The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (Novel)

By C. S. Lewis

Catholic-ometer: 4.5 of 5

Enjoyability: 4.5 of 5

I've decided to take some time out from nonfiction works, to talk about a few fiction novels, and in the end, I thought I'd start with The Chronicles of Narnia, going one at a time through them, then providing an overview once I've finished them all.  I'll be proceeding through them, not in chronological order, but in the order they were originally published in, starting with one of the strongest of the series; The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.

This is a fantasy book, about a land called Narnia, where all sorts of imaginary creatures live; mythological creatures, magical beasts, talking animals and so forth.  Four children enter it through a magical door in a wardrobe, and are soon drawn into a sort of power play between the supernatural lion Aslan, and the White Witch Jadis, who's been claiming the right to rule Narnia for many years; turning dissenters to stone.  By the numbers, it's clear that Aslan is more powerful, but the Witch is clever, and knows many tricks.  It's the type of story we've heard a number of times before.

In the past, I've said that Narnia is mainly more protestant than Catholic, but I may need to re-evaluate that, because the symbolism in this book is positively sacramental in nature at many points.  When mice nibble ropes off of Aslan as he lies on a stone table, there's a eucharistic image to be seen there, of eating the body of Christ on an altar (since Aslan is clearly Jesus in lion form.)  On top of this, the sacrament of confession is nearly mentioned.  After being rescued, Edmund spends time talking to Aslan in private, and afterwards, everyone is told that there's no need to "talk about what is past."  A discussion with the savior in a private place, and the forgiveness of sins?  What else could it be, but reconciliation?

I also think it's interesting that the oldest boy, and the one who's clearly the group's leader, is named Peter.  This aspect of the bible; the primacy of Saint Peter among the apostles, is only rarely admitted outside of the Catholic Church, and their king and queenship would seem to be an allegory for both heaven, and the church.

Apart from this, the book's storyline seems to be a clear allegory of the passion and death of Our Lord, with Aslan as Jesus, and the White Witch standing in for Satan.  Lucy and Susan are the holy women.  Still, some of the roles aren't as easy to fit in as all that.  Edmund seems to have aspects of both Saint Peter (betraying and being forgiven) and Judas (selling people out for a promised reward.)  However, neither comparison is really precise, which may be for the best.  It gives the story a flavor of originality, which it might not have had otherwise.

In particular, this book's main premise; of a "Deep Magic," which even Aslan must never break is perhaps the clearest allegory of all; representing something that most modern people want to ignore; Natural Law.  Too many people want to just wander off and do their own thing, and forget that even if the law allows them to do certain things, the natural law, and the final judge are still there, and they can still run afowl of them.  Even God's will for our salvation only has so much leeway when it comes to transgressions of the natural law, and that's one thing that Lewis gets absolutely right.

However, there's also one point near the very end, where I sort of winced as well.  It's a few pages into the last chapter, when everyone is seated on thrones.  Aslan uses the words "Once a king or queen of Narnia, always a king or queen."

Not only does this prove to be false later in the series, but the phrase itself sounds dangerously like "once saved, always saved," a ridiculous belief held by many protestant denominations, but not by the Catholic Church.  Still, it would have been worse if it had got beyond just being a simple phrase.

As a book of fiction, it's entertaining, but more if you know your myths.  It's good for children, and unlike most books in the series, has a strong, frightening villain, with a major role in the plot, which only makes the rest of the story that much more exciting.  It has some weak points with respect to pure storytelling style, but not much more so than most children's books.

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe may be the best fictional storybook out there for Christian children.  It's fun, exciting and packed with the sentiments of the faith.  I highly reccomend it.