Okay… So I have no one I can really rant my Narnia thoughts to. So I’m taking to here. Can we talk about Lucy for a second? Lewis always gets this flax about being sexist. But remind me which of the characters is named Valiant? That’s right! The youngest Queen. Also, Lucy did in fact fight in battle and wars. It was never said that Lucy wouldn’t fight, just that she wasn’t supposed to be in the first battle for Narnia (and come on, she’s like 8 so did anyone really expect her to??)
The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe
Father Christmas: For you also are not to be in the battle. (’The’ is the key word here)
Lucy: Why, sir? I think- I don't know- but I think I could be brave enough.
Father Christmas: That is not the point. But battles are ugly when women fight. (She was meant to be a healer, not a fighter but she is quite capable of both. That is why she’s given the cordial and dagger. Both girls are actually given weapons to defend themselves and we later learn they are skillful in their own right)
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“But as for Lucy, she was always gay and golden-haired, and all the princes in those parts desired her to be their Queen, and her own people called her Queen Lucy the Valiant.” (We don’t have all the context for this, but it is the people who give her that title. So you can imagine she did something to “show courage or determination” to be called that)
(Also this quote here indicates that Lucy was just as beautiful as her sister so Susan turning away had nothing to do with beauty! A rant for another time…)
The Horse and His Boy
Corin: Of course I'm going to fight. Why, the Queen Lucy's going to be with the archers
Thornbut: The Queen's grace will do as she pleases! (To me, this says that someone has tried, and failed, to talk Lucy out of going into battle. Multiple times. And if I remember correctly, Lucy doesn't stay with the archers during this battle. When the men get too close together, Lucy draws a sword and joins the fray. Feel to correct me if I’m wrong).
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Corin (to Cor/Shasta when he asks about Susan): She's not like Lucy, you know, who's as good as a man, or at any rate as good as a boy. Queen Susan is more like an ordinary grown-up lady. She doesn't ride to the wars, though she is an excellent archer.
Overall, I see Lewis get knocked for being sexist. But you have to understand the times during which these stories were written (1950s). We know Lucy participated in battles and earned her title of Valiant. I have no doubt Aravis would’ve fought in battles had she the opportunity (she has her brothers armour and seems to know how to handle a blade so I have no doubt she trained with her brother). Even Jill in The Last Battle gets involved in the fighting (I believe she helps battle the snake in Silver Chair too but I can’t remember for sure). Susan was skilled in her own right but chose not fight if she did not have to. As for Polly, well I don’t know enough about her to form an opinion. We only see her in two of the books, once as a child and again as an adult. But in based on what C.S. Lewis has written about them, I can say that 3/5 of the main female leads that would jump into battle with little to no hesitation. I just think C.S. Lewis viewed men as protectors/defenders and women as healers/helpers. And I don’t read that as anything to be upset about. Would we be more upset if women were forced to fight? Idk. Personally, as I woman, I have no interest in fighting in a war. But that is just me. I know others have different opinions.