I had not appreciated the similarity between Puddleglum (not a man, but a Marsh-wiggle) and St John of the Cross until I read Sameer Rahim’s recent incisive interview with the Archbishop of Canterbury in the Telegraph books pages.
In The Silver Chair, one of the Narnia books by C S Lewis, the seductive Queen of Underland tries to persuade Puddleglum that hers is the real world, that the world of Narnia above ground does not exist and that there is no need to obey its king, Aslan. Puddleglum resists and declares: “I’m on Aslan’s side even if there isn’t any Aslan to lead it. I’m going to live as like a Narnian as I can even if there isn’t any Narnia.”
