Clive Staples Lewis, the author of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, is considered to be one of the greatest Christian apologists of the modern era. In his lifetime he wrote over fifty books of fiction and nonfiction including many discourses and lectures on medieval literature. He was a professor at Oxford for nearly thirty years, as well a professor of literature at Cambridge. This is all very interesting in and of itself, but coming closer to the point, many of us know him as the writer of The Chronicles of Narnia and his first installment on that chronicle which was recently cinematized by Disney.
The impressions of readers (and watchers) after digesting this work span the gamut of “biblical parallels—What are you talking about?” to the impression that it is, in fact, pure Christian allegory straight from the pen of Doctor Lewis. Argument on the meanings and intentions of his works is prolific, but arguing with the renowned professor himself on his own works would be most unwise. Professor Bruce Edwards, a prolific writer on Lewis, puts it well when he says “…Lewis' own works remain the most reliable source and insightful interpreter of this original thinker and personality” (Edwards). Lewis was an unquestionable authority on allegory, and the only allegory he ever wrote was The Pilgrims Regress. Lewis never considered Narnia to be allegory, but never denied the Christian parallels. In Of Other Worlds: Essays and Stories, Lewis suggests the notion that he “drew up a list of basic Christian truths and hammered out 'allegories' to embody them….is all pure moonshine” (36). He goes on to suggest that it began as a simple fairy tale with imaginary creatures and that “At first there wasn't anything Christian about them; that element pushed itself in of its own accord” (36).
In the spirit of Lewis, and with his intentions in mind, we will not call this work allegory. Instead we will embark on a side by side comparison of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and the most obvious Christian parallels as found in scripture. While far from being pure allegory in the strictest sense, the fairy tale indeed has distinct biblical parallels. The characters, and their actions, can be compared to characters in the Bible. Lucy and Edmund merit brief discussion, but the characters of Aslan and the White Witch are the most obvious parallels. Finally, the heart of the story has distinct parallels to the passion and resurrection of Jesus Christ and prophecy fulfilled.
Early in the tale we find that Lucy, the youngest girl, saw something that the others could not see. She was able to enter Narnia through the wardrobe while the others could not, and so it is the same with heaven. “…Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of Heaven” (Mat. 18:3). The other children think she is crazy, and it is only after the old professor instills upon the children the suspicion (a small one maybe the size of a mustard seed), that Lucy may not be lying about this imaginary world, that they find themselves able to enter. As a rule, we find that throughout the tales only children are able to enter Narnia. This is the first significant Christian parallel, one between the nature of Narnia and the nature of Heaven.
The next parallel is embodied in the character of Edmund and his betrayals. The most obvious parallel would be that of Judas and his betrayal of Jesus Christ, but Edmund and Judas both meet entirely different ends. Edmund most accurately parallels a much larger group of people. As I will discuss in the final point of this paper, Aslan dies in Edmund’s stead as a blood sacrifice for Edmund’s betrayal. In this sense, Edmund represents the sin nature of humanity. His betrayal is paid for by the blood of Aslan just as the sin debt of mankind is paid in full by the blood of Jesus Christ.
Aslan the Lion, and The White Witch represent the polarity of good and evil in Narnia. Aslan’s character has distinct parallels to Jesus Christ, and The White Witch parallels Satan. Was Lewis thinking of the Lion of Judah, or was he thinking of the king of beasts? He may have been thinking of neither, or both, and we will never know. The character of Aslan, while paralleling Christ well in general, represents the embodiment of a powerful good that has been in Narnia since before the creation of Narnia as God existed before the beginning of time. The lion was there in the very beginning even before the dawn of time. He is the hope for all Narnia-kind:
Wrong will be right, when Aslan comes in sight,
At the sound of his roar, sorrows will be no more,
When he bares his teeth, winter meets its death,
And when he shakes his mane, we shall have spring again (Lewis, Lion 79).
The Witch is white and not black; she is also a beautiful figure. Satan is also known as “The Angel of Light” fallen from the grace of God. “… Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light” (2 Corinthians 11:14). The White Witch has made it cold in Narnia. It snows but the sun never comes out; it is sterile, and there is no Christmas. “The thief cometh not but for to steal and kill, and to destroy; I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly” (John 10:10). The White Witch is the great party spoiler. She has brought death and destruction, and for one hundred years, all of Narnia has awaited the return of Aslan, and the hope for the day when things might be put right. The adversary is the death dealer and brings misery. The savior brings joy as the life giver.
The passion of Christ spans the time from the Triumphal entry to the resurrection. The passion of Aslan might begin after Edmund has been rescued from the White Witch in Narnia, and she enters as accuser with a word for Aslan. “You have a traitor there, Aslan….Have you forgotten the deep magic?” (Lewis, Lion 141). Aslan, knowing more of the “deep magic” than anyone, prods the witch to tell him. She angrily retorts that “…every traitor belongs to me as my lawful prey and that for every treachery I have a right to a kill” (141). He offers himself as sacrifice on the stone table in Edmund’s stead, and naturally, the Witch is overjoyed. And so it was with Christ who died on the cross as payment for the sins of man. It was said of Jesus in Gethsemane that “…being in agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground” (Luke 22:44). As Aslan was on his silent journey to the stone table the girls followed him. As Jesus was weary, so was Aslan. Aslan stumbles and the girls ask if he is sick, for they do not know what is about to transpire. "I am sad and lonely. Lay your hands on my mane so that I can feel you are there and let us walk like that" (Lewis, Lion 150). It is said that Aslan could have killed them all with one swipe of his paws as Jesus could have called on ten legions of angels. This is the parallel of free wills. They both freely gave themselves as sacrifices in another’s stead. Jesus was beaten and mocked; Aslan was shaved and mocked. And then the deeds were done. Christ was crucified on the cross in exacting style as the prophecy foretold, and Aslan was bound muzzled and put on the sacrificial stone table and killed as the prophecy foretold.
Lucy and Susan sat and mourned the lifeless body of Aslan on the stone table. They removed the muzzle, as the mice untied the chords binding him, with great sadness. As morning was coming, they decided to take a walk. Then from behind them, they heard “…a loud noise - a great cracking, deafening noise as if a giant had broken a giant's plate” (161). They turn around, Aslan is gone, and the stone table is broken in two pieces. “And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent;” (Mat. 27:51). Prophecy was fulfilled and the stone table was no longer necessary. Neither was the veil covering the Holy of Holies. With the crucifixion we are given God’s grace. Mary Magdalene and “the other Mary” visit the grave. The angel meets them and proclaims that he is arisen as was prophesied. Now Aslan tells the girls, who meet him, the rest of the story:
…though the Witch knew the Deep Magic, there is a magic deeper still which she did not know: Her knowledge goes back only to the dawn of time. But if she could have looked a little further back, into the stillness and the darkness before Time dawned, she would have read there a different incantation. She would have known that when a willing victim who had committed no treachery was killed in a traitor's stead, the Table would crack and Death itself would start working backwards (Lewis, Lion 163).
If Satan had known the true significance of the willing Christ, who had committed no treachery, dying on the cross, as prophecy foretold, he would have done everything possible to stop it. If The White Witch had known the deeper part of the prophecy, and that death would start working backwards when Aslan was killed as prophecy foretold, then she would never have agreed to the arrangement. Aslan knew the complete prophecy as he was present before the beginning of time. Jesus Christ knew the complete prophecy as he was, as well, present since even before the beginning of time.
Joy covers Narnia, and ultimately this episode of Narnia ends with an unspeakable joy similar to the joy derived from the resurrection of Jesus Christ to this very day. In the end, Aslan the Lion leaves the happy crowd with the promise that he will return just as Christ ascended to heaven leaving us awaiting his promised return to this very day. While Lewis sat down to write one of the greatest stories for children of all ages, he stood up with a masterpiece in biblical parallel. The characterization, passion, resurrection, prophecy, and a deep mixture of great morality make The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe a truly remarkable tale. It is not allegory by definition; neither is it a strict parallel. It is a wholesome story because of its many parallels. Whether you, or your child, notice the parallels or not you will surely find it to be an inspirational literary masterpiece. ~Joel Perry
Works Cited
Edwards, Bruce. “C. S. Lewis: A Modest Literary Biography and Bibliography.” Bowling Green State University. 2005.
Lewis, Clive. Of Other Worlds: Essays and Stories. New York: Harcourt, 1994.
---. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. New York: Harper Collins, 2000.
The Holy Bible. King James Version. New York: American Bible Society, 1960.