Tolkien’s paper ​On Fairy Stories​ defames the idea of Fantasy and fairy stories as being solely for

children. Whereas, C.S Lewis’ ​The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe ​is a read intended ​for​ children

about children. Tolkien’s paper discredits these fairy stories, as the children reading will not understand

the true framework of Faërie until they have reached adulthood. C.S Lewis’ The Lion, The Witch, and The

Wardrobe ​takes a different approach, in which the Pevensie children complete the framework Tolkien

deems necessary for a proper fairy-story while they travel through Narnia. Though Lewis’ novel is

intended for a child audience, Narnia still depicts the true and dangerous landscapes that Faërie embodies.

In doing so, C.S Lewis prescribes to all ideas of Faërie; fulfilling Tolkien's notions on fairy stories.

Tolkien describes Faërie as a “perilous land, [with] pitfalls for the unwary, and dungeons for the

overbold” (Tolkien, 1947, p. 1), in an attempt to reclaim its title back from the misused modern-day

‘fairy’. Most “​good​ fairy stories are about the adventures of men in the perilous realm or upon its

shadowy marches” (Tolkien, 1947, p. 2), and stories ​about​ Faërie, “​the realm or state in which fairies

have their being" (Tolkien, 1947, p. 1). For Faërie to be true in Tolkien’s perspective, the story must

encompass this threatening landscape and fulfill his framework of characteristics mandatory in

accomplishing a good fairy story. Tolkien’s framework has four parts: Fantasy, Recovery, Escape, and

Consolation. As a quality of the fairy-story, Fantasy consists of contrasting aspects-enchantment and

ordinariness. The ordinariness in the narrative relates to the Primary World of daily existence, laying the

foundation for moments of this enchantment, the ‘fanciful’ or ‘magical’ qualities that begin to create our

Secondary World. The act of Escape allows the reader to remove themselves from the miseries of daily

life, while at the same time freeing them from the limitations of the Primary World. The Consolation in

fairy stories is not just a happy ending, but the ‘​turn​’ in the story. At this moment, readers can catch a

glimpse of “joy beyond the walls of the world" (Tolkien, 1947, p. 14), or as Tolkien calls it, the

Eucatastrophe​. Of greatest value to adults is the Recovery, the “regaining of a clear view... [or rather],

seeing things as we are (or were) meant to see them" (Tolkien, 1947, p. 9).
 Tolkien refutes the notion that fairy stories are distinctively associated with children, as they have

been relegated to the nursery by complete fluke. Just as “shabby or old-fashioned furniture is relegated to

the playroom, [fairy stories are given to children] primarily because the adults do not want it, and do not

mind if it is misused" (Tolkien, 1947, p. 4). By connecting only the minds of children to fairy stories,

people make the mistake of viewing “children as a special kind of creature, almost a different race, rather

than as normal, if immature, members of a particular family" (Tolkien, 1947, p. 4). Thus, he concludes

that the desire of fairy stories is “a natural human taste... although not universal” (Tolkien, 1947, p. 8).

Recovery, Escape, and Consolation are the effects produced by the reader’s Secondary Belief in

the author’s Sub-created Secondary World. For the fairy-story to work, all of these qualities must work

together, to produce in Tolkien’s view, a successful fairy-story. Fairy stories represent a purposeful

attempt on the part of the writer to transcend the petty problems and mundane concerns of the modern

world. As there are things “more grim and terrible to fly from than the noise, stench, ruthlessness, and

extravagance of the internal-combustion engine. There [is] hunger, thirst, poverty, pain, sorrow, injustice,

death” (Tolkien, 1947, p. 12). To Tolkien, good fairy-stories “mainly deal with simple and fundamental

things, untouched by fantasy…[and] made all the more luminous by their setting” (Tolkien, 1947, p. 10)

and “does not accept the tone of scorn or pity with which Escape is now so often used” (Tolkien, 1947, p.

10). Contrary to negative critics, Escape is not to be equated with rejecting responsibility in life. Fantasy

literature, especially those written with children in mind, is ignored as either fanciful and childish; and is

seen as dangerous and deceptive as it portrays a world in where their problems are easily solved with

magic. Escape instead, acts as “one of the main functions of fairy-stories” (Tolkien, 1947, p. 10) and “as a

rule [is] very practical, and…heroic” (Tolkien, 1947, p. 10). The Pevensie children have been shipped far

away from their families to protect them from the war taking place, only to be transported into a different

war. One they are in the center of. ​Despite the fantastical atmosphere, Narnia is not rid of problems. C.S

Lewis demonstrates here how enticing, and yet impossible it is to escape from the struggles of the
real-world. In Narnia, the Pevensie children have not been sheltered from the struggles and violence of

this world. Lewis has embedded the children deep into this Secondary World, rather than ‘protecting’

them from its dark roots. Once in Narnia, Lucy believes she has entered a fairytale. She meets a kind

Faun, Mr. Tumnus, who invites her to his cave for tea and a delicious meal. He reveals to Lucy the

wickedness of the White Witch, warning “she[ll] have [his] tail cut off, and... horns sawn off, and...beard

plucked out...and if she is extra and specially angry she'll turn [him] into stone” (Lewis, 2008, p. 9), for

hiding her. Lucy realizes now that the world she has found herself in is indeed unsafe. In later days, after

finding Mr. Tumnus’ “door had been wrenched off its hinges and broken to bits…[and] snow had drifted

in from the doorway and was heaped on the floor, and the picture of the Faun’s father [which] had been

slashed into shreds with a knife” (Lewis, 2008, p. 30). Peter and Susan now see that Narnia is not a place

where they can escape from their problems and live freely, there is a very real danger here. As the four

siblings witness the chaos at Tumnus’ house, they consider turning around and heading back for the

Professor’s. Susan then changes her tune and admits that although she “wish[es they’d] never come”

(Lewis, 2008, p. 31) to Narnia, they cannot turn back now. These first glimpses of the dangerous

landscape that Lewis has created in Narnia, along with the bravery seen already by the children, fulfill

Tolkien's landscape of Faërie as well as the uncowardly approach to escape.

Tolkien suggests, “every writer making a Secondary World hopes that he is drawing on reality”

(Tolkien, 1947, p. 14), representing common experiences in daily life. If they achieve this quality, which

can further be described as the “inner consistency of reality” (Tolkien, 1947, p. 5), the feeling of ‘joy’ in

Fantasy can thus be explained as a glimpse of the underlying reality or truth. These worlds can be

separated through the ‘ordinariness’ and ‘enchantment’ created within this Secondary World. Although

neither Fauns nor talking beavers inhabit our Primary World, they have been painted in such a way that

they appear ordinary. The behaviors of these characters portray normal human-life behaviours, with Mr.

Tumnus the faun and Mr and Mrs Beaver resembling maternal and paternal figures. The beavers heighten
this idea in their home with “hams and strings of onions hanging from the roof, and against the

walls...oilskins and hatchets and pairs of shears and spades and trowels...and fishing-rods and fishing-nets

and sacks. And the cloth on the table…[which] was very rough” (Lewis​, 2008, p. 38​). To add further, the

beavers expect the children to help around the house, just as a parent would ask their child to do chores.

In relation to this idea, Lewis takes a wide array of commonly known mythology and dumps it into

Narnia. The Witch's army consists of, “the giants and the werewolves…[the] Ghouls, and the Boggles, the

Ogres and the Minotaurs, the Cruels, the Hags, the Spectres, and the people of the Toadstools” (Lewis​,

2008, p. 72​). While Aslan’s is comprised of, “the centaurs and unicorns and deer and birds” (Lewis​, 2008,

p. 73​). Considering the kinds of mythology used, the reader can precede which side is good versus evil,

and ultimately the defeat of the other. Though this specific mythology may further attest to Tolkien's

views that children cannot understand these references to the Primary World; Lewis counterbalances this

idea by including the presence of “Father Christmas” or better known as Santa Claus. These unsubtle

relations to commonly known figures of the Primary World, allows the child to connect and relate to the

novel in a similar way.

Faërian Drama, “can produce Fantasy with realism and immediacy beyond the compass of any

human mechanism” (Tolkien, 1947, p. 9), forcing the reader to go beyond Secondary Belief. Magic in

Faërie “produces, or pretends to produce, an alteration in the Primary World. It does not matter by whom

it is said to be practiced, fay or mortal… its desire is power in this world, [the] domination of things and

wills” (Tolkien, 1947, p. 8). This is especially demonstrated in C.S Lewis’ novel ​The Lion, The Witch,

and The Wardrobe t​ hrough the use of his fictional characters Jadis the White Witch and Aslan the Lion.

Though the Witch had tricked Edmund into being a ‘traitor’, she demands “every traitor belongs to [her]

as...lawful prey and that for every treachery [she has] the right to kill” (Lewis​, 2008, p. 75​) through the

rules of the Deep Magic. Aslan the Lion steps up and makes a silent agreement to the Witch; to sacrifice

his own life in place of Edmund’s. From the very beginning of the novel, Aslan is perceived as Narnia’s
“only chance” (Lewis​, 2008, p. 45​) against the Witch. The very name of Aslan causes an overwhelming

feeling in each of the children, some of mystery and horror; brave and adventurous; and of serenity and

joy, as though Aslan is some superior God. The sacrifice of Aslan further pursues the ideal landscape of

Faërie, with creatures, “thickly surround[ing Aslan] kicking him, hitting him, spitting on him, jeering

him...tugging [and] pull[ing] the cords so tight...they cut into his flesh” (Lewis​, 2008, p. 81​). Lucy and

Susan were hidden but, were witness to this slow and torturous display. It is then the Witch reveals, that

after killing Aslan nothing will prevent her from going and killing Edmund afterward as well, and with

that she will rule Narnia forever, using her power to her delight with no one to stop her. Lewis steps

beyond the barriers of the novel here to speak directly to the reader, “hop[ing] no one who reads this book

has been quite as miserable as Susan and Lucy were that night” (Lewis​, 2008, p. 84​). This is another

situation where Tolkien would argue, the child audience would not truly understand the pain of losing

someone, felt by the Pevensie children. For fear of the same, Lewis goes on to further describe this feeling

as “be[ing] up all night [crying] till...there [are] no more tears left...and the quietness that follows” (Lewis​,

2008, p. 84​). In relating back to the Primary World and speaking directly to the reader, C.S Lewis enables

the child with a better understanding of the depth of this scene in the novel, allowing them to remain

engulfed in the tale. This melancholic moment precedes the impending doom of Narnia and the ‘beings’

of this world. In this moment of anguish, there comes a “sudden and miraculous grace...den[ying]

universal defeat” (Tolkien, 1947, p. 13); the resurrection of Aslan. Which can also be deemed the

Eucatastrophe of the novel. The ​Eucatastrophic​ tale, embedded in the Consolation, is the “sudden and

joyous turn in the story” (Tolkien, 1947, p. 13) when hope and restoration and wholeness enter into what

was previously dark and broken and despairing. As Lucy and Susan turn to the Stone Table, “the rising of

the sun had made everything look so different…[for] all colours and shadows [were] changed” (Lewis​,

2008, p. 86​), and just for a moment, while their minds were enraptured by this stillness...they felt peace.
And there, with none other than what can be described as ‘magic’, stood Aslan “shining [brighter] and

[looking] larger than before” (Lewis​, 2008, p. 86​). Aslan prevails,

“that though the Witch knew the deep magic, there is a magic deeper…[If she had looked]​[s]he

would have known that when a willing victim who had committed no treachery was killed in a traitor's

stead, the Table would crack and Death itself would start working backwards” (Lewis, 2008, p. 87).

Aslan here manifests the Deus Ex Machina of fairy stories: a God out of the machine. This overpowering

presence of pertinacity allows the Pevensie children to, “see things as they are...meant to see them”

(Tolkien, 1947, p. 9), giving them the strength and bravery to go to War with the Witch and freeing

Narnia from her malicious reins. With Aslan and the rule of the Deeper Magic, the Witch's statues had

come back to life, creating an army able to defeat the Witch and her slaves. ​During the battle, “Horrible

things were happening [everywhere they] looked. [The sky filled with noises]...of shouts and shrieks and

of the clashing of metal against metal” (Lewis​, 2008, p. 93​). In the midst, creatures danced and

thrashed-filling the courtyard with a blaze of colour;

“glossy chestnut sides of centaurs, indigo horns of unicorns, dazzling plumage of birds, reddy-brown of

foxes, dogs and satyrs, yellow stockings and crimson hoods of dwarfs; and the birch- girls in silver, and

the beech-girls in fresh, transparent green, and the larch-girls in green so bright that it was almost yellow”

(Lewis​, 2008, p. 90​).

The final battle brings together the aspect of Fantasy, “where we can take green from grass...and put a

deadly green upon a man’s face to produce horror” (Tolkien, 1947, p. 4)- a connection Sub-created by the

author through the use of Primary and Secondary Worlds, conceived by literary belief. For literary belief

to be possible, the ‘hard recognition’ or direct tie to the Primary World must work with its opposing

‘arresting strangeness’, the enchantment felt when the reader is confronted with unfamiliar people, places,

or things. However, these enchantments must be counterbalanced with the ordinariness of things in our

Primary World. Demonstrated again during the battle in Narnia, with the ‘hard recognition’ of mythology,
 colour, and war, when seen separate, and with the enchantment created when all three are combined.

Anticipating that skeptical adults would object to the incredulity of such stories, often considered only for

children, Tolkien argues that such a one is missing the point. The enjoyment of a story did not depend “on

[the] belief that such things could happen, or had happened in ‘real life.’ Fairy-stories were...not primarily

concerned with possibility, but with desirability.” (Tolkien, 1947, p. 13) The reader is brought back to the

idea of Escape in the midst of the battle, as it relates to the War the Pevensie children initially fled from.

The trials and tribulations the children faced in Narnia may have prepared them for the battle, but in a

bigger respect, each barrier faced assisted in the child adopting a greater sense of self-awareness and

responsibility that allowed them to gain a deeper understanding of the world and their place in it.

Ultimately, giving them the strength to take on the Witch’s army and become a role-model for the

inhabitants of Narnia, as well as, the reader. The finality of the battle provides the reader with the

expected ‘Consolation’, the relative happy ending paves the way for recovery to become centered.

Recovery relates to the things taken for granted in daily life, which recapture their excitement by seeing

them in a new light within the narrative world. The things which once attracted the adult by their

uniqueness, have now been appropriated and “locked away in [a] hoard…[waiting to be] freed from the

drab blur of...familiarity” (Tolkien, 1947, p. 9). “Creative fantasy, because it is mainly trying to...make

something new, may open [this] hoard and let all the locked things fly away like cage-birds” (Tolkien,

1947, p. 10). Tolkien validates the enjoyment [received] from reading such literature past childhood

arguing, “if fairy-story as a kind is worth reading at all it is worthy to be written for and read by adults”

(Tolkien, 1947, p. 13).

In the end of the novel ​The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe,​ well after the children defeated

Jadis the White Witch and ruled Narnia with grace for ‘years’ as their Kings and Queens, have begun to

forget the ordinariness of things in their Primary-World, for they have started to consider now Narnia

their Primary-World. After stumbling back out from the wardrobe into the professor's home in England,
the children spill their adventures to the professor. Though he initially pretended he did not know about

Narnia he is wise on the subject now, warning they will not get back to Narnia through the same route.

Only when the children are least expecting it, will they find Narnia again. Trying to make sense of the

‘magic’ found in Narnia, or rather all fairy stories, will dissolve the enchantment of the Secondary World

and shatter the reader's perception of the novel. If the children had been told about Narnia, they would not

have had the freedom to grow from their experiences and discover their new selves. The author’s

sub-creative work, brought about through their use of ordinariness to lay the foundation for enchantment,

the inclusion of simple or fundamental things, and the ability to satisfy the reader’s desire to escape the

limitations of the Primary World, produce in the reader Secondary Belief. With this, the reader believes

the created world is ‘real’ in the sense that it exists while the reader is ‘inside’ the narrative world.

Though C.S Lewis’ novel The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, is a novel written ​for​ children

about children. The dangerous landscape and experiences the Pevensie children face in Narnia highlight

similar experiences related to the Primary World, that can be shared and appreciated by both child and

adult. Therefore, fulfilling Tolkien’s notions that make the Faërie story.
References

Hunt, S. (2019). J.R.R Tolkien, on Fairy stories [class handout]. Department of English, Laurentian

University, Sudbury, ON.

Lewis, C. S., Birmingham, C., & Benjamin, A. (2008). ​The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.​ London:

HarperCollins.