The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe

Aslan
By Duncan Rize

The land of Narnia has been in terrible darkness and cold a very long time when the creatures get word that Aslan is coming. Aslan is the son of the Emperor-beyond-the-Sea, who created the world. In essence he is God’s son. In many ways the story of Aslan is an allegory for Christ’s life and death on Earth. In the world of Narnia, prophets have foretold that Aslan will come and free the creatures from the spell of the Witch. This is a retelling of the story of Christ. Christ came into a world held fast in the grip of Satan. He came into the world, and by dying for the sins of man, the world was saved. Aslan also comes into a world held by a devil figure and dies for the sin of a particular human, only to be reborn.

Aslan comes into a land devoid of hope and light and soon spring appears in the land. Darkness looses hold of Narnia and light returns. Aslan appears in the land of Narnia as a huge and magnificent Lion. The very mention of his name fills the good with gladness and the wicked with terror. Aslan also performs miracles in the land of Narnia. His breath returns those turned to stone, to life.

In the course of the story we find out that Aslan is older than creation while his opposite, the Witch, only entered the world when it was created. Aslan is, thus, far older and more powerful than the forces of evil.

While Aslan is a force for goodness in the world it appears that the Witch also has a place in the world. It is her ancient right to sacrifice traitors on the stone table. When she demands Edmund’s blood Aslan willingly exchanges himself for Edmund.

The two girls, Susan and Lucy, accompany Aslan almost to the stone table and await him in hiding. Aslan is then bound by a gang of terrible, unnatural, evil creatures. His great mane is shaved off, he is taunted, kicked, and there are flecks of blood on him from the rope. Finally the Witch kills him.

As the dawn approaches the girls sit with the dead Aslan as mice chew through his bindings. Susan reflects that Aslan looks even nobler than he did in life. The girls turn their back on the stone table just as the sun comes up and when Susan looks back, Aslan’s body has disappeared. The girls then discover that Aslan has come back to life.

The story of Aslan closely resembles Christ’s death and resurrection. Aslan is brought to death by the actions of a traitor and those who fear him. Like Christ, Aslan does not resist his fate even though he endures much torment at his enemy’s hands. Aslan’s body is discovered to be missing by Susan and Lucy who take the place of Mary Magdalene and the other Mary from the Bible story. Only once the girls think that his body has been stolen does he appear to them. With his resurrection the world is saved and the reign of evil in Narnia comes to an end. Aslan represents the triumph of Christ over evil.

Duncan Rize loves the writings of C.S. Lewis and works with the marketing group at www.LearningByGrace.org. Learning by Grace manages of a number of internationally known online K-12 academies including www.TheGraceAcademy.org, www.TheJubileeAcademy.org, www.TheMorningStarAcademy.org and www.TheNarniaAcademy.org . This article is © 2005 ELRN, Inc. and may be quoted in whole or part as long as the author (Duncan Rize) and source (www.TheNarniaAcademy.org) are credited.

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