by rumzy » May 21st, 2009, 2:19 am
Let me first start off by saying that I love the Chronicles of Narnia and C.S. Lewis. I think he was a deeply devoted Christian, a profound thinker, and, perhaps, the best storyteller I have had the pleasure to encounter (besides my grandpa). I don't think he was ever intentionally racist or bigoted. However, as someone of Arab descent, I did recognize the old familiar references to "Oriental backwardness" in The Horse and His Boy. It is obvious that Tashbaan is modeled after a big middle eastern city, probably Cairo or Instanbul or Damascus (smell of garlic, scimitars instead of swords, and other descriptions of the city, domes etc...). The name Tashbaan while not meaning anything in Arabic has the double "A" used in transliteration to designate a long vowel sound not found in English. The dark skinned Calormene men wear robes and turbans. So what's the big deal? Well, the men are rude and given to violence. The prince I think tries to force Susan to marry him. Shasta's "father" agrees to sell him. Etc... At the end, the prince is turned into a donkey, a profound insult to an Arab. Throughout the series, Narnia (which is very obviously European) is shown to be cleaner, stronger militarily, and more fair than the rude, crude, and backward Calormen. The point here is that Lewis did have a bit of racial bigotry (though I think we all do somewhere inside) that he probably was not even aware of. This in no way discounts his writings. The Space Trilogy I think is an example of the ideal which Lewis wanted to live up to. The inhabitants of Malacandra live in absolute peace and cooperation without prejudice. Weston is the perfect picture of how silly Lewis considered racial bigotry to be. So, was he racist? I don't think so. Did he have some subconscious prejudices? Yes, but so do you and I. Lucky for us, the whole world isn't scrutinizing our lives.
So long, and thanks for all the fish.