Susan Pevensie

Personality

Susan is cautious, maternal, and realistic. She has courage, but does not display it. She also tends to avoid what disturbs her and wants to grow up quickly to escape the vulnerability of childhood.

Looking and analysis: "The Problem of Susan"

The exclusion of Susan has sparked much debate. Philip Pullman, J. K. Rowling, and Neil Gaiman, in the short story The Problem of Susan, saw it as a condemnation of femininity and burgeoning sexuality. Other readers argue that Lewis is criticizing a superficial way of growing up, eager to forget wonder, rather than being a woman. They also remind us that Lucy, the most beloved heroine, is a girl. Lewis himself wrote to a young reader that Susan’s story was not over and that she still had time to find her way. The site presents these arguments in a balanced way on the page "Narnia in debate."

Relations

• Lucy  : the sister with whom she watches over Aslan the night of his death and rides with him in a wild chase.
• Rabadash  : the Calormen prince who wants to force her into marriage (The Horse and His Boy).
• Peter and Edmund  : her brothers, from whom she distances herself in adulthood.

Name and translations

Her title is "Susan the Gentle." The bow and the magical horn, gifts from Father Christmas, are her attributes.

The "Problem of Susan"

In The Last Battle, we learn that Susan is "no longer a friend of Narnia." She is only interested in "nylons, lipstick, and invitations." The passage has sparked lasting debate. Novelist Neil Gaiman dedicated the short story The Problem of Susan (2004) to it, and J. K. Rowling also criticized it. Many readers see it as a reproach against femininity and adult sexuality. Others recall that Lewis condemns Susan’s attitude : she wants to stay in "the idiotic age" where one seeks to appear adult. They also emphasize that her fate is not sealed. Lewis himself wrote to a reader : she still has time to find her way.