The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe; C.S. Lewis & Christian Symbolism

After yesterday's post on the recent release of the film Prince Caspian, I went to a friend's house to relax, socialize, and watch a movie. I wasn't sure what she wanted to watch, so I brought four films with me. Among them was Prince Caspian, but unsure if she'd seen The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, I brought that along as well. I didn't think she'd be interested, as she's an atheist and the movies, like the books, are packed full of Christian symbolism. Imagine my surprise when she became excited when I pulled Prince Caspian out of my purse.

We discussed The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe a bit before watching Prince Caspian, and I was surprised at how much she had enjoyed it. She talked about how she cried during the epic battle scenes and when Mr. Tumnus was turned into stone.

After some time, I reluctantly replied, "You DO know what these stories are about, don't you?"

She didn't know, but said, "Let me guess. Religion."

She didn't care what they were about. She enjoyed them as fantasy stories, although after watching Prince Caspian, she said, "Okay, so that was pretty obvious." She didn't know how she hadn't seen it before and asked to borrow the first movie to dissect the Christian symbolism in it as well.

When I first read The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe when I was in 5th grade, I had no idea that it was a Christian book. While I noticed that humans were known as "Sons of Adam" and "Daughters of Eve", I didn't think anything of it, as that seemed to be a very artistic way of referring to humans in an Earthly world who have travelled to a fantasy land full of centaurs, fawns, and talking animals.

The Christian symbolism of the book completely escaped me. It wasn't until a number of years ago, after I started attending Orthodox Christian services regularly that I learned that C.S. Lewiswas a Christian writer and that The Chronicles of Narnia were fairytales for children to teach them Christianity.

And then I went to see the film in the theater, and suddenly the Christian symbolism was incredibly obvious.

What are they?

1. Aslan: the lion in The Chronicles of Narnia, he is symbolic of Jesus Christ.
2. White Witch: the evil one, Satan.
   
3. The White Witch's castle: hell
   
4. The Narnians made of stone in the White Witch's castle: those people who died and were held captive in hell prior to Christ's resurrection
   
5. Aslan's death by the White Witch: Symbolic of Christ's crucifixion. In the story, the White Witch believes she has triumphed over Aslan through his death, but what she doesn't realize is that Aslan has made a sacrifice of himself, just as Christ did, and this act is more powerful than death itself.
   
6. Aslan's resurrection: Symbolic of Christ's resurrection. Aslan then proceeds to the White Witch's castle (hell), to free the Narnians of their captivity. This is reminiscent of Christ's descent into hades to free his people from the bonds of hell.
   
7. Susan and Lucy's witness of Aslan's death: This made me think of the two Marys - the Theotokos and Mary Magdalene who were both present during Christ's death. It could also be reminiscent of the two myrrh bearing women who arrived at Christ's tomb to find that He was gone, just as they witnessed Aslan's rising from the dead, cracking the stone table.
   
8. Edmund - I want to say that he is Judas, as he betrays his brother and sisters. However, Edmund can also symbolize all sinners. Just as Aslan selflessly gave his life to save Edmund's, so did Christ give His to save us all.
   
9. Peter - I want to say that Peter is Simon Peter, the Disciple of Christ and Apostle, as Christ put him in charge of the church. In Narnia, Peter is made High King, while his brother and sister are made kings and queens. They are all kings and queens, but Peter is the High King, just like they were all apostles, but Peter was leader of the apostles.
   
10. Susan and Lucy - These two are opposites of each other. Susan depicts the people who "grow up" and begin to lose faith, questioning everything. Lucy emulates the "faith like a child", the unwavering belief in the mysteries of God and the love for Jesus Christ.
    

I may be wrong in some of Lewis's intentions for the characters and events in his book, but this is what I've taken from it.

What Christian symbolism have you noticed in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe?

Update: I think I figured out Susan and Lucy - they are Martha and Mary! Susan is always worried, while Lucy is ever-faithful. :)