george macdonald and c.s. lewis and dorothy sayers and lewis carroll and aberdeen and light princess

The 1860s was the period that inaugurated Victorian fantasy literature. Macdonald, who had studied at Aberdeen in Scotland and was a Congregational pastor for a few years before being asked to leave the church because of the thinness of his theology, took to writing poetry in the late 1850s and then wrote this delightful miniature in 1862. Lewis Carroll, in a diary entry from July 1862, recorded that he accompanied Macdonald to the publisher with his story in hand. The Light Princess would be published in 1864 as part of his novel Adela Cathcart. In 1863 Carroll showed Macdonald his manuscript of Alice in Wonderland; 1863 was also the year when the Victorian fantasy novel The Water Babies was written by Charles Kingsley. Thus was inaugurated a tradition of fantasy writing in England which continues with international impact in 2005.

Both Continental and English sources influenced Macdonald; his love for Coleridge and knowledge of German meant that themes from romantic poetry and German fairy tales would suffuse his work. But one also needs to know something else about Macdonald. His degree at Aberdeen was in Chemistry and Natural Philosophy (the 19th century equivalent of Physics); thus when he turned to fantasy writing, he did so with the conviction that it represented a different kind of truth, a truth accessible directly to the soul, unlike the discursive scientific investigations that had occupied him in his youth.

Thus, when he tells the story of The Light Princess we are transported to a world rich with Christian symbolism which is not only aware of the redemptive power of love but also of the need for our full expression of humanity in order to find love in this world. Macdonald's influence was huge on the generation of Christian writers gathering around Oxford and Cambridge in the 1930s-1950s, such as Dorothy Sayers and C.S. Lewis. Indeed, Lewis declared his indebtedness in these words: "I have never concealed the fact that I regarded him as my master; indeed I fancy I have never written a book in which I did not quote from him."

The Story of the Light Princess

The Light Princess tells the tale of a princess cursed by her aunt because the aunt was overlooked in the invitation list to the princess's christening. This curse took the form of a wish that she would be "Light of spirit, by my charms,/ Light of body, every part,/ Never weary human arms--/ Only crush thy parents' heart!" As a result, the princess grew up with no "gravity." In the first of a series of double entendres, she was both one who could float, and she had a "light" temperament--she always laughed, even when disciplined. Even though her lightness gave the palace an air of constant delight, this vexed the parents, for they wondered how their kingdom could continue with this sort of person as a future queen. The parents decided to try to make her cry, but their efforts were unavailing.

The only place she discovered herself to be truly comfortable in life was the water, to which she took with eagerness. In the water she was, as the story says, "like other people." Naturally a handsome prince came into her life, fell in love with her and cavorted with her in the water near the palace. Yet, even though the prince taught her how to "fall in" to the water, she was not able to "fall in love." Love escaped her, and her touch and kiss later on would be cold.

Seeing that the princess still enjoyed some pleasure in the water, the aunt devised a scheme to drain the lake of water. Now the princess had no playground; no place to feel a sort of kinship with humanity, and she dismissed the prince and gradually began to lose her life-force. Then, it was discovered that the outflow of water could be reversed if a man was found who would given his life to stop up the drain through which the waters dissipated. Of course, the Christ-character who rose to the occasion was the handsome prince, who gave his life willingly so that the princess would be restored to happiness. But he required that she accompany him, and look him in the eyes as he gradually drowned. This had a strange and wonderful effect on her, and after she thought he had drowned it was the power of love that enabled her to pull him up from below the waters and bring him to the palace. With the help of a wise nurse, he returned to life. She, then, was able to release her "inner waters," her tears, and love flowed between him and her. She now experienced the gravity of life on earth. But, to her surprise, it didn't only consist of her falling because of her weight, but her being lifted effortlessly on the prince's shoulders and being loved and kissed by him. His yoke was easy and his burden light.

Only Space for One Theme

Many themes cry for some kind of recognition, but space only permits brief reflection on one. For me the most resonant theme is that our full humanity, taken away from us by others before our awareness, can only be restored through an act of self-giving love. And, that when that humanity is restored, it is a sort of "gravity" or "heaviness" which really is quite light. It enables one to weep and love, to express warmth and tenderness, without being "weighed down" by life's heavy loads. Let me briefly explain.

The princess must be christened as a youth. But the king, who is supposed to send invitations to the christening, forgets to invite his sister. She, enraged by the slight, inflicts the curse of "lightness" on the princess. The princess has done nothing to "deserve" this. It is the result of a parental oversight. And part of her humanity is taken away. This doesn't meant that she is despondent or angry. She is, rather, light-hearted, always laughing and bringing a light touch to everything. But she is unable to love, to experience warmth (the word "cold" is used more than once to describe her touch or kiss). She loves the water, the place where she is made heavier, though she cannot produce the "inner water" (tears) that would enable her to release a flow of love and warmth in her own life. It is only when the prince decides to sacrifice himself for her happiness, and requires that she accompany him as long as possible, feeding him and looking at him in the face, that she begins to see that his falling for her can be reciprocated. And, finally, her tears fall, and her redemption dawns (she regains her "gravity") when she has learned to love and weep over his fate. She learns that to be human, to be truly caught up in gravity, means to be light in another's arms.

Conclusion

Fairly tales are like mirrors--we see in them our own dreams and aspirations. And so, I leave this essay with the longing for love, and the grace to realize that another's love can pull me from my coldness to warmth and a discovery that the humanity that I seek and in which I participate, is a light gift, rather than a heavy burden.

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