The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe

Through the use of Christian symbolism, conflicts, and imagery, C. S. Lewis implements his religious background into his literary works.

Within The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, C. S. Lewis creates a question in the reader's mind on whether or not the story was meant to symbolize a Christian allegory. Throughout the story, Lewis utilizes the use of symbolism through his characters, their actions, and the places they travel. All of the main characters in the novel symbolize something within the Holy Bible. The Pevensie children are evacuated from war-torn London and sent to live in the country with Professor Kirke, an eccentric old man. While playing hide and seek on a rainy day, Lucy, the youngest Pevensie, discovers a colossal wardrobe in an empty room. She decides to hide inside, but "she had, of course, left the door open, for she knew that it is a very silly thing to shut oneself into a wardrobe" (The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, Lewis, 7). She discovers that the wardrobe has no ending and it leads to a world full of snow and strange creatures. Lucy meets a faun, Mr. Tumnus, and she follows him back to his home. Mr. Tumnus confesses that he is a servant of the White Witch, Queen Jadis. He states, "I had orders from the White Witch that if I ever saw a Son of Adam or a Daughter of Eve in the wood, I was to catch them and hand them over to her" (Lewis, 21). This is when the reader sees the first sign of symbolism. Lucy is extremely trusting. She represents children and their absolute innocence. When she enters back into the real world, she starts yelling that she is back and she is alright. However, her siblings have no idea what she is talking about. After they hear her story, the three eldest Pevensie children f...

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...itch was evil, because the Witch asked him to. He also goes on to tell her that the Beavers said Aslan will soon return (Lewis, 107). Thus, Edmond is named a traitor by the White Witch. "You have a traitor there, Aslan… Have you forgotten the Deep Magic?" (Lewis, 155). The White Witch asks Aslan if he remembers that the Deep Magic engraved on the Great Stone Table by the Emperor-beyond-the-Sea, Aslan's father, says that "every traitor belongs to me (Jadis) as my lawful prey and for every treachery I have a right to a kill (Lewis, 155). Aslan asks the Witch to take a walk with him and they go off to have a private conversation. This is where the next Christian symbol comes in. Aslan sacrifices himself on the Stone Table to save Edmund from his treachery. The parallel in the Bible is that Jesus Christ sacrificed himself on the cross to save humanity from their sins.