Interview Part 1
Interview Part 2
The only critic I've been able to find who's argued against your book after having read it is Devin Brown. Of his criticisms, the inconsistency of the imagery seems most substantial to me. He argues that "Ward's proposed planet-related imagery does not stay rooted in its "home" book, but appears scattered randomly in all seven Chronicles. For every image that fits Ward's scheme, we can find one that does not." He's offered the prominent appearance of Bacchus and Silenus in Caspian as a counter-example to your argument, since these are clearly jovial characters. I agree that there are strong Martial images in Caspian, but could it be that Lewis sought to make both Mars and Jupiter especially present in this volume? |
You say that Bacchus and Silenus are 'clearly jovial characters'. Why? Is it that they are festive? Festivity is definitely an important feature of Joviality, but we must understand what kind of festivity we're talking about! The festivity of Jove is kingly, leisured, serene, majestic, regal; it comes in the wake of priceless sacrifice. The festivity of Mars is tied to a different set of qualities: it's Bacchanalian, sensual, reckless. It's very close to drunkenness! It's more of a riot than a feast. It's the sort of abandonment to pleasure that comes as the backswing to physical risk, - like Orual's deep drinking after her single combat in 'Till We Have Faces'. It's like the sap surging up through the trees in March.
I have addressed some of Devin Brown's concerns in a conversation we've been having on Narniaweb.
Why do you believe Lewis only emphasized one planet per novel?
One's enough! In 'That Hideous Strength' the planetary themes are numerous and they get in the way of each other. Lewis himself thought that 'That Hideous Strength' was overstuffed. Better to concentrate on one planet at a time, as he does in the Chronicles.
As the rest of the series are adapted to the big screen, what influence do you think your discoveries should have on the movies?
I hope that 'Planet Narnia' will convince the screenwriters that the Chronicles are very carefully constructed novels. They were not just slopped together and dashed off in five minutes one afternoon! If the screenwriters realise how much thought and creative intelligence went into Lewis's composition of the Chronicles, hopefully it will cause them to respect and understand their source material more and stop them from making some of the unnecessary changes which they introduced in the first two films.
One reviewer of Planet Narnia, Rachel Fulton, claimed that your discoveries require a reconsideration of more than just the Chronicles. Seeing as most Lewis scholars have been convinced of your thesis, how do you think your discoveries will impact the general study of C.S. Lewis?
I hope that 'Planet Narnia' will contribute to an understanding of Lewis as a more integrated writer and thinker than people have generally recognised.
Walter Hooper said that "This will make Michael Ward's name." Are you planning to continue working on Lewis, or do you have other plans for the future? I already have two definite plans for further Lewis study. The first is a popular version of 'Planet Narnia', - shorter, simpler, with more pictures! The second is to co-edit the forthcoming 'Cambridge Companion to C.S. Lewis', which should be ready for publication in 2010. Aside from those two projects I have several ideas, some related to Lewis and some not. But I'm not telling people about these plans yet because they are still at a very early stage. |  |