I can't remember if it is described in the book as being like awaking from a dream, but that is how I always imagined it to be.

i.e. when you are in a dream everything feels completely real... but then when you wake everything becomes much more blurry. You can usually still remember what happened in the dream, but the experiences you went through aren't logged in your brain as genuine memories.

So it wouldn't be the case that the Pevensies simply forgot about their time in Narnia once they returned home.... But it's also not like they spent the next few years of their lives with the minds of adults, stuck in children's bodies.

Here's a poem I wrote for NW some years ago. It tries to see how Peter is feeling before PC opens. (an effort at a sonnet)

AT THE STATION

My father went away to fight for England

The four of us became evacuees;

A magic wardrobe took us to a new land

With talking beasts and spirits in the trees.

I learned to lead the Narnians as I should,

Took risks and made decisions for them all,

“Magnificent” they called me, brave and good,

I loved and served my people great and small.

So Narnia was prosperous and free,

Our people dwelt in safety, without fears.

When Aslan sent us home it altered me -

I left behind those fifteen growing years.

Bereft of adulthood and sword and crown and throne,

This England that I loved no longer is my home.

(Peter Pevensie, in the year between LWW and PC)

@coracle

Your poem really spoke to me! It was short and sweet. Maybe recited at Cair Paravel in the Great Hall by some wandering Narnian Bard? (I could see a flute duet with Tumnus going along with it!) I especially loved this stanza:

Posted by: @coracle

I learned to lead the Narnians as I should,

Took risks and made decisions for them all,

“Magnificent” they called me, brave and good,

I loved and served my people great and small.

Speaking to the general topic: I've read/seen quite a few posts on the platforms Pinterest/Instagram/Tik Tok that come to the consensus that they'd be altered more in a mind sense but not really keeping any concrete information as time goes on. Probably the first few days they 'meta-brained' any assignments they had, or spoke in very fancy tones but as other people have said, they would forget it, like a wonderful, all-captivating dream that slowly fades away.

I've attached one post that I actually liked:

What a cool topic!!!! I had never thought of that, but WOW!!!

I'm sure they were shocked at first - between no time having gone by in our world, them being kids again, and coming back to a life they only ever remembered as a dream, I'm sure that's the case.  And after that, they would have to un-learn some of their royal mannerisms, losing the thee's and thou's and getting used to being treated like kids again.  I'm sure they missed their friends "back home in Narnia", but I bet they were thrilled to see their parents again (I've always thought, as much as I would love to be a King of Narnia, I would really miss my family if I were).  I must admit, you've got the wheels turning in my head on this one; this is a story just waiting to happen.  It must have been extremely bittersweet, to say the least.

But I think that ultimately, the answer to this question would depend on who you asked.  I forget if it's in the book (I think it is), but I remember that in PC Susan said soemthing along the lines of "I was just starting to get used to the idea of being stuck back in England" (when she and Lucy were talking about why Susan didn't see Aslan).  She was ready to get back to her life in our world.  Meanwhile, we know Edmund and Lucy always wanted to go back; in the beginning of VDT, they looked at that painting and got all nostalgic.  I remember in the movie (again, not sure if it was in the book, since I haven't read it in so long) Edmund said something like, "it's just a nasty reminder that we're here instead of there."  Once they got over the shock and got used to their new-old lives, I think they all felt differently about it.  Being the eldest of four myself, I've seen how different each of us is, despite growing up in the same home.  I can only assume that these four were as different as we are from each other.  They probably agreed on some things and disagreed on others, and had things they didn't share.  Anyway, thanks again for the awesome topic! 🙂