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

Maugrim
By Duncan Rize

Maugrim is one of the few evil magical creatures described in detail in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. He is a large black wolf who works as the head of the Witch’s police. In other words, Maugrim carries out her investigations and acts as her hang man. Maugrim is an agent of the devil in Narnia. He recruits souls for the cause of darkness and destroys those he can not recruit.

The first person to encounter Maugrim is Edmund. Edmund has the weakest faith and is the most vulnerable to the influence of Satan, so naturally he is the first of the children that Maugrim threatens. Maugrim is lying very still across the threshold of the Witch’s door and Edmund mistakes him for a statue. Maugrim lifts his head and threatens Edmund. Maugrim illustrates how difficult it can be to spot the work of the devil because Satan keeps to the shadows and the dark places, even in Narnia.

Some time later the Witch sends Maugrim to hunt down the Beavers and the other children. Maugrim keeps to the dark places and the shadows as he hunts for the children.

Fortunately for the children the snow masks their scent and Maugrim does not catch up with them until they are with Aslan. Rather than coming out and attacking them openly Maugrim waits until he sees one of the girls, Susan, off on her own and then he attacks her. Susan takes refuge in a tree. Despite the fact that she is too high up for Maugrim to reach Susan, he continues to lunge at the tree.

While Maugrim is lunging at the tree, Peter attacks him. Maugrim turns rapidly and would have killed Peter but he was so overcome with rage that he howls first. Maugrim and Peter fight and Maugrim becomes Peter’s first victory over the devil. Maugrim is a symbol of the irrational, mindlessness of hatred that Satan inspires in men and beasts. If he had not given in to his rage, he would not have been killed. One of Maugrim’s wolves sees his death and flees back to the White Witch; by so doing he leads the forces of good right to the Witch.

Maugrim represents the dark, recognizable face of evil. He is terrifying and brutal so he is easily recognized for what he is. And yet, Edmund again fails to recognize evil when he sees it, as he mistakes Maugrim for only a statue. Maugrim is an metaphor for how evil works in the world. He is swift and deadly but he remains in the shadows, ever stalking the righteous creatures, until he sees a weakness. He does not attack openly; he only strikes at the weakest point. Although Maugrim is fierce and would easily have killed all of the children had he caught them early in the story, Peter’s swift triumph over him in battle represents Peter’s transformation into a champion of Christ. Peter’s virtue and faith allow him to face evil and prevail.

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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