Dark Forest

[Duxwing]

I assert that the afterlives described by the characters of the Redwall are real.

Humans can have near death experiences (1) and Jacques' animals are anthropomorphized; thus, we could argue that the afterlives described in the Redwall series are simply visions experienced during the creatures' near death experiences.  However, such a hypothesis does not explain the stunning accuracy, resolution, and precision of visions experienced by various creatures throughout the series.  Moreover, such visions sometimes contained information that the creatures who experienced them could not otherwise obtain, thereby further strengthening the case for supernatural forces.  Yet the biology of the creatures in question is (pardon the pun) in question; assuming that trees are as tall in the series as they are in real life, Redwall series creatures stand as tall as humans and understand architecture, agriculture, language, mathematics, metallurgy, and even philosophy.  Therefore, we could very easily imagine that memories could be passed down from generation to generation and unconsciously among societies, thereby granting the creatures almost supernatural powers of recollection.

Such a hypothesis, however, again leaves a hole.  If the creatures can remember so much, then why don't they behave as walking, talking encyclopedias?  My only explanation is that such a trait is extremely taxing either because the creatures of the Redwall series are 'fallen'--a hypothesis that agrees with the author's Catholicism--or because it is not yet fully developed.  While I haven't any evidence that Brian believed in any sort of teleology, concluding the former premise would violate the Word of God (i.e., the Word of the Author) statement that the Redwall series lacks hidden messages or Catholic religion.  I, however, would hold that the unconscious nature of writing leaves open the possibility that Brian wrote a partially religious book despite himself.  Death of the Author certainly applies, enabling us to ignore authorial critique and focus on the text itself.  Therefore, the visions experienced by creatures in the Redwall series point to the a formerly strong connection to a spiritual world that is almost entirely severed by the time of the events described in the series.

From thence we can reason that such visions of the afterlife are accurate.  If so, then the spirits of dead creatures go to the Dark Forest, for example, they really go somewhere, be it a real or ethereal.  Therefore, and in conclusion, the afterlives described by the characters of the Redwall series are real.

QED.

-Duxwing

(1) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NDE