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Owen BarfieldBitanese philosopher, writer, poet and critic
Date of Birth: 09.11.1898
Country:  Great Britain |
Content:
Biography of Owen Barfield
Owen Barfield was a British philosopher, writer, poet, and critic, known as a member of the Oxford literary group called the "Inklings," which also included J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis, the author of the Chronicles of Narnia series. Barfield and Lewis were close friends. It is little known that Lewis dedicated his book "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe," the first book in the Chronicles of Narnia series, to Lucy Barfield, the daughter of Owen Barfield and goddaughter of C.S. Lewis. In May 1949, Lewis sent the manuscript of the future book to Lucy Barfield, who was 14 years old at the time, accompanied by a letter in which he said, "I wrote this story for you."
Early Life and Career
Owen Barfield was born on November 9, 1898, in London. He studied at Highgate School and Wadham College, Oxford University, graduating in 1920 with a degree in English language and literature. For over a decade after university, Barfield dedicated himself to poetry and literature. However, in 1934, he made a sudden change in his career and became a barrister in London. He practiced law for a quarter of a century before retiring in 1959, at the age of 60. After retirement, Barfield frequently lectured as a visiting professor at universities in North America and published numerous essays, articles, and books. The main theme of his work was what he called "the evolution of consciousness." Today, Owen Barfield is primarily known in the English-speaking world as the author of the philosophical work "Saving the Appearances: A Study in Idolatry" and as the founder of anthroposophy, a religious-mystical doctrine.
Personal Life and Friendship with C.S. Lewis
In 1923, Barfield married musician and choreographer Maud Douie, who was ten years older than him. Together, they raised three children: their eldest son Alexander was born in 1928, their daughter Lucy in 1935, and their youngest son Jeffrey, who was their adopted child, in 1940. Owen Barfield and C.S. Lewis were close friends for 44 years, until Lewis's death. They met in 1919 when they were both young, and Barfield played a decisive role in Lewis's conversion to theism during the early period of their friendship, which they referred to as the "great war." Maud also had a certain influence on Lewis, as when the Barfields had a daughter, he agreed to be her godfather. Lewis referred to Barfield as "the best and wisest of my unofficial teachers." In addition to being Lewis's friend and mentor in various matters, Barfield also served as his lawyer and trusted advisor in legal and financial affairs. If Lewis dedicated his book "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe" to Barfield's daughter Lucy, Barfield himself was honored in Lewis's historical and literary study "The Allegory of Love" (1936). The youngest member of the Barfield family, Jeffrey, also received such an honor when Lewis dedicated his book "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader" to him in 1952. Owen Barfield had a profound influence not only on Lewis but also on Tolkien's works through his books "The Silver Trumpet" and "Poetic Diction" (which incidentally, was dedicated to Lewis). Barfield became fascinated with anthroposophy after attending a lecture by its founder, the Austrian philosopher and esoteric Rudolf Steiner, in 1924. Throughout his life, he studied Steiner's works, considering him a far more significant author than Goethe, and translated some of Steiner's works into English. Barfield was often referred to as the "first and last of the Inklings." He lived a very long life and passed away on December 14, 1997, just short of his centennial anniversary.
