why philip pullman is a bit of a nincompoop on this one: a diagram

typical_narnians LWW: lucy and susan get to ride on a lion’s back
PC: omg lucy and susan get to WINE-CRAZED ROMP with BACCHUS dude. Actual real quote: “Two of the Maenads… helped her take off some of the unnecessary and uncomfortable clothes she was wearing” YES I’LL BET THEY DID!
VDT: er ok pass, though lucy does get sold into slavery briefly, plus cuddles reepicheep at the world’s end plus er er seamen, yes PP can have this one…
SC: jill gets blown by a lion and rides on the back of a giant owl and a CENTAUR
MN: polly gets to ride on the back of a flying horse
HahB: aravis gets to ride a talking horse
LB: oh noes susan prefers teh lipstickz to RIDING ON LIONS AND AN ETERNITY WITH PRIAPIC GOATMEN

c.s.lewis had a fear of female sexuality: I’m sorry the more telling psychological evidence says otherwise…

<--- The Old Narnians, by William-Adolphe Bouguereau (1825-1905)

St Felicien & Chaource (cheesy lovers #30 and #31)

The Lucky Horseshoe, or Imaginarium Squarium

Name*

Website

Name*

Website

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

8 Comments

Inline Feedbacks

View all comments

lonepilgrim

20 Oct 2009 23:28

Too right. Philip Pullman seems to equate wearing lipstick as some essential quality of womanhood/sexuality that made C.S. Lewis TREMBEL. It always bothered me that in PPs trilogy he seemed to have it in for the polar bear who wants to be more human rather than embrace his essential bearness.

And while we’re on the subject of fantastic animals I’d like to put in a vote for J.P. Martin’s Uncle. Viva Beaver Hateman.

mark sinker

20 Oct 2009 23:42

i might as well note that i really REALLY like p.pullman’s trilogy, even if part three is clearly very hurried and quite flawed — i just find his oedipal rubbishing of c.s.lewis a bit hopeless

i *have* to reread the uncle books

Alan

21 Oct 2009 00:13

NARNIA: oh noes susan prefers teh lipstickz to RIDING ON LIONS
TOY STORY: oh noes emily* prefers teh lipstickz to PLAYING WITH WOODEN COWGIRL DOLL

jebus in your heart : riding on lions :: playing with dolls : fun while it lasts

= toy story (2) is the more devastating anti-xtian polemic MR PULLMAN (if that is your name)

* yes i looked up her name, wot of it

mark sinker

21 Oct 2009 00:26

haha i am planning a pro-last battle polemic shortly also, alang:

i think two obvious c.s.lewis prejudices that DO shape narniana are
A: crafted work is better than stuff made in factories (so the actual worst villain, susan-wise, is NYLONS — he talks a lot about how lovely and comfy and sensible narnian clothing is) (see above in fact)
B: children are better than adults

both attitudes are very common to his era; neither are intrinsically christian; were certainly held by lots of neo-pagan arts&crafties

Andrew F

21 Oct 2009 07:27

I don’t think that top right Maenad’s going to have any luck with that cab…

Tom

4 Dec 2017 16:51

Interestingly the new Pullman gets into a bit of fairy/nymph/river god action itself and the Real Fans (on the PP Reddit) are v unhappy at this as it disrupts the “basis in science” his trilogy about talking animals and tiny wasp dudes previously had.

mark sinker

5 Dec 2017 11:27

i guess this post (by me, 8 yrs ago) does indicate why he’s having reddit trouble of this shape (not that i’ve checked up on the shape at all)

being vocally anti-CSL was excellent brand positioning early on, but it wasn’t a sound basis for where he was actually coming from as a writer, given his evidently much-more-ambiguous relationship with his precursor (anxiety-of-influence 101 of course)

Tom

5 Dec 2017 13:31

CSL likes the idea of religion but wants to preserve magic and folklore and the uncanny. PP dislikes the idea of religion but also wants to preserve magic and folklore and the uncanny. It’s interesting that Lewis has never got much flak for this except from the hardest-line of fundies, whereas there’s a chunk of Pullman’s fanbase (only a chunk – the book’s been well-received in general) which seems hostile to it. I guess because Pullman fans include a lot of people who take great pleasure in talking about “magical sky fairies” so when PP puts an actual magical sky fairy into his book they get uncomfortable.

wpDiscuz

Latest comments on FT

Stephen Bolhafner on Aard Labour 5: Jaka’s Story20 Apr 2024
I think the notion that conservatives can't make art is nonsense. J.R.R.Tolkien and G.K. Chesterton are two of my favorite…
James Moar on Aard Labour Conclusion: Unmourned And Unloved19 Apr 2024
I think part of the problem is that, even if the prose is as good as the comic, the switch…
Tom on Aard Labour Conclusion: Unmourned And Unloved19 Apr 2024
I can’t think of one offhand (I don’t mind the HTD issue but I’d never read it a second time)…
Nisseman on Aard Labour Conclusion: Unmourned And Unloved19 Apr 2024
Is there any comicbook, where having large amounts of prose passages ever worked? I really hated that fill-in issue of…
Alexx Kay on Aard Labour 15: Latter Days18 Apr 2024
No offense taken! I don't have the ego to have alarms about myself. I do, still, have sufficient fondness for…
Alexx Kay on Aard Labour Epilogue: Dance Of The Aardvark Catchers18 Apr 2024
Rereading Cerebus myself, and was struck by the following passage in issue 159: The monument was of great and vital…
Andrew F on Aard Labour 16: The Last Day18 Apr 2024
The older I get, the more I think about Cerebus's relationship with cheese.
chalsey klare on Aard Labour Epilogue: Dance Of The Aardvark Catchers18 Apr 2024
business by equipping them with the right marketing campaigns, automation, and a frictionless customer journey by 2030. Agency services

Pages

Tags

why philip pullman is a bit of a nincompoop on this one: a diagram

St Felicien & Chaource (cheesy lovers #30 and #31)

The Lucky Horseshoe, or Imaginarium Squarium

Latest comments on FT