Great idea for a thread.

Where did the painting of the Dawn Treader come from? Polly was a painterJ? Who was it that Alberta didn’t want to offend? Did they go to Narnia too?

I have often wondered who painted the picture. Personally, I like to think that it was Polly, although there really isn't any evidence for that. I doubt the person Alberta didn't want to offend went to Narnia; they probably just bought the picture somewhere.

As far as I can remember, I've always know that the mountain is in Aslan's Country.

I've been wondering if the robin in LWW was Aslan or just a plain robin. I can't help but wonder what a robin was doing in Narnia in the middle of winter since they usually fly south. Since Lewis wrote “You couldn’t have found a robin with a redder chest or brighter eyes,” I concluded that it was not ordinary robin. I could be and likely about completely nuts to think it. (The one person I asked about it thought I was nuts ) Anyway, I thought I’d post it here. Feel free to agree with me or tell me I’m nuts. (I’m used to being call (whether verbal or by looks) nuts, crazy, and weird by now. )

Great idea for a thread.

Where did the painting of the Dawn Treader come from? Polly was a painterJ? Who was it that Alberta didn’t want to offend? Did they go to Narnia too?

I have often wondered who painted the picture. Personally, I like to think that it was Polly, although there really isn't any evidence for that.

I've been wondering if the robin in LWW was Aslan or just a plain robin. Since Lewis wrote “You couldn’t have found a robin with a redder chest or brighter eyes,”

the painting:
I never guessed on Polly, but the evidence is vague of course.
Say it was her though, how could she draw a painting of a ship that was "recently" made, after all she visited Narnia in its early days, long before Caspian was even born? Still, it is a rather interesting theory.

The robin,
I had never thought about that. While I don't think it was Aslan myself, it's not totally random either. I guess there is *some* support in the quote you gave.

I always wondered about that, where the painting came from. But not knowing makes it better

the painting:
I never guessed on Polly, but the evidence is vague of course.
Say it was her though, how could she draw a painting of a ship that was "recently" made, after all she visited Narnia in its early days, long before Caspian was even born? Still, it is a rather interesting theory.

The robin,
I had never thought about that. While I don't think it was Aslan myself, it's not totally random either. I guess there is *some* support in the quote you gave.

I did think of what you mentioned about Polly. Lucy and Edmund were able to recognize it as being Narnian, and when they were in Narnia last Narnia was more Telmarine than Narnian. Maybe there is something innately Narnian that stays through all the ages which people who visit Narnia pick up on. It probably has something to do with the air. Maybe since she had been there, Aslan used her to paint the picture and gave her the inspiration. The question you asked can be modified to ask “How could anyone draw a painting of a ship that hadn’t been made yet?” (If Albert got it as a wedding present, the painting would have had to been done before the ship was built or had even been planned by Caspian (unless of course she got married within the last year, which seems highly unlikely ). I know time is different in Narnia, but I’m pretty sure it always goes forward, so the picture would have had to be painted before the ship was built.

I know there is very little support (if any) for the robin theory. Lewis could just have meant that we couldn’t find a robin like that in our world. Whether the robin was Aslan or not, I’m sure he had something to do with its being there.

Where did the painting of the Dawn Treader come from? Polly was a painterJ? Who was it that Alberta didn’t want to offend? Did they go to Narnia too?

Well, I thought that the painting was just bought as a normal painting. Only when Edmund and Lucy came over to Eustace's house did it really become magical, thanks to Aslan.

I didn't realize that the mountain was in Aslan's counrty until I decided to read the book instead of listening to the Radio Drama. I thought it was very odd for Eustace and Jill to be in Aslan's country, because it's like they ended up in heaven for some time!

I agree with TheGeneral, not knowing where the painting comes from makes it so much better! It's a lot more fun to wonder and try to figure out the answer on your own than if Lewis had just explained it for us. It's like watching a magician's trick - it's a lot more fun when you don't know how it works. Gives you the chance to wonder. I like to think Lewis left that detail a mystery on purpose.

I thought it was a bit weird that the war was already over a year later.

I totally agree on the war over in a year thing. The timeline ingeneral doesn't make sense to me really. I mean in LB they are all 16 and most above 20 but its stilll the 40's and the book starts in the 40's......

Also in LB Eustace or someone says they've been gone "more than a year" even though the timeline says it's been seven. ???

The war being over in a year thing doesn't bother me as much, because the Blitz ended in 1941. The Pevensies wouldn't be affected by the war as much after that especially if they were shipped off to boarding schools in the country later, so it might make sense that they think of "the war years" as being the time when the war was in their backyard. Can't account for the "years," though. Jill mentions rationing in SC, but maybe that doesn't count because the rationing went on for so long after the war...

And it's summer in LWW, even though the Blitz began in September 1940 and ended the next May. Maybe they were evacuated before the bombing actually started, but that always annoyed me. I would like to think that LWW happened in 1944 or '45 (during the doodlebug raids--a few children were evacuated then too), PC a year later, and then VDT and SC fit nicely in after the war, but that's wishful thinking on my part

Really I don't think Lewis put a lot of thought into it. I have though, waaayy too much.

Pattertwigs Pal said:

I can't help but wonder what a robin was doing in Narnia in the middle of winter since they usually fly south.

Robins in Britain usually stay at home during the winter; only a small minority, usually female, migrate to southern Europe. Scandinavian and Russian Robins, however, do migrate for the winter—to Britain and western Europe.
Because robins stay in Britain for the winter they have come to be associated with Christmas. Since the middle of the nineteenth century, when Christmas cards were invented, they have often featured on Christmas cards and are, accordingly, associated (importantly in the context of LWW) with receiving welcome Christmas messages.

Thanks for the info about robins, Deadman. I can see how Lewis might be using a robin in its Christmas connection. Yet, I can't see any robin staying around for years and years of winter.

I always thought it was interesting that they celebrate Christmas in Narnia. I know obviously that the Chronicles have a lot of Christian symbolism but this goes a bit further - after all Christmas celebrates the birth of Christ. Do you suppose Christmas is something Helen and Frank took with them as a tradition when they came to Narnia from our world.

Polly plummer---hm, good question. I'm guessing you're right about Helen and Frank bringing that tradition with them. Why wouldn't they? It's a fun season, and I bet it would be exciting to introduce it to all the Narnians.

Where did the painting of the Dawn Treader come from? Polly was a painterJ

It doesn't make sense for Polly to have painted it because ships weren't in Narnia at the time when she went there.

On thing I have noticed is that in the LWW Aslan had a crown on his head and walked like a human. This is kind of interesting to me because in all the rest of the books he is not like this. If you read the books in the order in which they were written you can definitely tell the evolution of the writer and how his thoughts and views changed.