THE PROBLEM OF EVERYDAY LIFE AND MYTHOLOGICAL WORLDVIEW IN “THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA” BY C.S. LEWIS

THE PROBLEM OF EVERYDAY LIFE AND MYTHOLOGICAL WORLDVIEW IN “THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA” BY C.S. LEWIS

Author:  Potanina, N.L. & Rodina, M.V.

Affiliation:  Tambov State University named after G.R. Derzhavin,

Abstract:  The article is focused on the problem of everyday life and mythological worldview in “The Chronicles of Narnia” by an English writer C.S. Lewis, who is considered one of the greatest myth-creators in literature of the XX-th century. The subject matter of the article is the dual world principle in the mentioned fantasy series, where one can see two various worlds, standing in contrast with each other and at the same time mysteriously coexistimg. These are the world of everyday life, where the writer himself, his readers and characters live and the magical world of Narnia, the very existence of which is usually thought of as a miracle. The authors of the article give an analysis of various examples from the text making an attempt to understand what the relationships between the two named realities are like and for what purpose Lewis depicts them in such a way. The article also deals with the peculiarities of depicting everyday life in various literary movements and genres. Particularly, much attention is given to fantasy as a genre based on the usage of the mythological allusions in fiction and to reasons on which positive or negative look on everyday life depends. After the detailed analysis of the stories about Narnia, the authors draw conclusions about the complexity of the relationships between the daily life and mythological reality. According to these conclusions, in “The Chronicles…” there are many situations when myth seems to “move” from the magical world to everyday life and when elements of daily routine can also be observed in the world of myth. Narnia itself has a lot in common with our reality. The authors of the article argue, that the writer does so in order to make his readers see something new, outstanding and beautiful in what has become customary and routine.

Keywords:  myth, everyday life, mythological reality, mythological worldview, fantasy

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Pages:  120-125