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The Chronicles of Narnia is a series beloved by readers young and old. A heartwarming and wonderful tale of adventure and family, the reader has an easy time putting themselves in the shoes of the main characters Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy. C. S. Lewis makes use of symbolism throughout the series in many different ways. Many of these symbols are representative of Christianity and the Bible. Lewis, who is a Christian author, is not unfamiliar to Christian symbolism in a narrative work.
“Lewis' effectiveness in presenting Christianity to unchurched intellectuals of his day and ours is partly due to his gifts of vivid imagination, literary ability, and sharp logic.” However, there are also symbols that represent ideas like hope, power, and evil that are not direct symbols of religion. This essay will be over symbolism in two of Lewis’s novels from his The Chronicles of Narnia series, the first book The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, and the second book Prince Caspian.
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There are symbols that are unique to each novel, while there are also symbols that are present throughout the whole series. This essay will be a commentary on how symbolism is used within the novels as well as comparing the use of different symbols between the two novels.
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe is a story of four children who enter into the world of Narnia and have quite the daring adventure. When Lucy enters Narnia she finds that it is the middle of winter.
She meets Mr. Tumnus, a faun who lives in Narnia. Mr. Tumnus tells Lucy that the White Witch, the ruler of Narnia, makes sure that it is “always winter and never Christmas.” “Winter is used as a negative image, embodied not only in the landscape and season but in an evil personage, the White Witch.” Winter is used to represent the White Witch’s controlling and evil nature. However, the winter does not last forever, and Christmas does come. This change of seasons is used to introduce another character, Aslan, the lion savior of Narnia who brings spring to the land. Aslan is often compared to Jesus, and in a way Aslan does represent Jesus’s love and forgiveness. However, Aslan, as a lion, also represents hope, power, and strength. It is the hope that Aslan will return and defeat the White Witch that keeps the people of Narnia faithful to Aslan. When the children meet the Beavers, it is the first time they hear about Aslan. The Beavers say that because Aslan is coming, the White Witch will be defeated. Aslan does return, and when he does spring returns to Narnia. This coming of spring is symbolic of the hope of Aslan’s eventual victory over the White Witch. Before the White Witch is defeated, Aslan offers himself as a sacrifice to appease the Deep Magic within Narnia. The White Witch brutally kills Aslan on the Stone Table. After Aslan’s resurrection, the Stone Table cracks in half and breaks. The Stone Table in Narnia is a symbol of the cross on which Jesus was crucified. Aslan, who represents Jesus, is sacrificed and resurrected so he can defeat evil. The Stone Table is also a symbol of the stone tablets given to Moses by God in the Old Testament. When the Stone Table cracks in half, it represents the laws of the Old Testament being replaced by Jesus’s death. “Aslan is reborn and leads the children and the 'good' inhabitants of Narnia to victory.” (Russell; 62) After his resurrection, Aslan then saves those who have been turned into statues by the White Witch and ends the battle by killing the White Witch himself, which is symbolic of good overcoming evil, or Jesus being the savior of our sins.
The next book in the series, Prince Caspian, is set in Narnia many years later. Narnia is being ruled by another intolerant ruler, King Miraz, who wants to keep the Old Narnians in submission. King Miraz could be seen as a symbol for the White Witch who used to rule over Narnia during the old times. King Miraz’s nephew, Prince Caspian, becomes the leader of the rebellion against his uncle. After gathering an army of Old Narnians, the makeshift army goes to camp out at Aslan’s How, which was once the Stone Table. The broken Stone Table is still present, and it is a symbol for Aslan and the past victory over evil. Aslan does return to this story, and he helps gather those who believe in Old Narnia. Those who do believe in Old Narnia do not fear Aslan, even though he is a lion. He heals Prince Caspian’s old nurse, who recognizes Aslan as their savior. “The aunt opens her eyes and sees a lion’ face before her, he does not identify himself as Aslan, the aunt simply knows.” Aslan is a symbol for hope and victory again in Prince Caspian, after his arrival he leads the Telmarines to depart. Aslan’s appearance as a lion is very intentional, because lions are very powerful animals often seen as leaders. “In love with the richness of symbols and the literary use of images, Lewis sought an established image that would effectively represent a ruler beyond Camelot proportions to encompass timeless, almost mythological, elements of the divine.” Lewis’s use of Aslan the lion offers a symbol of protection over the characters and the reader, the reader knowing that if Aslan is there that everything will go right in the end.
The four main characters of both stories, Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy are symbols as well. In The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe the children come into Narnia, unknowing of the impact that they will have. They will eventually become the kings and queens in Narnia, and the people of Narnia know that they will become the rulers. The children symbolize the return of peace in Narnia and the eventual victory over evil. The former kings and queens return to Narnia in Prince Caspian, however they are no longer rulers here. Instead they have come to help Prince Caspian defeat Miraz and make Narnia like the land it was before. In this novel, they represent peace as well as strength and power for Prince Caspian’s army and the faith in Aslan that the people of Narnia have forgotten about. Before the children show up, the Old Narnian’s are fighting a losing battle. However, when they do return to Narnia, the tide begins to turn and the army’s spirits are lifted.
Lewis’s ‘children’s story’ offers much to both children and adults alike. With insightful symbolism that helps to build the narrative of Narnia, it is enough to enthrall even the most scholarly reader. The Chronicles of Narnia is filled with the beauty of symbolism, which is why the novels are so highly praised. “Lewis, an apologist, understood the importance of using symbols to express complex religious concepts.” There is a lot of symbolism used in the Bible, something that must have inspired Lewis for writing a series that is bursting at the seams with religious symbolism. The symbolism used throughout The Chronicles of Narnia series is an intricate and complex way that Lewis used to express Christian themes as well as the core ideas of the series.
Summary: The Symbolism Used Throughout The Chronicles of Narnia. (2024, Feb 02). Retrieved from https://studymoose.com/summary-the-symbolism-used-throughout-the-chronicles-of-narnia-essay
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