Yesterday, I wrote a post in praise of the fiction of C.S. Lewis. Thinking about him led me to remember this quote from The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe which amused me greatly as a kid:
A large crowd of people were standing all round the Stone Table. But such people! They were the most terrible looking people you can imagine. If I tried to describe them, your parents would not let you read this book!
There are a number of interesting things happening in this quote. Lewis in his omniscient voice addressing the reader was something that really struck me as a child reading the book. As a kid, I found this very funny.
But there is also a shared assumption that there are some things a child shouldn’t be reading and the parents’ role is important in making those choices. Lewis acknowledges parents should be making the calls about what is appropriate for their children. And he assumes children will agree on these rules.
Sure, as kids, we tried to get around those restrictions. In junior high, I remember kids circulating a copy of Jaws, dog-eared on a passage about Hooper and Mrs. Brody. (A scene not in the movie.) But I don’t think Peter Benchley wrote that passage with kids in mind.
There are a number of children’s authors these days who think they know better than parents what kids should be reading, especially in regard to sexuality. And too many schools are more than happy to help kids get around their parents.
We miss you, C.S.
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