Page 2 of 2

Re: Was C. S. Lewis sexist/racist? Join our discussion!

PostPosted: January 5th, 2010, 6:33 am
by rusmeister

Re: Was C. S. Lewis sexist/racist? Join our discussion!

PostPosted: January 5th, 2010, 12:58 pm
by Larry W.
I wonder what people would have thought if Lewis had a female Calormene hero in The Horse and His Boy. Lasalareen isn't a bad character and quite likable if you don't mind her silliness, but her shallowness prevents her from being a real hero. She adds some humor to the story, though a serious Calormene woman might have been better. However, real life isn't filled with deep thinkers. Lucy and Jill are examples of positive female characters, but there aren't any counterparts of them in the Calormenes. Some more "gray" characters (characters who aren't good or bad all of the time) might have been better for realism among the Narnians, Archenlanders, and Calormenes. But many older books have characters that are either almost entirely good or bad-- look at the difference between Fagin and Oliver in Dickens' Oliver Twist. It seems unreal, even though that book is considered by many to be classic novel with a good story. :smile:

Larry W.

Re: Was C. S. Lewis sexist/racist? Join our discussion!

PostPosted: January 5th, 2010, 3:16 pm
by archenland_knight
Would Aravis not be a Calormene female hero? True, she was a bit snobbish, but not evil by any means. And she was quite helpful to Shasta/Cor. Even though she was reluctant to join forces, she stuck by him once she made the committment.

I've always thought Aravis to be a very strong character. She defies her culture to do what she believed was right. That alone is heroic. And even though she is a "dark-skinned Calormene" she eventually becomes queen of Archenland.

Re: Was C. S. Lewis sexist/racist? Join our discussion!

PostPosted: January 5th, 2010, 4:23 pm
by Larry W.
That's something to consider. And probably she was made stronger because she wasn't perfect, although I'm not sure if she was actually a hero. Perhaps she was a good queen. Her snobbishness was a little irritating, but it wasn't nearly as obnoxious as Eustace's or Edmund's behavior before they were changed by Aslan. Aravis certainly wasn't all bad. :smile:

Larry W.

Re: Was C. S. Lewis sexist/racist? Join our discussion!

PostPosted: January 6th, 2010, 8:42 pm
by Mr Hooper

Re: Was C. S. Lewis sexist/racist? Join our discussion!

PostPosted: January 8th, 2010, 10:29 pm
by archenland_knight

Re: Was C. S. Lewis sexist/racist? Join our discussion!

PostPosted: January 9th, 2010, 1:15 am
by Mr Hooper
I have also met and worked with Indians, people from various Muslim countries, Albanians, South Americans etc. Most have been friendly to me personally, but frequently hostile to Western culture. They are often fiercely nationalistic and protective of their own culture, which they do indeed see as superior in many cases (one could argue that they need to be, in the face of western dominance). In the UK, one can perhaps put the reluctance to champion western culture down to post-colonial guilt, at least in part. Not sure about where it stems from in the US mindset.

I currently live in Greece, but here also, in the supposed cradle of Western civilisation, there is an enormous amount of hostility, this time towards American and British culture especially, and more generally towards the sort of modern western culture that they deem to have departed from the Greek ideal. What becomes clear is that people define themselves, on a national level, by pointing out what is lacking in other cultures, by making negative comparisons. It's mostly about pride, or seems to be: pride on the national level feeds pride in one's self for belonging to that group, to that country, to the elect. In other words, it's ego-driven, and it all flows back to oneself. It is also frequently hypocritical, as people who often assert their culture's superiority are frequent consumers of foreign culture and goods (they watch, for example, versions of American shows, wear American fashions etc.)

I don't really understand what is going on countries like the UK though. There might seem, on the surface, to be less pride, but I don't think there is real humility either. Modern cultural theorists seem to be eager to wash their hands of their ancestors, but they appear to be ego-driven in other ways, perhaps as belonging to some sort of enlightened global community that is post just about everything (colonial, modern etc.) I don't really understand it very well and I'm sure someone here will be able to articulate it better than I. The only thing I can say with surety, from experience as I have indicated, is that other nations are proud of their culture and are only too happy to put western culture down. To them, all cultures most certainly are not equal.

Re: Was C. S. Lewis sexist/racist? Join our discussion!

PostPosted: January 25th, 2010, 8:30 am
by MotherLodeBeth
Growing up in the 50's there were no non whites in our small community, but it wasn't a racist place. I read the Chronicles of Narnia and see lots of diversity in the characters which suggests he was not at all a racist or sexist. Would he have made Lucy such a strong character had he been sexist? And the fact that in his private life he married a divorced woman and a non Christian suggests to me he was more open minded than some give him credit for. Have always appreciated the fact C. S. Lewis was not loud and obnoxious.

~Beth~

Re: Was C. S. Lewis sexist/racist? Join our discussion!

PostPosted: June 9th, 2010, 12:44 am
by brian7
CON have elements of sexism and racism, but I don't think he was necessarily conscious of them. He was from a different generation with different viewpoints. He was a good man and didn't mean anything racist or sexist by his portrayals but nonetheless they are there.

Re: Was C. S. Lewis sexist/racist? Join our discussion!

PostPosted: June 9th, 2010, 2:21 am
by rusmeister

Re: Was C. S. Lewis sexist/racist? Join our discussion!

PostPosted: June 21st, 2010, 4:35 pm
by Nerd42
Racist? No.

Sexist? I think we need to ask if Paul was sexist first.