The Wise Imagination

4 responses to “A CALL FOR THOUGHTS ON GEORGE MACDONALD”

1. 

   R.J. Anderson

   commented on

   November 24, 2014

   Interestingly enough, I was just mulling over the possibility of writing a blog post about the Curdie books, and their powerful influence over me as a child reader and aspiring fantasy author. I happened to search up “George MacDonald” on Twitter and lo, I found this post!

   I can’t remember exactly what age I was when I first read The Princess and the Goblin, but I suspect I was at least nine or ten. My father, a full-time Bible teacher in the “open brethren”, had introduced me to Lewis and Tolkien by reading them aloud to my older brothers (bless him for it!) and I had plunged headlong into fairy tales, mythology, and all the “juvenile” (as they were then called) fantasy stories I could find as a result — L’Engle, Le Guin, Alexander, and so on. My father’s habit was to scour the Christian bookstores for fantasy stories that might interest me, and give them to me for birthdays and Christmas presents: a four-book set of the Curdie books, The Lost Princess and The Golden Key and Other Stories was the happy result.

   I have re-read the Curdie books, and read them out loud to my own children, at least ten or perhaps fifteen times since. They exerted an influence on me almost as powerful as that of Lewis and Tolkien, albeit in a more subtle way that I find difficult to describe. Interestingly enough the main and most obvious “borrowing” I did from MacDonald ended up being the same part that Lewis and Tolkien borrowed from him: the powerful imaginative element of the goblin tunnels leading to a vast, labyrinthine underground world. (We see it most clearly in The Hobbit when Bilbo must rescue the dwarves from the goblins, and again in LotR during the passage through Moria; in Lewis we find it most in The Silver Chair, when Eustace and Jill and Puddleglum venture underground to find Prince Rilian; and in my own books it manifests as the Delve, an abandoned tin mine which is both a place of safety and great danger for my Cornish piskey heroine and her people.)

   On a faith level, however, I find the symbolism of the young princess Irene following her “grandmother”‘s thread through the tunnels by touch more than sight, with the skeptical Curdie unable to see or feel the thread at all, is a marvellous use of spiritual metaphor — ringing true to Scripture and to life, without feeling contrived or preachy in the least. MacDonald had an amazingly deft way of weaving faith elements into his fiction in a way that seemed natural to the plot of the story and even enhanced it, while still containing a deeper truth and meaning that even the youngest child reader would find difficult to miss. I love that.

   Reply
   1. 

      Joshuajwithrow

      commented on

      November 24, 2014

      R.J.

      Thanks so much for the comment! If you end up writing about the Princess books, I would be more than happy to reblog on my site.

      Josh

      Reply
2. 

   Home And Spirit

   commented on

   November 28, 2014

   Wow, I too read The Princess and The Goblin at a young age. I was 8 when I read it and 10 when I read The Princess and Curdie. It had a huge impact on me as a child. I tried to get other friends to read it but they found it too difficult. My favourite aspect of the book was the mysterious great-great grandmother. She was always there, always looking after Irene thought no one else was aware of her. I love the idea of following the thread even if it made no sense to follow it and looked as if it was leading to danger. I re-read the books as an adult and read them to my children some of which who have gone on to read GM’s other works of fantasy. I also met my husband through GM…not literally of course but we were both part of an email list which discussed his works. Sooo…huge fan! 🙂

   Reply
   1. 

      Joshuajwithrow

      commented on

      November 28, 2014

      That’s a fantastic story! I agree with you, I also really like the great-great grandmother and the beautiful picture of faith in the image of the thread. Thanks again for sharing.

      Reply