Lewis’ Children
By Duncan Rize

When authoring The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, C. S. Lewis selected children as the primary characters of his tale. Interestingly, Lewis may have chosen children because of their direct connection to innocence—such a state of innocence links them to Adam and Eve before the fall of mankind and also links them to Jesus Christ.

Jesus is noted as the lamb throughout the bible and lambs, probably because of their gentle nature, are animals that are frequently associated with innocence. Likewise, Lewis depicts children in his novels as the main characters who endure hardships and successfully overcome them. Such a narration suggests a link to Christ because Christ overcame many hardships on earth only to be later resurrected and seated on the right-hand side of his father: God.

Interestingly however, Lewis’ children can also be associated with Adam and Eve, before they ate from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Before Adam and Eve were cursed with “original sin” they were in the state of innocence. They knew nothing of death and lived in paradise. The word Eden, literally translated, means “paradise.” Children, especially young children, are associated with a state of innocence that only becomes marred after they have lived through various experiences and obtain significant knowledge. Likewise, Adam and Eve lost their innocence when they ate the forbidden fruit from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil.

Children are also frequently associated with animals because of their love for them. Animals possess no knowledge of good and evil and therefore are also associated with innocence. Conversely, if we view Adam and Eve as innocent like children before the fall of mankind, we can then draw a unique and direct parallel to children and animals in Lewis’ tale, and the childlike humans and animals in the book of Genesis.

Finally, Lewis makes many Bible inferences in his tale, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. Through the use of allusion (an implied or indirect reference) , Lewis weaves a tale that stands as an allegory of the creation of both the world and all that exists within it. In short, Lewis makes biblical tales appealing to youths, and silently teaches the lessons of the bible through his writing.






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.