# What are werewolves in Narnia? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 23, 2012, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-werewolves-in-narnia/626023 "2012-06-23T03:59:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2012, 8:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-werewolves-in-narnia/626023/21 "2012-06-24T08:57:36Z")
> [@Malacandra](#): > > The very first King and Queen of Narnia certainly knew about Father Christmas, since they came from a world where Christ had been born. Obviously their people kept up the traditions long after they’d forgotten what gave rise to them, and even when the King and Queen and their very species were all the stuff of legends. Traditions are one thing, but why would Father Christmas come to Narnia? Even if he had that type of magic, why would the guy who only believed in giving gifts to humans come to Narnia? The only way it makes sense to me is if Father Christmas is part of the Godhead. We have the Father and the Son, why not the Holy Spirit? ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2012, 9:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-werewolves-in-narnia/626023/22 "2012-06-24T09:58:30Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > Traditions are one thing, but why would Father Christmas come to Narnia? Even if he had that type of magic, why would the guy who only believed in giving gifts to humans come to Narnia? > > The only way it makes sense to me is if Father Christmas is part of the Godhead. We have the Father and the Son, why not the Holy Spirit? Why wouldn’t Father Christmas come to Narnia? The birth of Christ happened before Narnia was created, and it makes perfect sense for sentients of all species to celebrate it, especially if Santa came in the first place for Frank and Helen’s subjects and children and stayed afterwards for the dwarfs, fauns, talking animals and so on. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2012, 10:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-werewolves-in-narnia/626023/23 "2012-06-24T10:34:16Z")
What you’re doing now is the typical “I’m a fan of this series, so I’m going to make everything within it fit into a consistent universe. If it _kills_ me, I’m going to make it fit. Consistency is the most important thing about a piece of fiction, not the characters, not the plot, not the writing style, not the point that the author was trying to make, but the consistency of the universe. If it’s not a consistent universe, why bother to read it at all?” ---
**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2012, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-werewolves-in-narnia/626023/24 "2012-06-24T15:13:39Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > This is what I’m thinking. If they were former humans, then all that talk about there not being a Son of Adam or Daughter of Eve in Narnia for such a long time would be incorrect. Being half-wolf would not change your lineage. Although it does raise some question about the birds and the bees in Narnia… ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2012, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-werewolves-in-narnia/626023/25 "2012-06-24T16:38:38Z")
> [@smiling\_bandit](#): > > It’s actually never made clear, but they don’t seem to be the Hollywood werewolves at least. In fact, both Tolkein and Lewis went to much older stories, and no, it was not a “disease” or something you could give to somebody else. > > Both sets of werewolves seem to have been closer to “big intelligent wolves” than anything else. Neither is very clearly described, except that when disguised as one Sauron and Baren were vaguely described as big, dangerous wolves. Untrue. The werewolf mentioned in Prince Caspian is initially human (or at least anthropoid) and is killed while changing form. Apparently this change is independent of the moon, voluntary on the werewolf’s part, and not instantaneous. ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2012, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-werewolves-in-narnia/626023/26 "2012-06-24T18:09:16Z")
> [@Wendell\_Wagner](#): > > What you’re doing now is the typical “I’m a fan of this series, so I’m going to make everything within it fit into a consistent universe. If it _kills_ me, I’m going to make it fit. Consistency is the most important thing about a piece of fiction, not the characters, not the plot, not the writing style, not the point that the author was trying to make, but the consistency of the universe. If it’s not a consistent universe, why bother to read it at all?” Nonsense. Nobody here is “killing” themselves, or the spirit of Lewis’ stories, trying to force anything. Musing out consistent answers to questions not answered in the text is, as I said, a natural extension of the engagement that reading fiction requires in the first place. Stories need readers to bring them to life. This _always_ involves some level of imagination, of filling-in of details and contexts not explicitly given. Doing this _consciously_, as here, is just one more step. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2012, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-werewolves-in-narnia/626023/27 "2012-06-24T18:33:30Z")
Actually, the simplest explanation is that that entire world was created just for the sake of the salvation of the handful of Earthers who went there, and hence included elements that would be familiar to them. It seems counterintuitive that such an arrangement could be sustainable, but with an infinitude of worlds, it can work out. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2012, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-werewolves-in-narnia/626023/28 "2012-06-24T18:39:15Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Actually, the simplest explanation is that that entire world was created just for the sake of the salvation of the handful of Earthers who went there, and hence included elements that would be familiar to them. It seems counterintuitive that such an arrangement could be sustainable, but with an infinitude of worlds, it can work out. I’ve thought of this before (as recently as today), but I have to disagree. Remember that Narnia isn’t as filled with conflict as the child visitors (okay, Jill Pole) thought; it’s just that human visitors get called there, for the most part, only in times of conflict. And even that’s not a firm rule; there’s nothing momentous going on in Prince Caspian, and you can easily see Aslan’s reason for bringing Eustace & the younger Pevensies there as deciding he wanted to give his favorite, Lucy, a vacation. I don’t think we’re meant (by Lewis) to be able to analyze Aslan’s motivations for creating Narnia except to say that they’re ultimately a mixture of benevolence and artistry. The Great Lion is lovable but inscrutable; he’s just too big for humans to understand except in broad strokes. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2012, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-werewolves-in-narnia/626023/29 "2012-06-24T19:38:09Z")
I’m pretty sure I’ve seen a letter from Lewis where he does say that that entire world was created for that purpose. And there’s also a statement in one of his other works about God doing all things for each, including things of cosmic significance for the benefit of specific individuals. ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2012, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-werewolves-in-narnia/626023/30 "2012-06-24T19:53:35Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > And even that’s not a firm rule; there’s nothing momentous going on in Prince Caspian, and you can easily see Aslan’s reason for bringing Eustace & the younger Pevensies there as deciding he wanted to give his favorite, Lucy, a vacation. Can I just say “What?” here and let you puzzle out why? ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2012, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-werewolves-in-narnia/626023/31 "2012-06-24T19:59:44Z")
> [@Malacandra](#): > > Can I just say “What?” here and let you puzzle out why? Sorry, I meant _Voyage of the Dawn Treader_. Basically it’s Lucy & Edmund on vacation, with a sideline to kick some sense into Eustace Scrub and kill off Reepicheep. And of course Reep’s dead. He went to heaven & didn’t come back. ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2012, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-werewolves-in-narnia/626023/32 "2012-06-24T20:04:47Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > Sorry, I meant _Voyage of the Dawn Treader_. Basically it’s Lucy & Edmund on vacation, with a sideline to kick some sense into Eustace Scrub and kill off Reepicheep. > > And of course Reep’s dead. He went to heaven & didn’t come back. You misspelled “translated”, along the lines of Enoch, Elijah and tolerably few others. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2012, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-werewolves-in-narnia/626023/33 "2012-06-24T20:09:46Z")
> [@Malacandra](#): > > You misspelled “translated”, along the lines of Enoch, Elijah and tolerably few others. 😃 I am well aware of the origin of Metatron, thankyouverymuch. And if we’re confining ourself to Jewish & Christian myth, I think it’s just those two. (I’ll ignore the Carpenter’s Son as being categorically unlike the other two.) Anyway, I was simply ignoring the concept of bodily translation into paradise. Reep went to Heaven; he never came back. Means he died, far as Rhymers are concerned. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2012, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-werewolves-in-narnia/626023/34 "2012-06-24T21:09:47Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > Untrue. The werewolf mentioned in Prince Caspian is initially human (or at least anthropoid) and is killed while changing form. Apparently this change is independent of the moon, voluntary on the werewolf’s part, and not instantaneous. As in their lupine form didn’t appear to be a man-wolfish one. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2012, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-werewolves-in-narnia/626023/35 "2012-06-24T21:11:40Z")
> [@](#): > > You misspelled “translated”, along the lines of Enoch, Elijah and tolerably few others. And you are, of course, including Dr. Elwin Ransom among those tolerably few others. I mean, you should know. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-are-werewolves-in-narnia/626023.md?page=1)