 Most
of The Chronicles of Narnia take place in Lewis' constructed world of
Narnia. The Narnian world itself is one world in a multiverse of
countless worlds including our own. Passage between these worlds is
possible, though rare, and may be accomplished in various fashions. How
visitors to Narnia observe the passage of time while they are away is
unpredictable. For example, if one year had passed since one left
Narnia, a thousand years or perhaps only a week might have gone by in
Narnia. Narnia itself is populated by a wide variety of creatures, most
of whom would be recognisable to those familiar with European
mythologies and British fairy tales.
Lewis
largely populates his stories with two distinct classes of inhabitants:
people from our own
world and creatures created by the character Aslan and the descendants
of these creatures. This is typical of works that involve parallel
universes. The majority of characters from our own world serve as the
protagonists of the various books, however some are only mentioned in
passing. Those inhabitants that Lewis creates through the character
Aslan are viewed as either of wonderful variety or a confusing
hodgepodge, depending on the reader. Lewis does not limit himself to a
single source; instead he borrows from many sources and adds a few more
of his own to the mix.
The Chronicles of Narnia describes the world in which Narnia exists as
one major landmass faced by "the Great Eastern Ocean". This ocean
contains the Seven Isles, Galma, Terebinthia and the Lone Islands which
are visited in The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. On the main landmass are
the countries of Narnia, Archenland, Calormen, and Telmar, as well as a
variety of other areas that play a part in the narrative but are not
described as countries: The Western Wild, a mountainous place to the
west of Narnia and Wildlands of the North. Lewis also provides glimpses
of more fantastic locations that exist in and around the main world of
Narnia, like the end of the Narnian world and the bottom of it.
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