The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe | Chapter 4: Turkish Delight

Chapter Summary:

This chapter opens with Edmund revealing to the Queen (the White Witch) that he is a human, and has come into Narnia through a wardrobe. The Queen asks Edmund to sit next to her, and she makes him a hot drink and some (enchanted) Turkish Delight.

While eating the Turkish Delight, Edmund reveals that his sister Lucy has already been in Narnia and met with a Faun. He also reveals that he has two sisters and one brother (this is very significant to the Queen). The Queen tells Edmund that he will get more Turkish Delight and become a Prince of Narnia if he brings his siblings to her, and she gives him directions to her home.

As the White Witch drives away, Lucy emerges from the woods. She has been having lunch with Mr. Tumnus. Lucy mentions the White Witch--whom everyone in Narnia fears and hates. Edmund is nervous about what Lucy says, but he mostly just wants more Turkish Delight. Lucy and Edmund go back through the wardrobe, and Lucy is excited that her adventure is now being shared.

Reflection:

Today's reflection topic should be obvious--it's guilty pleasures! Turkish Delight is obviously a metaphor in this chapter. It's simultaneously a bribe, a temptation, and a guilty pleasure--and I think that deep down, Edmund probably knows this--he just won't admit it to himself. Heck, Turkish Delight is so much of a metaphor that it even comes with tolerance--the idea that the more of X guilty pleasure a person has, the more of X guilty pleasure a person wants. (This is, of course, a term most commonly associated with drugs.) 

In a world where there are a ton of truly guilty pleasures out there, it's easy to find an escape in one of them. You name it--drugs, alcohol, cigarettes, social media, porn, Candy Crush, television--basically anything that you can get addicted to (and no, not all of these are created equal by any means). Rather, there are a whole lot of things out there that aren't really guilty pleasures when used appropriately. For instance, watching an hour of TV a day wouldn't be considered a guilty pleasure or a risky behavior by virtually anyone. Watching 12 hours a day would be an entirely different story. Thus we come to the interesting fact that we generally define "guilty pleasure" as something that we enjoy doing, but something that does not really qualify as an addition--but it could if taken to the next level.

For instance, one of my guilty pleasures is sugar-filled candy. Airheads, Blow Pops, Jelly Beans, Starbursts, Sweet Tarts, Nerds, Gobstoppers, etc, etc, etc. My teeth are not rotting out of my head and my blood sugar is not dangerously high, so I can call it a guilty pleasure and not an addition. I've had a bowl full of a majority of these candies sitting on my desk (just out of arm's reach!) for a little over a week, but I haven't had any yet--thus, not an addiction. Nevertheless, I do love some sugar-filled candy. Thus, guilty pleasure.

Another definition of guilty pleasure is something that is not necessarily harmful, but something that one might feel ashamed of based on social convention. If you're a 40-year-old man who reads Twilight twice a year, you would probably call this a guilty pleasure. Your behavior is not harmful, but is it by most standards considered unusual. 

Often, there is a fine line between a guilty pleasure, a temptation, and an addiction. And for better or for worse, a large part of the "line" is defined by social convention. Unfortunately for Edmund, his guilty pleasure is about to have some major consequences.