Journal Article

Sir Thomas Browne, Screwtape, and the \Amphibians\ of Narnia

Muth, Benita Huffman

2010

Overview

The badger's potentially puzzling statement hints at a definition of humanity far more profound than an arbitrary worldbuilding technique, as the crucial place of people in Narnia mirrors Lewis' view of humanity's role in God's creation. This view appears most succinctly in The Screwtape Letters, where Screwtapes description of human beings as half physical, half spiritual \"amphibians\" directly and deliberately echoes Sir Thomas Browne, a seventeenth-century writer and physician. While it is not stated as explicitly in Narnia, Lewis expands this metaphor of amphibious humanity in his fictional world. For Lewis, as for Browne earlier, humanity's participation in two natures is an essential element of human self-hood, which although making humanity susceptible to fall, also grants a unique ability to participate in creation's redemption.

• Publisher: Pepperdine University,Johns Hopkins University Press,SAGE Publications,Conference on Christianity and Literature
• Subject: 1605-1682 / 1900-1999 / 20th century / Amphibians / Amphibians in literature / Animal Characters / Argumentation / Authors / Bodily integrity / Browne, Sir Thomas / Browne, Thomas / Browne, Thomas (1605-1682) / Browne, Thomas, Sir (1605-1682) / Children / Christianity / Creation / English Literature / Fantasy literature / Fiction / Final causes / God / History and criticism / Human Identity / humanity / Humans / Influence / Lewis, C S (1898-1963) / Lewis, C. S / Lewis, C. S. (Clive Staples) ('N. W. Clerk') (1898-1963) / Lewis, C. S. -- (Clive Staples) / Literary criticism / Metaphor / Narnia (Imaginary place) / Narnia Books / Native language acquisition / Nature / novel / Philosophy / Physicians / Politics / Religio Medici / Religion / Religious aspects / Religious literature / Seventeenth Century / Sir / Spirituality / The Chronicles of Narnia / The Screwtape Letters / Theology / Time / Tone / Twentieth Century / Writers