold and aloof since he is still suffering from the death of a lover a number of months earlier. After he performs eye surgery on Kai, Kai falls for him. Eventually, Kai follows Hizuki to Norway. A sweet-natured, extroverted, confident young man, Kai is undemanding yet also unapologetic in his motives. He is there to keep Hizuki company!

Kai's ex-fiancée, Miharu, supposedly the Gerda figure, shows up to fetch Kai home. 

Here is where the manga turns the tale on its head. For Miharu may appear to be the Gerda figure but her reasoning is more like the Snow Queen's--she wants an unchanging, seamless (like a blanket of snow) existence. Kai must return to his designated role as her fiancé. If he does, everyone will pretend he didn't behave so oddly, breaking his engagement and running off the way he did. He needs to abide by an unbreakable order. 

Even Hizuki is temporarily convinced by Miharu's argument. In a world where lovers don't die in car accidents and love is impervious and methodical, the boy would marry the girl who nursed him and of whom his family approves. Isn't that the proper, perfect ending? Hizuki should give Kai up to the correct tidy (non-messy) resolution. 

Until Hizuki remembers a passage Kai read from "The Snow Queen" about "an ice-puzzle for the understanding" or a "mirror of reason." In the original story, Kay keeps trying to rearrange the puzzle pieces to create the word "Eternity." He can never arrange the pieces correctly--until Gerda comes and warms him. The pieces of a broken mirror fall from his heart and his eyes and form the word he could not create on his own. 

Hizuki takes the passage as a sign. He runs after Kai and brings him back. He is even willing to make a non-seamless messy "spectacle" of himself to convince Kai he is serious.

In this way, Hizuki becomes the Gerda character--but also the Kay figure who needs to be warmed. 

In Allure, Andersen's thematic resolution is turned on its head while also honored. In the original story, the shards of broken mirror corrupt human's sight. But in the manga, the shards--related to the surgical "cuts" by Dr. Hikuzi--challenge Kai's assumptions. They are not all that different from the irritating "monkey conscience" in Shadow of the Moon. 

That is, when Kai regains his sight, due to Hizuki, he comes to realize how much Miharu and his family have controlled his appearance, his wardrobe and perhaps, even, his thoughts. He doesn't entirely recognize himself until he sees Dr. Hizuki.

The shards consequently could also be the (entirely unintentional) "corruption" of Kai's true self by family and friends when he was blind--in which case, once again, Miharu becomes the Snow Queen, trying to lure Kai back to a time when his sight was damaged, first through social pressure and then through freezing contempt. 

Allure is a emotionally resilient rendering of "The Snow Queen" and also a retelling or re-imagining. Heroines become villains. Heroes take on double roles. 

A product of his time, Andersen may have been alarmed by a couple that echoed his own feelings--or he may have appreciated the sentiment. In any case, "The Snow Queen" clearly crosses borders! 

In connection to the new A-Z list on Votaries, Dr. Hizuki is a fantastic character who transforms (warms) steadily yet surely over time.