Biblical References in The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S Lewis

 A 16-year-old boy named Clive Staples Lewis saw an image of a snowy day when a young faun barely walked on the snow while carrying an umbrella along with some packages in his hands. Years later, this image became a long-lasting book series that sold worldwide and was translated into 47 languages. 

C.S. Lewis was born in 1898 in Belfast, Ireland. Although he wrote several religious books, he is mainly known for his book series named The Chronicles of Narnia which took millions of children on a long journey consisting of seven books out of the wardrobe to the vast imaginary land named Narnia. The first book of the series, The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe was published on 16 October 1950. It was an immediate success. The Chronicles of Narnia proved itself to be one of the best fantasy series ever written by becoming one of the most popular middle-grade book series in the 1950’s Thanks to the Narnia books, child readers were introduced to fantasy literature and dived into the genre to become constant readers at their later ages. The Narnia books are highly allegorical in their references to the Bible and Christianity along with the Second World War. Although Lewis was an atheist, he later became a devout Christian. His life view, as well as philosophy, was changed by the influence of his close friend J.R.R Tolkien who gave Lewis a larger perspective on spirituality as well as Christianity. Eventually, Lewis abandoned his atheism to become a devout Christian. Thus, Lewis embedded his religious views into the new world that he created in The Chronicles of Narnia. Such allegorical connotations made the reading experience enjoyable for adults as well. In this article, I will share my observations by giving examples from the series to prove how The Chronicles of Narnia can be analyzed from a Christian perspective.

 The series consists of seven books. Five of these belong to the main series that is set around the characters Lucy, Edmund, Susan, and Peter. The two additional books in the series, The Magician’s Nephew and The Horse and His Boy are not connected to the main series. While The Horse and His Boy is an extra Narnia story that follows the adventures of Shasta, The Magician’s Nephew serves as a prologue telling the creation of Narnia. Both novels are important because they deepen the Narnia Multiverse. The first biblical allusion to the Chronicles of Narnia is prominent in The Magician’s Nephew which is related to the creation of the world. Just like the world was created by God verbally, Aslan, whose name is derived from the Turkish word for lion, also creates the world of Narnia through his words and his holy song in the book; 

 the ‘’The Old Testament of the King James Version of the Bible’’ starts with the creation of the world;

1:1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.

1:2 And the earth was without form and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.

1:3 And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. (Genesis)

Similarly, In the Chronicles of Narnia, Aslan sings his divine song through the vast abyss;

‘’The Voice on the earth was now louder and more triumphant; but the voices in the sky, after singing loudly with it for a time, began to get fainter. And now something else was happening.

Far away, and down near the horizon, the sky began to turn grey. A light wind, very fresh, began to stir. The sky, in that one place, grew slowly and steadily paler. You could see shapes of hills standing up dark against it. All the time the Voice went on singing. There was soon light enough for them to see one another's faces.’’. (Lewis Chapter 8).

The second important Biblical reference is related to the evil figure in the Chronicles of Narnia who represents the Biblical Satan, Jadis the white witch. Jadis is a beautiful woman who fell from grace and was eternally punished. She is a deceiver and ready to do anything to be the ruler of Narnia which she eventually manages as she brings misery and drought to the land by the endless winter. The citizens of Narnia constantly tell that it is winter with no Christmas. Yet, their faith never fades away as they believe, Aslan, who is a manifestation of Jesus in the book series will eventually come back to end their misery.

The four children in the book are referred to as sons of Adam and Daughters of Eve which is a strong Christian symbolism. Through the set of events, we see Edmund is deceived by Jadis, which creates a conflict between him and his siblings. Edmund starts to envy his brother Peter and sees him as a threat to the throne. Thus, he betrays his siblings by abandoning them to go to the White Witch. That is probably the reminiscence of the story of Able and Cain in the Bible, the brothers who bring suffering to themselves due to jealousy of Cain. However, Edmund's original sin has been forgiven by the sacrifice of the Aslan. White Witch demands the sinner's soul as it is her right to take it. To save Edmund, Aslan sacrifices himself. Such a heroic act can also prove why he is the manifestation of Jesus Christ.

Moreover, the return of Aslan is also referred to by Mr.Beaver who serves as a guardian angel in the book. Mr.Beaver and Mrs.Beaver protect the four children from Jadis the White Witch by offering shelter at their home where they explain the glorious prophecy and Aslan's divine beauty in a beautiful verse;

''Wrong will be right when Aslan comes in sight,

At the sound of his roar, sorrows will be no more,

When he bares his teeth, winter meets its death

And when he shakes his mane, we shall have spring again.

When Adam's flesh and Adam's bone

Sits at Cair Paravel in throne,

The evil time will be over and done.'' (Lewis Chapter 17).

In conclusion, The Chronicles of Narnia is a perfect start for either those who are new to the genre of fantasy literature or those fantasy literature fans who want to enter an enormous world to be the companion of Lucy, Edmund, Susan, and Peter in their adventures over the land of Narnia, through the wardrobe of course. The book series is not only enjoyed by children all over the world but also by adults who appreciate the Christian allegory in the series. In my opinion, The Chronicles of Narnia is a must-read for all book lovers thanks to the master world-building of C.S Lewis and the characters larger than life.

SOURCES CITED:

Staples, Clive Lewis. ''The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. A Story for Children.'' October 16, 1950. New York: Macmillan, undated [twenty-first printing]. Published by A Project Gutenberg Canada Ebook, 26 January 2014. Accessed from https://gutenberg.ca/ebooks/lewiscs-thelionthewitchandthewardrobe/lewiscs-thelionthewitchandthewardrobe-00-h.html 15 August 2023

Staples, Clive Lewis. ''The Magician's Nephew'' 1995. New York: Macmillan, 1966 [eighth printing]. Published by A Project Gutenberg Canada Ebook, 23 January 2014. Accessed from https://gutenberg.ca/ebooks/lewiscs-magiciansnephew/lewiscs-magiciansnephew-00-h.html 15 August 2023

''The King James Version of the Bible''. August 1, 1989 [eBook #10]. The Project Gutenberg eBook of The King James Version of the Bible. Accessed from https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/10/pg10-images.html 15 August 2023