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C. S. Lewis Aslan in, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, exactly mirrors Jesus Christ. Aslan's sacrifice for a crime committed by Edmund is an exact mirror of Christs ultimate sacrifice for our sins. When Aslan is killed on the stone table and comes back to life he says, That though the Witch knew the Deep Magic, there is a magic deeper still which she did not know (Lewis, pg 185).
Christians see this deeper magic as the fact that Aslan, like Christ was there since the beginning of time, whereas the witch was not. The Lion, Witch, and the Wardrobe is the story of four children Peter (14), Susan (12), Edmund (10) and Lucy (8) who are evacuated to the countryside in order to protect them from air raids in London. In the house of Professor Diary Kirke they discover a room that contains only a wardrobe (Vincent). Surprised when the wardrobe door opens, Lucy steps inside the enormous closet to find a snowy wood at the back of it. Intrigued, she explores the wood, knowing that the safe wardrobe is still behind her. Eventually she meets a faun, a creature that is half goat and half man (Hourihan, Ch. 1 - 2).
Then, all the children enter the wardrobe and discover the enchanted Land of Narnia. In this land, the White Witch has cast a spell that has plunged Narnia into a perpetual iciness where it is always winter and never Christmas (Lewis, pg 118). But even under her curse, the beauty of Narnia remains evident. At Mr. and Mrs. Beavers house, the four children are told that Aslan is on the move (Lewis, pg 141).
At this point in the story, the children are only aware of the Witch and her evil spell over Narnia. They have never heard of Aslan, but the mere mention of his name provokes a curious and unique response in each child (Vincent): And now a very curious thing happened. None of the children knew who Aslan was any more than you do; but the moment the Beaver had spoken [his name] everyone felt quite different... At the name of Aslan each one of the children felt something jump in its inside. Edmund felt a sensation of mysterious horror. Peter felt suddenly brave and adventurous.
Susan felt as if some delicious smell or some delightful strain of music had just floated by her. And Lucy got the feeling you have when you wake up in the morning and realize that it is the beginning of the holidays or the beginning of summer (Lewis, pg 141). It is obvious that Aslan is the god of Narnia. His immortality, awesome power and supreme benevolence is implied tacitly in the Beavers' references to him.
Couched in these terms, it is easy to see Aslan as a divine power. However, Lewis deliberately avoids using these terms. Lewis simply describes Aslan as a great, good king. The resulting effect is similar to the traditional feeling that a deity is inaccessible, remote and lofty. These are ways a child may feel about praying to a God that he or she is acquainted with solely through church.
The story of Jesus is one important way to make God seem more tangible and less distant. However, that story is now 2, 000 years old. Lewis presents us with a new god, in the form of a lion, and imbues it with mystical powers, giving us a fresh perspective on faith. At this point there is no compelling reason to believe that Aslan is a Jesus figure. For the moment, Lewis avoids drawing this connection.
Instead, he establishes the personality and vibrancy of Aslan before helping us to connect it to the vibrant personality of Jesus (Hourihan, Ch. 8). Aslan? said Mr. Beaver.
Why, dont you know? Hes the King. Hes the Lord of the whole wood, but not often here, you understand. Never in my time or my fathers time. But the word has reached us that he has come back. He is in Narnia at this moment.
Hell settle the White Queen all right. It is he, not you, that will save Mr. Turns. Is is he a man? asked Lucy. Aslan a man!
Mr. Beaver said sternly. Certainly not. I tell you he is the King of the wood and the son of the great Emperor-Beyond-the-Sea. Dont you know who is the King of Beasts?
Aslan is a lion the Lion, the great Lion (Lewis, pg 146). Lewis hints at the Christian doctrine of the Trinity by describing Aslan as the son of the great Emperor-Beyond-the-Sea (Lewis). The Emperor-Beyond-the-Sea is never directly portrayed in any of the seven Chronicles of Narnia. Lewis thought it wiser to simply refer to the Emperor-Beyond-the-Sea, suggesting numinous majesty and transcendent inaccessibility without trying to show it. Aslan is the incarnate form of Deity not just a spiritual presence but an actual embodiment (Vincent).
The side note that explains that the Witch is partially descended from Lilith is significant. Lilith, in Jewish mythology, was Adam's first wife. She left him as a rebellion against the subservient position that he demanded her to adopt. The legend says that she was created from dust just as Adam was, and she used to argue why she should be treated as his equal.
After she abandoned Adam, God created Eve from Adam's own rib, so that Eve would be inherently subservient to Adam. It seems doubtful that Lewis meant to invoke all of the sexual and gender implications of this myth. In the act of drawing on this myth, however, Lewis seeks to unify the two worlds of Earth and Narnia. He wants to ground them in common mythology and to imply that there is an overarching system of religion and reality that transcends the boundaries of the worlds and characters created in his book. Narnia is not completely imagined, but based on ideas found in the real world (Hourihan).
One of the reasons that Aslan is such a fascinating character is Lewis amazing ability to hold these two tensions in balance. Of course it cant be repeated enough: Aslan is not a safe playmate. When he roars, stop your ears. When he lets you ride on his back, hold on tight. Like Paul before him, Lewis asks us to, Behold the kindness and severity of God (Romans 11: 22) (Vincent). Lewis shifts the story's point of view to Edmund.
Edmund left the Beavers' house after the children had already devised the plan to meet Aslan at the Stone Table. During Edmund's long walk through the ice and the snow, he works hard to convince himself that the Witch is on the right side and everyone else is wrong. He persuades himself by focusing on Turkish Delight. Edmund also thinks about the modern changes he will make in Narnia after he becomes a prince. When he reaches the White Witch's castle he finds a courtyard filled with stone statues.
The first one he sees is a lion, which he believes to be Aslan. He assumes that the Witch has already triumphed over Aslan and turned him to stone. Edmund's long argument with himself about whether the Witch is really good and kind is a sign that he is becoming more treacherous and deceitful. Before, he made his morally wrong decisions half-consciously and did not think through them carefully.
Previously Edmund had a nagging doubt that the Witch was not on the right side, but now he actively convinces himself to believe that she is on the right side. Edmund embraces the Witch's evil and cruelty and cannot turn back. Edmund still dreams about the Turkish Delight, but now he also thinks about getting even with Peter, keeping his sisters down, and making laws against beavers and dams and fauns and anyone else he senses to be on opposing side. Edmund's corruption has gone far beyond simple greed and gluttony. Although Turkish Delight started the process, Edmund's corruption continues due to his own free will (Hourihan, Ch. 9).
He tells her that he has brought his siblings with him and that Aslan has come to Narnia. She takes Edmund captive and commands her minions to find the children and kill them. Meanwhile, winter begins to end in Narnia as the White Witch's spell loses its power (Vincent). Lewis does not make overwhelm us with symbolism, but he makes some clear connections between Aslan and Christ. In the story, the Aslan character arrives simultaneously with the advent of Christmas, which is the birth of Christ. The figure of Santa Claus is deeply established in legends and stories in our world, providing a strong link between the traditions in the fantasy world of Narnia and our world.
Lewis, however, never makes the Narnia world a shadow of our own. Instead, Lewis only includes the figure of Father Christmas to bring an immediate, positive response from children reading this story. Although the figure of Father Christmas is the same between the worlds, they each have different roles. On Earth, Father Christmas is part of a joyous tradition and provides fun diversions like gifts. In Narnia, where there is danger and high stakes, his tone is more serious, and his presents are "tools, not toys" (Hourihan, Ch. 10).
The petrification of the little party of small animals is really the first tragedy that we have witnessed firsthand in the novel. We know that the Witch is evil, cruel, and will gladly murder others, but we have so far only heard about her character indirectly. So, too, has Edmund. He realizes that Aslan's side is the good one when the Witch treats him poorly, but his belief is initially superficial.
Edmund expresses that he does not enjoy being cold, tied up and miserable. Lewis, however, tells us that when Edmund sees the feasting animals turned to stone, "for the first time in this story [he] felt sorry for someone besides himself" (Lewis, pg 163). Edmund is affected very deeply, and he shifts from self- interest to empathy and pity. Edmund can be misled but he is not fundamentally evil. Edmund's actions up until now have been spiteful and self-serving, but his core of essential goodness has not died, as it perhaps never does in a human being (Hourihan, Ch. 11). Lewis suggests that any sinner, like Edmund, can be reformed, given the right circumstances and an open mind.
In Edmund's case he was the object of the Witch's wrath himself and then witnessed the petrification of the animals at feast. This does not make him immune to future temptation and conflict. Edmund has taken the first steps toward reformation, but his redemption is not yet complete. The most important step has already been made, however, as he feels compassion for the poor animals. This does not affect him personally or directly in any way, and his ability to feel emotions for others shows that he has begun to change (Hourihan, Ch. 11 - 12). When Aslan finally arrives, he sends an army of mythical creatures to rescue Edmund.
They do so. But after their victory, the White Witch demands his return. Edmund is a traitor and, according to the Deep Magic, all traitors are her property. Have you forgotten the Deep Magic? asked the Witch. Let us say I have forgotten it, answered Aslan gravely.
Tell us of this Deep Magic. Tell you? said the Witch, her voice growing suddenly shriller. Tell you what is written on that very Table of Stone which stands beside us? Tell you what is written in letters deep as a spear is long on the fire-stones on the Secret Hill? Tell you what is engraved on the scepter of the Emperor-Beyond-the-Sea?
You at least know the Magic which the Emperor put into Narnia at the very beginning. You know that every traitor belongs to me as my lawful prey and that for every treachery I have a right to kill... And so that human creature is mine. His life is forfeit to me. His blood is my property...
unless I have blood as the Law says all Narnia will be overturned and perish in fire and water. It is very true, said Aslan, I do not deny it (Lewis, pg. 175). In his fantasy world, Lewis used the word magic in a very specific way. Nowadays the word magic refers most often to sleight-of-hand tricks performed by entertainers. Lewis used the term more seriously and more broadly to describe anything marvelous or unexplained, from divine mysteries to diabolical sorcery. In short, Magic is Lewis shorthand for spiritual reality (Vincent).
The Deep Magic refers to the transcendent reality established by the Emperor-Beyond-the-Sea that holds all things together. Put simply, the Deep Magic is Gods moral law and its obligations, requirements, and penalties. It is because Edmund betrayed his siblings that, by the authority of the Deep Magic, he is rightly the property of the White Witch. Aslan can do nothing about this. The Deep Magic must be honored, even when it is selfishly invoked by the White Witch, for her own advantage and purpose (Vincent). The scene between Aslan and the Witch creates an overwhelming sense of dread.
We realize that there are forces that even Aslan cannot fight, such as the Emperor's Deep Magic. The grim reaction that Aslan has following his mysterious conversation with the Witch also establishes a sense of foreboding. Aslan's powerlessness before the Deep Magic demonstrates that, although he may be the god of Narnia, even he must answer to a higher law. In Lewis's Christian allegory, Aslan represents Christ, or God the Son, and the Emperor represents God the Father. Just as Christ is subject to his Father and must obey his commands, Aslan must obey the mystical laws set by the mysterious Emperor. Aslan cannot defy the Deep Magic.
Instead, like Christ, he sacrifices himself to atone for another person's sin (Hourihan, Ch 13). Lewis establishes the Witch as a Satan-like figure. According to Christian belief, before the suffering, death, and resurrection of Christ, human souls were automatically forfeit to Satan after death. This state of affairs was due to Adam's original sin in the Garden of Eden, when Adam disobeyed God's order not to eat the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge.
God gives human beings free will, knowing that they may choose to sin. Because God is merciful, He sends Christ to redeem humankind after Adam's fall. But because God is just, someone has to die for the sins of human beings if humankind is to be redeemed, and this is what Christ takes upon himself to do (Hourihan). These events set up the narrative of the execution of Aslan. The former account is incredibly similar in imagery to that of the death of Jesus in the Bible. Lucy and Susan, two of the four child protagonists in the novel, follow Aslan to his execution: "And both the girls cried bitterly (though they hardly...
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