History as the Long Victory
A Lewis-based response to the concept of Tolkien's "long defeat."
In her recent article, Amy Mantravadi asked the question, “Are things getting better or worse?” She then proceeded to sketch a thoughtful answer, using the symbolism and imagery of J.R.R. Tolkien’s literary work paired with Christian theology.
But I’d like to respectfully push back a little, drawing from the work of Tolkien’s close friend C.S. Lewis.
To begin with, the original question is a bit strange to me. It’s ineffective unless you first answer some preliminary questions like, “For whom?” and “In comparison to what?” And when you start to answer those questions you begin to realize how over-simplistic the answers “better” or “worse” would be. I struggle to believe society has reached a place where “every imagination of the thoughts of [man’s] heart was only evil continually (Genesis 6:5),” and only eight people found grace in the eyes of the Lord, as the Bible describes in the days of Noah, thousands of years ago. America (and the West) has faced and is facing some turbulent times; there is no doubt about that. But it’s all too easy to sterilize and romanticize history because of our hindsight bias. I find it difficult to accept the circumstances we face are so very unique or so very trying compared to what our ancestors have had to face in the past (we just get bombarded with reminders of it more than they did because of social media), or even compared to what billions of people face daily in developing nations. Mostly they are the same challenges mankind has always faced but in different clothes.
To pretend history has been a linear slope (whether that slope is positive or negative) is simplistic, and I suspect, distinctly American. Much of the rest of the world sees history as a series of cycles, remarkably similar to the upward and downward cycles we see ingrained in the natural world (day and night, high tide and low tide, or the four seasons). Where I grew up in the jungles of New Guinea there was the rainy season and the dry season. I have often thought that when Western societies lost their direct dependence on the natural world they also lost some of the practice of how to navigate upward and downward seasons, trading it for an obsession with “progress.” Thousands of years ago, Plato posited that even forms of government would come and go in cycles, one necessarily morphing into the next as humans ceaselessly try to solve the ills of each (The Republic, 543a-545c), and much of history has shown exactly that. Granted, it’s much more comfortable to be on an upswing or even sitting at the peak of the wave than down in the trough. So what if we are asking the wrong question? Maybe instead of asking, “Are things getting better or worse?” we should ask, “Where are we in the cycle and how can we navigate this well?”
I don’t deny that the concept of “the long defeat” is prevalent in Tolkien’s work, but, as Amy pointed out, even he recognized some of the cyclical nature of how evil re-emerges through history. What was, in my opinion, underemphasized in both Tolkien’s work and Amy’s post, was that good always rises to meet it. And here’s where I’d like to bring in Lewis.
While The Lord of the Rings has a clear bittersweet undertone of longing for the good and glory we have fallen from, The Chronicles of Narnia has a different arc: a long journey of taking back ground from the enemy while traveling towards the beatific vision (most clearly exemplified in The Voyage of the Dawn Treader).
In The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, the Pevensies free Narnia from the stranglehold of evil magic (the White Witch).
In The Horse and His Boy, exiles return home.
In Prince Caspian, our heroes free Narnia from wicked men.
In The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, they reclaim land that was lost to Narnia (the Lone Islands) and come to the very edge of Aslan’s country.
In The Silver Chair, Eustace and Jill free a prince captured by darkness.
Finally, when we get to The Last Battle, the events of that book are not depicted as a final defeat, but a final victory, and even when all seems lost, Jill and Eustace help Tirian fight for his country up until the moment they are shoved into the stable itself.
I agree with Amy that the world is irrevocably marred by sin, and I don’t believe any amount of social reform is going to bring heaven to earth. But why should we then frame history as a long defeat, as if God intervening at the end is somehow the losing blow? He set history in motion. Isn’t it fitting that He should also have the last word?
If we do not know when that end will be (we don’t) and we do know that it will be victory (we do), why aren’t we fighting more for the things the Lord has entrusted to us?
One thing I love about the Chronicles of Narnia (there are many), is the children’s understanding that their responsibility and impact is no less just because Aslan is the true Ruler, and they must do what they can in their own strength and with their own wisdom until he intervenes. Thus, Peter in Prince Caspian, faced with superior forces, issues a direct challenge to Miraz and puts his own life on the line, as he feels is his duty as High King(of a kingdom that barely exists anymore). It turns out he doesn’t have to win or lose that battle. He just has to be willing to fight it. When all seems lost because the Telmarines turn treacherous, Aslan steps in and brings a reawakening to Narnia that few thought possible again.
This concept of the long defeat concerns me, and it concerns me how entrenched it is in Christian circles. It makes me think of athletes who stop putting effort into the game because they’ve calculated the score, the odds, and the time left before the whistle blows. But that is not their job. That is their coach’s job. Their job is to use all of their talent and energy up until the last minute.
As Christians, we believe God will bring the ultimate victory. But why does that mean we can’t see victory now in the little and big places of our lives, our communities, and our countries? I shudder to think where we would be if William Wilberforce had taken such a defeatist view of politics, history, and society. In the words of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., “We must use time creatively, in the knowledge that the time is always ripe to do right.” I recently read his Letter From Birmingham Jail (from which that quote comes) in totality for the first time and was incredibly convicted. If you have time, I encourage you to go read it now. The following quote is also from that letter.
“In the midst of a mighty struggle to rid our nation of racial and economic injustice, I have heard many ministers say: ‘Those are social issues, with which the gospel has no real concern.’ And I have watched many churches commit themselves to a completely other worldly religion which makes a strange, un-Biblical distinction between body and soul, between the sacred and the secular.”
In The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, taking back the Lone Islands is not just a show of sovereignty or a formality. It means setting things to rights, including abolishing the slave trade there. Caspian, Edmund, and Lucy all understand this as part of their responsibility as rulers of the land Aslan has given them. And they do this, almost casually, along the journey to what they hope will be Aslan’s country. It is not the focus of their journey, but it is a very real consequence of it.
I’d like to end by asking this question (to myself as much as to anyone): what ground are we not taking back because we feel the tide of the world and our nation has turned for the worse? As Christians, we are on an upward journey. Nothing can change that. The impact of the church’s upward trajectory on the world around them through history is undeniable. Are we making that same impact? Or are we staying on our ship, lamenting the evil we see in the Lone Islands as we make our way past? Are we hiding in Aslan’s How, lamenting how the Golden Age of Narnia is past and now we are far outnumbered by Miraz’s army? Are we mourning lost sons and daughters without confronting the evil that has taken them?
“Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place (2 Corinthians 2:14).” Paul wrote that under Roman occupied rule, in a day and age where most Christians believed they would see the return of Christ. What if we lived like we really believed that? What if we lived a little less like the elves of Middle-earth (watching the world decay and counting the days until they can return to Valinor) and lived a little more like the Pevensies (so excited to be included in Aslan’s plans, quick to defend those under their care, ready to fight evil again and again because they walk in victory).
Are things getting better or worse? What are we doing to make them better? Is our long voyage toward the beatific vision impacting the world around us in real, tangible ways? If not, why not? And if it is, even one island at a time, then we are not participating in a long defeat but a long victory. We help write history. We stand on the shoulders of Christians who have impacted history, in the middle of trial and upheaval, not in spite of it. What will our chapter say?
About the Author
Elisabeth Dawson is an award-winning author of science fiction and fantasy, and a member of the Mythic Mind Humanities Guild. Raised in the remote and politically unstable mountains of New Guinea, she currently lives in Idaho with her best friend and roommate, drinking lots of tea, learning crochet, and pursuing a Master’s of Philosophy at Biola University.
To join the Mythic Mind Humanities Guild, head over to patreon.com/mythicmind
A very interesting and thought provoking rebuttal. The concept of history as cyclical is also present in Walter M. Miller's majestic sci-fi novel "A Canticle for Leibowitz." I think that the "long defeat" and "long victory" need not be an "either or" dilemma but a "both and" synthesis is possible. From the perspective of a human lifetime, history may look like a long defeat, when it is really a series of repeated risings and fallings (as in "Leibowitz") until the final Unveiling ("Apocalypse") at the End of history. At some times in history it is best to make a tactical retreat from the World, like St. Benedict and the other founders of Western monasticism, only to advance in a counteroffensive at the right moment. I'm actually working on an article along these lines for another website. I've really enjoyed reading this discussion. Many thanks to both authors!