Faith and Fantasy: Biblical Symbolism in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe - Research Paper Example

Faith and Fantasy: Biblical Symbolism in ‘The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe’ C.S. Lewis’ symbolic tale is as much an expression of the author’s admittedly child-like Christian faith as it is an entertaining adventure fantasy. Lewis committed to Christianity after he realized he had been following the wrong path in life, that the happiest and purest time he had known had been his childhood, a period of innocence which reflected the simplicity of Christian belief. He felt that his time at school had been a kind of “fall” from the freedom and openness of his early years. Lewis decided that becoming an adult would be an act of finality, amounting to a conscious rejection of wonder and imagination (Miller, 2009). In The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe Lewis returned to the childlike acceptance that lies at the heart of the Christianity he believed in so fervently. The central themes of Christianity inform and animate his story - crucifixion and resurrection; sin and salvation; loss of faith and faith’s renewal are expressed with an easy charm and through the use of Biblical references that are easily recognizable and powerfully relatable. Lewis and his friend J.R.R. Tolkien belong to a group of Christian authors who pioneered the modern literary milieu of fantasy. Symbolism and allegory are central to this tradition, which can be traced to Dante. Lewis’ representation of crucifixion and salvation has captivated countless readers since the publication of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe in 1950. It is a Name 2 timeless tale of good versus evil that incorporates popular fantasy creatures such as dwarves, giants, witches and fauns as well as talking animals that follow either the evil White Witch or the lion Aslan. Aslan is the redemptor, the symbolic embodiment of the power of good. It is through his act of sacrifice that the boy Edmund is saved and he and his brother and sisters – Peter, Susan and Lucy – fulfill an ancient prophecy that two “sons of Adam” and two “daughters of Eve” will be kings and queens and bring the land of Narnia to life. Aslan In the story, Edmund, who is alienated from his brothers and sisters, is seduced by the White Witch’s evil influence, a symbol of the temptation and fall of man. The children cannot rule Narnia unless all four are present and in a state of purity. Furthermore, Edmund’s treachery carries with it the penalty of death, representing eternal death, the “wages of sin.” It is only through Aslan that Edmund can be reclaimed and only through self- sacrifice. When Aslan consents to take Edmund’s place and allows himself to be executed, it is the ultimate expression of love and, thus, of power. Aslan’s symbolic crucifixion at the Stone Table cleanses Edmund of his sin and begins the process by which evil is weakened and overthrown. This is the heart of Lewis’ message, the story’s “symbolic center…the sacrifice of Aslan on the Stone Table for the sins of Edmund” (Veith, 40). The symbolism of Aslan’s death is quite direct and alludes boldly to various aspects of the story of Christ’s crucifixion. After Aslan’s death, Susan and Lucy shed tears over his body and clean him, recalling the scene after Christ’s death when his mother, Mary Magdalene and Name 3 Mary the wife of Clopas were standing nearby after Christ’s disciples had denied him and fled (Veith, 96). As direct as Lewis’ symbolism appears, he claimed not to have set out to write allegorically. “It was not Lewis’s original intent to rewrite the life of Christ as a children’s fairy tale…When Lewis first tried to form these images into a story in 1939, there indeed doesn’t appear to be anything biblical about them…” (Hinten, 9). Yet the elements of death and resurrection are the heart of the story and the allusions to Christ’s death and rebirth are powerful and unmistakable. Lewis draws also from the Old Testament, establishing a kind of “eye-for-an-eye” basis for the drama that unfolds between Edmund, the witch and Aslan. It seems that Edmund’s sin must be purged with blood if Narnia is to be saved. The witch reminds Aslan that, according to the ancient law, she must be given blood, a reference to Hebrews 9:2: “And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood there is no remission (forgiveness)” (Hinten, 18). Without knowledge of the “deeper magic” to which Aslan refers, the witch does not realize that the Stone Table will break and the law itself will be overturned. The cracks in the table are reminiscent of the tearing of the temple veil as described in the Gospel of Matthew (Matt. 27:51), while Aslan’s return causes Susan to wonder if she’s seen a ghost, an allusion to Christ’s apostles thinking they had seen a spirit when their resurrected Lord appears to them. Turkish Delight Of course, without temptation and sin there is no need of redemption. Edmund falls into sin through the witch’s blandishments, symbolized by Turkish delight, which she offers to Name 4 Edmund if he will only betray his brother and sisters. As a temptress, she has an innate knowledge of moral manipulation. “The White Witch knows how to destroy an enemy: discover his secret weakness – what he can’t resist – and give him a taste of it” (Williams, 47). Turkish delight is the lever she uses to weaken Edmund’s resistance. What plays out between Edmund and the witch is more than the compromising of a soul, it is the portrayal of the monstrous effects, both seen and unseen, of temptation. Turkish delight is the focal point of “the nature of temptation and the result of yielding to it. Sin is like an addiction. The allure of it leads to the taste; the taste leads to lust for more; and the lust for more leads to fatal excess” (Williams, 48). When the children have dinner at the beaver’s house, Edmund is too overcome with desire for Turkish delight to enjoy the food. Lewis makes the point here that physical pleasures, such as eating and drinking, serve a purpose but shouldn’t cause one to lose sight of what is truly worshipful. This is a theme that Lewis returns to often in his writings: allowing oneself to be taken over by those things that are of lesser importance causes one to lose sight of that which is most important. In his fantasy novel Perelandra, Lewis names it “the sweet poison of the false infinite,” a love of that which is secondary (Lewis, 70). Not only does Edmund allow himself to be morally compromised by sweets, it is not even real candy. The “witch’s candy is a sickly imitation” of Turkish delight, satisfying only in its promise of more pleasure (Brown, 72). As is often the case when pleasure takes over, the results are unfortunate. It is only through Aslan’s intervention that Edmund is saved from himself. The White Witch The witch as a symbol of perpetual death, the bringer of endless winter winter, stands in Name 5 direct counterpoint to the life-restoring power of Aslan. She is centrally involved in the story’s crucifixion episode, the personification of evil seeking to aggrandize her power by banishing the power of good forever. As Aslan’s executioner at the Stone Table, she mocks him for his powerlessness and for naively believing that evil can be overcome by simple faith and self-sacrifice. The witch encourages her followers to disfigure Aslan in mockery of his helplessness: “Let him first be shaved!” she exults (Lewis, 153). One is instantly reminded of the Gospel of Luke, in which Christ is mocked and tormented by his captors on the way to Calvary. “The men who were guarding Jesus began mocking and beating him. They blindfolded him and demanded ‘Prophesy!’ Who hit you? And they said many other insulting things to him” (Luke 22:63-65). As a representation of evil, Lewis’ witch is an imposing figure with many parallels in the Bible, mythology and literature. Some have seen in the witch a symbol of the sin of Eve, the corrupted proto-woman whose disobedience and weakness brought mankind into disfavor with God. It is noteworthy that the witch’s victim is Edmund, a male and a “son of Adam.” Her temptation and subversion of Edmund recalls Eve’s corruption of Adam. The White Witch is sworn to destroy the descendants of Adam and Eve not only to ensure her evil rule but to bring about the spiritual death of mankind. Perhaps an even more accurate comparison might be to Lilith, an ancient representation of the elemental feminine mystique. While there is no direct allusion to her in the Bible, many have claimed that Lilith is referred to in Isaiah, where she is represented as a screech owl (Isaiah 34:14). Name 6 Peter Peter, the eldest of the four children, recalls the apostle of the same name. The children’s relationship with Aslan is in much the same vein as Jesus’ inner circle of apostles, namely Peter, James and John, who were present at Gethsemane and the Transfiguration (Hinten, 10). As “apostles” of Aslan, the four children learn from his example and risk their lives to preserve that which Aslan represents, playing the role of dedicated disciples in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and in subsequent Narnia books. As the “High King” at Cair Paravel, Peter is the rock upon which Aslan depends, just as the Apostle Peter was the rock upon whom Jesus built his church. Conclusion As noted, Lewis claimed that his masterwork of fantasy was not intended as allegory. Rather, he wanted to write a story about Christ coming back to the world as an animal. Thus personified animals, both good and bad, people Narnia and play a central role in the story. As an avowed Christian, Lewis’ story perhaps inevitably evolved into an affirmation of faith in the resurrection of Christ and the cleansing of the world’s sins. Lewis’ most remarkable and lasting achievement is that he wrote a story that appeals to young people on a visceral level while introducing elements of Christianity without preaching or lecturing. The book’s enduring popularity is proof that Lewis struck a note that young people the world over have responded to enthusiastically. Name 7 Works Cited Brown, Devin. Inside Narnia: A Guide to Exploring ‘The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.’ Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books. 2005. The Gospel of Isaiah. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press. 1997. The Gospel of Luke. Ed. William Barclay. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press. 2001. The Gospel of Matthew. Ed. William Barclay. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press. 2001. Hinten, Marvin D. The Keys to the Chronicles: Unlocking the Symbols of C.S. Lewis’s Narnia. Nashville, TN: Broadman and Holman Publishers. 2005. Lewis, C.S. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. New York: Harper Collins. 1978. Lewis, C.S. Perelandra. New York: Charles Scribner Sons. 1996. Miller, Jennifer L. “No Sex in Narnia? How Hans Christian Andersen’s ‘Snow Queen’ Problematizes C.S. Lewis’s ‘The Chronicles of Narnia.’” Mythlore. 22 Sept. 2009. Veith, Gene. Soul of ‘The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.’ Colorado Springs, CO: Cook Communications. 2005. Williams, Thomas Myron. The Heart of the Chronicles of Narnia: Knowing God Here by Finding Him There. Nashville, TN: W Publishing Group. 2005. Read More