Between Narnia and His Dark Materials

Similarities and Differences in Popular Children's Fantasy Stories

May 14, 2009

Philip Pullman may have been influenced by C.S. Lewis, but he departs from Lewis' imaginative use of fantasy to create a world of adventure that is rooted in realism.

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe has been acclaimed as one of the greatest works of fantasy literature for children ever written. C.S. Lewis is indeed best known for The Chronicles of Narnia, which with the epic The Lord of the Rings by contemporary J.R.R. Tolkien has changed the popular conception of fantasy since the mid-twentieth century.

More recently, Philip Pullman has also made his contribution to fantasy with his epic trilogy His Dark Materials. A close reading of the first volume of His Dark Materials reveals similarities and differences with Lewis' The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (LWW). The differences give insight into how Pullman may have been influenced by C.S. Lewis

What Lewis Imagines, Pullman Makes Real

The Golden Compass (TGC), originally released in the UK under the title Northern Lights, begins very similarly to LWW. Both stories begin with a girl hiding in a wardrobe. There are two differences worth noting. First, Lucy in LWW is hiding in the wardrobe because she playing a game. Lyra in TGC is hiding because she is not supposed to be playing in Retiring Room. The second and perhaps more important difference is that while the same action, hiding in a wardrobe, sparks adventure in both stories, it occurs in very different ways.

Lucy discovers the world of Narnia by passing through the back of the wardrobe and into the forests of Lantern Waste. Lyra discovers the Master of Jordan attempting to murder her Uncle Asriel. While Lewis uses imaginative means to draw characters into an adventure, Pullman relies on elements of realism to catalyze adventure. Instead of a magic wardrobe, Lyra is drawn into her journey by first hiding in an ordinary cupboard that allows her to witness a murderous plot.

Blurring the Boundaries

Both LWW and TGC contain a winter setting. In LWW, the winter setting is used to symbolize the evil spell that has overtaken Narnia. The cold winter is supposed contrast the spring that arrives with Aslan's return to and deliverance of Narnia.

TGC does not have the same binary opposition within the setting, and much of the symbolism in Pullman's trilogy blurs the boundaries between binaries. The North is the destination, but the setting is ambivalent, granting an advantage to neither of the competing alliances. This ambivalence creates an emphasis on the complexity that exists and heightens the tension between good and evil.

Witches also play a role in both stories, although those roles can be seen to be reversed. The White Witch of Narnia is the arch-villain in LWW. She is wicked and malicious. In contrast, Serafina Pekkala is beautiful, wise and kind, and plays the role of a hero in TGC.

When the White Witch first appears, she is "covered in white fur up to her throat and [holding] a long straight golden wand in her right hand and [is wearing] a golden crown on her head" (Lewis 33). Lewis also writes that the White Witches "face was white--not merely pale, but white like snow or paper or icing-sugar, except for her very red mouth" (33-34). Finally, he writes that she had a beautiful face, "but proud and cold and stern" (34). The White Witch's character associates images of "white beauty" with "coldness" and "sternness."

Serafina Pekkala is described as "young [...] and fair, with bright green eyes; and clad [...] in strips of black silk, but wearing no furs, no hood or mittens" (Pullman 263). Pullman writes that "[a]round her brow was a simple chain of little red flowers" and that "she would be young for generations" (263). Obviously, these are two completely different conceptions of witches, and how they differ in appearance reflects the differences in character.

The Adventure Begins Where the Story Ends

This by no means exhausts the similarities and differences between these two stories, but serves to help readers develop comparative skills when approaching literature. This will allow readers to make their own connections with the literature, deepening the reading experience. In this way, when the story is over, the real adventure begins for readers.

Works Cited

Lewis, C.S. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. New York: HarperCollins, 1950, 1994.

The copyright of the article Between Narnia and His Dark Materials in Young Adult Fiction is owned by Joshua Benson. Permission to republish Between Narnia and His Dark Materials in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.