Your First Step into the Wardrobe

[Ticket2theMoon]

Everyone who loves Narnia remembers the first time they "entered the wardrobe". So what's your story?

My first experience was actually the animated film of tLtWatW from ages ago. Seeing it now with my students I realize it's shortcomings, but at the time it was a profound experience for me. Of course, the story itself was captivating, but it was also my first real experience with symbolism, and I was intrigued with the idea of telling a story that I knew very well (growing up in a Christian home) in a different way. Later I began reading the books with my mother and brother, so my love of the books is tied in with my love of them and a time of discovery for my love of great literature. My mom is really good out-loud reader (I always have her come and read to my class), and I could see every detail of the world in those pages. It was one of the most significant growing/learning/loving experiences of my life.

So what's your story?

[David]

I became a Christian when I was twenty years old. I was a heavy drug user and my mind was pretty much fried from that. Not long after I began going to Church a friend gave me a copy of Mere Christianity to read. At that point in my life, my mind was still too muddled to make much sense of it--too intellectual.

Then someone asked me if I'd ever read The Chronicles of Narnia. I said no, but if it was by C. S. Lewis I didn't want to bother with it. Finally, a year or so later, someone gave me a copy of Lion. I felt like I'd wandered into the outskirts of Paradise. It was truly an awesome, transformative experience. I fell in love with Aslan and with Narnia in general.

I want to say, too, that my mind improved. I went on to earn a Ph.D. and now teach at a college. Maybe Narnia was the beginning of "the healing of harms" for me.

[Larry W.]

When I was only eight years old and in the third grade my elementary school teacher read The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe to our class. This was my first exposure to C. S. Lewis. My teacher was very lively and dramatic, and she read the stories like an actor. Two years later in the fifth grade I had the same teacher, who read The Silver Chair and The Horse and His Boy to us. I always liked the stories but did not read the rest of them until years later. It was in the summer between high school and college that I decided to read the entire series from cover to cover, and I was hooked. I read them once again for a college course, which I enjoyed tremendously. This was back in 1977, and I have heard that Hope College no longer offers the course, which is rather sad for today's students at that institution. Things have changed much over time-- even at the college that I graduated from so many years ago. But I think Lewis' popularity today would motivitate institutions to offer courses devoted to his works --especially with the release of the most recent movie.

Larry W.

[Ticket2theMoon]

What does that say about the books, that you could read them in third grade and again in college, and find them relevant and enlightening both times.

[Larry W.]

[nomad]

[Monica]

[Puddleglee]

My mother read me the stories at bedtime when I was very young - 4 or 5? - as well as The Hobbit and Winnie-the-Pooh. By the time I was 7 I was reading them all myself. They were basis for my literary diet, and even now all books are measured against them to some extent. I can read all 7 Chronicles in less than a week, and it's like meeting old friends - but I can still find something new in them. I wasn't struck by the parallels with Christianity until I was about 13, though. I think I was just so used to reading them as comfortable and familiar stories, the Christian side was less obvious. Or maybe I was just dense!

[Lirenel]

I think my first introduction was the LWW cartoon movie when I was around 7 or 8. I think I watched it in Sunday school. Anyway, the only thing I remember was thinking how beautiful/handsome the older Pevensies were at the end. I tried to read the books, but didn't really get into them. Then I read them when I was 10 or 11 and just loved them.

Then came a hiatus when I was more into sci-fi. That lasted until LOTR came out in theatres and I regained my love of fantasty. When LWW came out in theatres, I remembered how much I loved CoN and here I am!

[Pete]

I've told my story of my first step into the Wardrobe before, but I'll tell it again. I was introduced to LW&W by the BBC television series when I was about 5 (soon after they were made in fact, in the late 1980s. I loved them and watched them each time they were on television over the next few years. I didn't end up getting to read the book (and the Chronicles) though until 1994, when my dad bought for me the box set at a dinner auction run by the school he was principal of back then. I have loved the books ever since!

I remember when I was really little, I'd dress up and pretend to be Peter Pevensie in Narnia...and I had such a great imagination (I still do!) so I really felt like I was there!

[Unicornguy]

Interesting topic, really.

Well, I haven`t been here for a while, sad enough, because I really think this is a great forum, with loads of nice people.

Okay, here goes:

I`ve been a fan of Narnia for as long as I can remember. Our national TV-channel always sent the BBC-series in Christmas time, and in Easter. It was always in the moring at ten of clock, I`m quite sure. I`ve always been enchanted by the thought of magic, and Narnia was the first real fantasy series I can remember being presented to. I`m not quite sure where it started, but it must have been around the age 6-8.

I guess what fascinated me was the thought of eternal winter. There`s a beauty there. I`m not sure if I thought about it, but maybe I`ve always had a vision of a white as the colour of purity, and snow as something exactly pure and beautiful. I am also very fond of the idea of everlasting things. The creatures in Narnia fascinated me. Besides, as I told you, they sent it almost every Christmas, so it reminds me of Christmas, which is something I`ve always been fond of.

When an extract of "The lion, the witch and the wardrobe" was presented in our English book in fifth grade, or so, I got overwhelmingly happy, and kept telling out teacher to read it to us. I quickly read the books. Imagine this lonely, kind of lost kid at maybe nine or ten years, lying in his bedroom dreaming about Narnia. I never was really happy at the school. People always made fun of me for being special, and gradually I moved more and more away from the real world. I also read "Lord of the rings" at the age of ten. Narnia was like a dream to me. Noone was "normal" there. They all were mixed with animals or something. The most "normal" guys, like king Miraz, were presented like evil, and I took great comfort from it.

So, I read the books over and over. I think I have read "The lion, the witch and the wardrobe" seven times now.

Something I really like about Lewis is something I just recently read in "Surprised by Joy"; he appearently didn`t like what was public, general and "normal". I also see how similar I am to Lewis, and how much we have in common. I think that`s why the books broke through to me.

Narnia has always been a place where I could breathe. My life hasn`t been easy. I`ve had depressions, bulimia, been sick, and been bullied in school. My life is better now, though. Happily enough. Still, I can`t always believe in happiness, having always seen sadness. Okay, now I am getting very personal. But Narnia is personal to me, as well. C.S. Lewis is my favourite author, alongside a Norwegian/Swedish one called Margit Sandemo.

Sadly I haven`t read much of Lewis` stuff. It`s quite hard getting the books here in Norway. I`ve read Narnia, Out of the silent planet, Perelandra, Screwtape letters and now I`m reading suprised by Joy, which is a beautiful book. =D

[Steve]

[Madeline]

It's a pretty long story for me. The very first time I was introduced to the story was at my school, when the 4th grade classes put on a play of The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe. I didn't pay much attention to it, since the 4th graders didn't exactly make it looks interesting.

But what really got me interested in the Chronicles of Narnia was when I saw the movie, The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe. I was really fascinated by the skill of the actors who played Edmund, Lucy, Peter and Susan. I was also interested in writing then, and my imagination started growing at the idea of this magical land inside a simple wardrobe, and the magic of it all. I started reading the books, watched the movie a lot including the bonus features. (When it came out of course ). I started studying a little about Christianity. Truth be told, my love for the Chronicles of Narnia got me to this site.

When I first read the books, at first I thought it was a bit straight forward, since I was so used to mine and my sister's writing, which was a bit more descriptive and mysterious. But when I read it again, I began to realize that the writing was beautiful, and the uniqueness Lewis put into the books. (He's one of my favorite authors now.)

Your lovely little reader,

~Madeline

[AslansGirl]

I send the first five years of my life in my moms bed listening to her read various books out loud. Probably the most significant of these was the Chronicles of Narnia. I don't remember the first time I heard them. I think I was three. If you read something enough, especially as a child, it becomes part of your. Narnia has just always been there. I don't know how much I retained the first time around. I was somewhat dull witted. We read them multiple times before I learned to read and acted them out often. The role playing was what made them more real for me or at least what I remember best. My sister (one year older) was kind enough to let me play Lucy most of the time and that meant that I got to carry the little perfume bottle we use for Lucy's gift. My sister compensated for her sacrifice by making me play Puddleglum when we played Silver Chair. I did not really mind.

[carol]