Food as an object of trust and temptation in juvenile fantasy

Now, let’s take a jump over to 1950, the book in discussion today is none other than the most infamous of the seven texts published by C. S. Lewis from his series The Chronicles of Narnia, The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. I would classify the text in the realm of juvenile fantasy. Though all the texts I am going to be discussing on this blog could be contended to be juvenile fantasies as they are intended for children, as well as a wider audience, Lewis’ world of Narnia appears to the most juvenile in its narrative due to his allegorical symbolism. This tells the reader that the narrative was written with the intent on teaching us a moral lesson, whereas this could be more argued for other texts within the fantasy genre.

The use of food throughout The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe appears to be used as a symbol of trust. From the first point where Lucy enters Narnia, she befriends the faun, Mr Tumnus, whom asks: “how would it be if you came to have tea with me?” (13). After Lucy declines Mr Tumnus persists and manages to persuade her round by promising her “toast- and sardines- and cake” (13). Little are we aware of in the beginning that Mr Tumnus is being persistent to capture Lucy for the White Witch, which suggests why he threw a decadent spread, in order to get her to stick around for as long as possible: “And it really was a wonderful tea. There was a nice brown egg, lightly boiled…and then sardines on toast, and then buttered toast with honey, and then a sugar-topped cake” (16). This initial introduction to food in Narnia proves how Mr Tumnus was using it as a tool of deceit. This is further demonstrated by the White Witch, when she gains Edmunds admiration by giving him “something hot to drink” whilst he was so cold “his teeth were chattering” (37). This shows the queen being maternal towards Edmund and looking after him, which would in turn create a bond of trust between them. The most iconic scene including food throughout the text is obviously the infamous Turkish Delight. It is described that “each piece was sweet and light to the very centre and Edmund had never tasted anything more delicious…this was enchanted Turkish Delight and that anyone who had once tasted it would want more and more of it, and even, if they were allowed, go on eating it till they killed themselves” (38-39). This was a cunning move from the White Witch, in giving a young Edmund his favourite treat and promising him that if he returns to Narnia to see her along with his siblings that she would be able to give him “some more Turkish Delight” (39).

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Lewis states himself in his essay On Three Ways of Writing for Children (1966), how food is the most tempting and enticing mode as it is the most easily accessible form of pleasure. Lewis pens how once “a man, who has children of his own, said, ‘Ah, I see how you got to that. If you want to please grown-up readers you give them sex, so you thought to yourself, “That won’t do for children, what shall I give them instead? I know! The little blighters like plenty of good eating.”’ In reality, however, I myself like eating and drinking. I put in what I would have liked to read when I was a child” (1).

To summarise, from this reading and analysis of food in The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, it is apparent how food is a temptation for children. Therefore, Lewis included it within his characters who intended to deceive the children as they would become more trustworthy figures to the children they were trying to betray. If we relate this to the genre of juvenile fantasy, the lesson being taught here can be put as simply as this: don't take sweets from strangers!

Thanks for reading,

Emily

Works cited-

Lewis, C.S. On Three Ways Of Writing For Children. 1966.
http://myweb.scu.edu.tw/~jmklassen/scu99b/chlitgrad/3ways.pdf

Lewis, C.S. The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. HarperCollins, 1994.