Christianity In The Lion, The Witch, And The Wardrobe

Christianity in “The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe”
C.S. Lewis has focused on religious writing and uses his fairy tales to teach his lessons. C.S. Lewis created a story of a fictional world called Narnia that was inside of a wardrobe. There were four siblings, Edmund, Peter, Susan, and Lucy. Lucy was the one who discovered this magical place, but once she told the rest nobody believed her, Edmund even made fun of her for having such a ridiculous thought. While exploring their new house they found this world that was in the wardrobe unlike anything they have ever seen before. They saw numerous creatures that did not exist in the real world like centaurs, but yet it all seemed so real. There were a few different creatures that symbolized

people from the real world, but had evil powers that resembled Satan like the witch. C. S. Lewis uses Christian symbolism in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe through the characters of Aslan, the White Witch, and Edmund.
“Not only was resurrected from death, but gives life back to the witch’s statues; he represents the good and is quite clearly a figure of Christ” (Images). Aslan was a mighty lion that symbolized Jesus Christ on earth. He died for people who had wronged others and were destined to die, like Edmund. Jesus died and then was resurrected, just as Aslan was. Aslan was merciful, caring, and loving throughout the book just as Jesus is to us. There are many clues that lead to the reader knowing that Aslan is a figure of Christ when the witch is frightened by even hearing his name, but when the witch is in the presence of Aslan she is very weakened. Just as the witch is frightened by his name the children have a different response to his name. They know that the name is special just by their reactions to it.
Peter feels brave and adventurous after he hears Aslan's name because Peter is a courageous person. Susan has a sweet and gentle nature, and she reacts to Aslan's name
as if it is a beautiful, sensual pleasure. Lucy—kind, honest and gay—feels the deep
excitement and joy that only a child can understand…The childrens' reactions also
express the effect that faith in God, or Aslan, will have on each of them throughout the
story. (SparkNotes)

Everybody that hears his name has a different reaction, all of their reactions are similar to what would happen if they heard Jesus’ name on earth. Aslan overcame death, resurrected stone figures back into people as they once were and defeated the witch. This could not all be possible unless he was a symbol for Jesus in Narnia. Also like Jesus, Aslan does not tell people what to do, but instead gives them the freedom to choose what is right and wrong, this is what Jesus gave man; free will. Aslan lets the children have free will at ruling the kingdom of Narnia instead of ruling it himself he appoints others to do his job while he goes to tend to other nations in this magical world.
The White Witch rules over the kingdom of Narnia and curses the lands with a magical winter that has no Christmas. Since there is no Christmas, everybody in Narnia starts losing hope that the witch will ever be dethroned. The witch does not take over Narnia peacefully but with force, turning those who do not obey to stone. “The Witch carries a golden wand that she uses to turn living things to stone- she does this rather often when she is annoyed. The Witch is hated and feared throughout the land, but no one except Aslan has the power to stop her” (SparkNotes). As the story progresses there are more signs that the White Witch is a symbol for Satan. She tempts young Edmund not just once, but multiple times with the Turkish Delight leading him to desire nothing else and do anything to obtain more. “The Witch’s role is parallel to the role of satan, to whom the souls of damned sinner are forfeited” (SparkNotes). The witch is judge, jury, and executioner in Narnia, as she once said, “For every treachery I have the right to kill.” After Edmund wronged her she wanted nothing less than his life. This is one of the reasons she is feared through out the land. She is hated throughout because of her cruel and merciless acts of evil. Her acts of evil are not done unless the person that she persuades does not resist, if one resists her persuading she can only harm them instead of doing what she wants done. With Edmund she lured him into the temptation of Turkish Delight, but not only did the Turkish Delight make him to do things like betray his siblings. His inner greed and selfishness played a role in the way that the witch was able to make him do these evil things. The evilest part about the witch would be that she draws out the inner evils within us already. Meaning that Edmund already had this inner evil and thirst for power that he could not handle any longer after eating the Turkish Delight and hearing the false promises of the White Witch.
“Edmund’s character is probably the most ambiguous in the novel. For the first half of the book possible for a young boy to be, but his character transforms halfway through the novel. By the end, Edmund is fair-minded and brave, and he is just as admirable as Peter.” (SparkNotes). Edmund ate the Turkish Delight and began to desire nothing else. “…The magical candy causes an insatiable greed for more in the unfortunate eater…” (SparkNotes). Edmund is so concerned with when he will be able to have more of the Turkish Delight he does not even care that he handed over his own brother Peter and his two sisters Lucy and Susan, to the witch. Even though he knows her true evil intentions of killing them for being human. The witch proceeds to turn things into stone, that is when Edmund starts to see past the witch’s temptation and see everything from how it really was. It is clear that Edmund wants power that the witch promises to give him, but after she received the information she needed, he does not receive power and is treated like a slave instead of the prince he was suppose to be. He then starts his transformation into a more honorable boy. Edmund symbolizes Judas in the Bible because Judas betrayed Jesus and Edmund betrayed the ones he loved so dearly and the ones he betrayed were the ones that meant the most to him. That mistake was one that he regretted throughout the entire book, later on though he redeems himself in battle and shows that he is different than the boy he once was. “Edmund, after Aslan’s death and resurrection is transformed… Edmund is restored to the dignity befitting a servant of Aslan, as he puts himself in terrible danger in the final battle.” (Wood). He changed from being a mean kid who picked on his sisters for fun to an honorable boy by the end of the book. That transformation from being a traitor to being brave and courageous was not done easily, it took work for him to find his freedom from temptation as it does for us with sin. “Ultimately, it is up to Edmund to redeem himself and complete his transformation. This change takes a tremendous force of will and courage, but in the end, Edmund finds freedom.” (SparkNotes). The freedom Edmund finds is the kind that Christians strive to have against sin through prayer and repentance. Edmund repented for his sins and shows that he is no longer living in sin, but walking in the light instead. This earns him the title of King Edmund the Just. He was appointed this title after having turned the battle back to help Aslan win the battle against the White Witch and restore Narnia to its rightful leadership. This leadership would be King Edmund, King Peter, Queen Lucy, and Queen Susan. These four leaders would rule over Narnia for Aslan.
“Most evaluations of C.S.

Lewis have focused on him being a religious writer and how his teaching were presented through fairy tales” (Schakel). C.S. Lewis used a book about a fictional place called Narnia to tell people about the Gospel. He used witches, lions, and even people to symbolize people in the Bible. He even takes stories straight from the Bible, but just replaces names to show the same message from a different perspective. Like the story of Judas when he betrayed Jesus, he used the characters like Edmund and the witch to take the roles of the Biblical characters. This as a young Christian can more throughly get the point across another way instead of trying to read just the Bible and try to understand word for word the meaning. The symbolism used in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe though the characters of the Aslan, White Witch, and Edmund are very helpful at helping one understand the Bible’s meaning. This means that not only can you read the Bible to see what Satan and Jesus are like but you can read this book and have another look on how Jesus works in mysterious way and preforms miracles in a magical world. Aslan represented Jesus through miracles, defeating Satan, and even being resurrected after being humiliated and executed. The White Witch symbolized Satan in numerous ways, but the way that was more prominent was that she was cruel and merciless in every aspect. She tempted young Edmund into betraying his own siblings. Edmund symbolizes Judas in the Garden of Gethsemane after the Last Supper, one because he betrays those close to him, and two because he was easily tempted by a greater evil. Though C.S. Lewis was a fictional writer his stories in this book had all allegorical meaning to them that related to the Bible. As stated previously, the main message of this book was the meaning of the Gospel in the eyes of C.S.

Lewis.