Spirituality and C.S. Lewis
The story revolves around the four Pevensie children, Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy. Their parents send them to live in the relatively safer English countryside during World War II. They live with a quaint old Professor Kirke who has a large and highly exciting house that the children explore on a rainy day. Lucy is the youngest, and she explores an enormous wardrobe they discover in an otherwise empty room. Inside the huge wardrobe, Lucy is transported to the magical world of Narnia, where it is always winter in a wooded forest. On her first visit, she meets a Faun named Tumnus, and the tone of the book is immediately set. The Faun hesitantly asks Lucy, "'Excuse me - I don't want to be inquisitive - but should I be right in thinking that you are a daughter of Eve?'" (Lewis 11). Immediately, this charming story becomes more than simply a children's tale. It becomes a much deeper look into spirituality and the Bible, and mirrors Lewis' own beliefs on those subjects. Critic Myers continues, "He sees the seven Chronicles as constituting a new literary genre, which he calls 'scripture,' 'a sort of Bible for a Bibleless age'" (Myers 166). While the book certainly has an important message, Lewis manages to do an exceptional j
While the main themes of the book include good and evil, Edward's sin and then repentance is also a key theme in the book. Critic Guroian continues, "His [Lewis] story The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, the first of the Narnia series, embraces the great themes of sin, repentance, and forgiveness in the Christian story of salvation" (Guroian 127). Edward is not inherently evil, as the White Witch is, but he is weak and he sins, so she can mold him to her wishes. He also suffers from greed and gluttony, lusting over the Turkish Delight and giving it power over his actions and his thoughts. However, he also has a conscience, and he knows the difference between good and bad, and so, he is capable of recognizing his sins and repenting his deeds. Lewis handles his repentance quite gently. He writes, "'Here is your brother,' he said, 'and - there is no need to talk to him about what is past.' Edmund shook hands with each of the others and said to each of them in turn, 'I'm sorry,' and everyone said 'That's all right'" (Lewis 153). He shows that acknowledging your sin does not have to be a major issue with tears, recriminations, and reprimands. He shows it gentle and forgiving. However, he also shows it is an important and memorable occasion for Edmund. He writes, "There is no need to tell you (and no one ever heard) what Aslan was saying, but it was a conversation which Edmund never forgot" (Lewis 152). Thus, Edmund's redemption was not a minor event, but Lewis shows his readers that while it was important, it was not an unhappy or frightening time. Thus he makes the lessons of the New Testament more meaningful and more accessible at the same time. There are several allegories that relate to the Bible, and the New Testament in particular sprinkled throughout the novel. Aslan, the lion, is the leader of Narnia, and a good, righteous character. Many critics have called him a symbol of Christ in the novel, but critic Myers disagrees. He notes, "Aslan is not a hieroglyph; he is not a symbol of Christ, not 'a Christ-figure,' as the misshapen critical jargon has it. He is Christ, incarnate in the body that Christ might have in a parallel universe. Lewis called him 'a supposal'-that is, an extrapolation" (Myers 126). Another critic confirms that Lewis himself saw the stor
Some common words found in the essay are:
Bible Testament, Turkish Delight, John Goldthwaite, White Witch, Professor Kirke, Bible Bibleless, Witch Wardrobe, God God, Eve' Lewis, Wardrobe Narnia, white witch, lion witch wardrobe, lion witch, witch wardrobe, lewis story, children understand, symbol christ, critic myers, christ novel, sin repentance, spirituality bible,
Approximate Word count = 1548
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)
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