Introduction

C.S. Lewis once said that the Narnian tales "began with seeing pictures in my head. At first they were not a story, just pictures. The 'Lion' all began with a picture of a Faun carrying an umbrella and parcels in a snowy wood. The picture had been in my mind since I was about sixteen. Then one day when I was about forty, I said to myself: 'Let's try to make a story about it.'"  According to Roger Lancelyn Green, Lewis seems to have begun work on "The Lion" at the end of 1939 shortly after receiving some child evacuees from London into his home outside of Oxford. Nine years later, in the summer of 1948, Lewis made a casual remark to Chad Walsh indicating that he was desirous of completing a children's book he had begun, once he had finished "Surprised by Joy." By March 10, 1949, Lewis was reading two chapters of "The Lion" to Green and had already read portions to J. R. R. Tolkien.  Lewis finished writing the book shortly thereafter and "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" was finally published in the Fall of 1950.

Why did Lewis write The Chronicles of Narnia? As Paul Ford has pointed out, Aslan himself has answered that question for us. At the end of "The Voyage of the Dawn Treader," Aslan says to Edmund, "This was the very reason you were brought to Narnia, that by knowing me here for a little, you may know me better there." So it seems that Lewis's purpose in writing The Chronicles was to "baptize the imagination" of his child readers just as his own imagination had been "baptized" by reading George MacDonald's "Phantastes.  It seems that Lewis wanted to prepare his young readers to know and love Christ by first knowing and loving Aslan. But, as Lewis himself once said, this was not at first a deliberate move on his part. In a letter to Sophia Storr, a schoolgirl, written on December 24, 1959, Lewis said,

No, of course it was not unconscious. So far as I can remember it was not at first intentional either. That is, when I started "The Lion, Witch and Wardrobe" I don't think I foresaw what Aslan was going to do and suffer. I think He just insisted on behaving in His own way. This of course I did understand and the whole series became Christian.

However, at this point, a qualification must be stated. Many people, in reading The Chronicles, have made the mistake of assuming that they are allegorical. Lewis emphatically stated on numerous occasions that they were not allegory. In the same letter to Sophia Storr Lewis said of The Chronicles,

But it is not, as some people think, an allegory, That is, I don't say "Let us represent Christ as Aslan". I say, "Supposing there was a world like Narnia, and supposing, like ours, it needed redemption, let us imagine what sort of Incarnation and Passion and Resurrection Christ would have there."

Therefore, we must be careful not to read too much into The Chronicles. We must not see in every character, place or event a representation of something in our world or an allegorization of some Christian truth.

Judging by Lewis's letters to children who read his Narnian Chronicles, he hit the mark he was trying to achieve -- many imaginations have been and continue to be "baptized" by Narnia. Lewis was so effective, in fact, that one nine-year-old American boy named Laurence became concerned that he loved Aslan more than Jesus. Laurence's mother wrote to C.S. Lewis in care of Macmillan Publishing Company in April of 1955. Just ten days later to her surprise and delight, she received this answer to her son's questions:

Dear Mrs. K . . .,

Tell Laurence from me, with my love:

1/ Even if he was loving Aslan more than Jesus (I'll explain in a moment why he can't really be doing this) he would not be an idol worshipper. If he was an idol-worshipper he'd be doing it on purpose, whereas he's now doing it because he can't help doing it, and trying hard not to do it. But God knows quite well how hard we find it to love Him more than anyone or anything else, and He won't be angry with us as long as we are trying. And He will help us.

But Laurence can't really love Aslan more than Jesus, even if he feels that's what he is doing. For the things he loves Aslan for doing or saying are simply the things Jesus really did and said. So that when Laurence thinks he is loving Aslan, he is really loving Jesus: and perhaps loving Him more than he ever did before. Of course there is one thing Aslan has that Jesus has not--I mean, the body of a lion. (But remember, if there are other worlds and they need to be saved and Christ were to save them as He would--He may really have taken all sorts of bodies in them which we don't know about.) Now if Laurence is bothered because he finds the lion-body seems nicer to him than the man-body, I don't think he need be bothered at all. God knows all about the way a little boy's imagination works (He made it, after all) and knows that at a certain age the idea of talking and friendly animals is very attractive. So I don't think He minds if Laurence likes the Lion-body. And anyway, Laurence will find as he grows older, that feeling (liking the lion-body better) will die away of itself, without his taking any trouble about it. So he needn't bother.

3/ If I were Laurence I'd just say in my prayers something like this: "Dear God, if the things I've been thinking and feeling about those books are things You don't like and are bad for me, please take away those feelings and thoughts. But if they are not bad, then please stop me from worrying about them. And help me every day to love you more in the way that really matters far more than any feelings or imaginations, by doing what you want and growing more like you." That is the sort of thing I think Laurence should say for himself; but it would be kind and Christian-like if he then added, "And if Mr. Lewis has worried any other children by his books or done them any harm, then please forgive him and help him never to do it again."

Will this help? I am terribly sorry to have caused such trouble, and would take it as a great favor if you would write again and tell me how Laurence goes on. I shall of course have him daily in my prayers. He must be a corker of a boy: I hope you are prepared for the possibility he might turn out a saint. I daresay the saints' mothers have, in some ways, a rough time!

Yours sincerely,

C.S. Lewis

Why is it that The Chronicles of Narnia have had this kind of impact on children and adults alike? Again, I think Lewis himself answered this question quite well when he wrote, "The reason why the Passion of Aslan sometimes moves people more than the real story in the Gospels is, I think, that it takes them off their guard. In reading the real story the fatal knowledge that one ought to feel in a certain way often inhibits the feeling."

One of the joys of reading "The Lion, the Witch and The Wardrobe" as an adult is seeing how much Lewis put of himself into the story. Clearly, the Professor is a type of Lewis, living in the country, away from London, and receiving child evacuees into his home. The Professor says just the types of things Lewis would say such as, "Why don't they teach logic at these schools?" Then there is Mr. Beaver who, interestingly enough, smokes a pipe and drinks beer just like Lewis did!

Excellent as "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" is, it is not without its defects. J.R.R. Tolkien was one of the most notable critics of "The Lion." Tolkien, who prided himself on the sub-creation of completely different worlds, did not like the inconsistencies of "The Lion."

One of the most notable incongruities was certainly the inclusion of Father Christmas in the story. As an adult reader, one wonders, "How can Father Christmas exist in Narnia, where the birth of Christ has never taken place?" Despite the criticism, Lewis kept Father Christmas in the story. One gets a hint at the reason from a letter which Lewis wrote to an eleven-year-old American girl: "As to Aslan's other name, well I want you to guess. Has there never been anyone in this world who arrived at the same time as Father Christmas?" Apparently Lewis kept Father Christmas in "The Lion" because he wanted to give his child readers a hint as to "Aslan's other name."

Lewis wrote "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" primarily to be read by children, and it never seemed to bother him too much if adults didn't like the story as much. In fact, the inclusion of Father Christmas never bothered me when I read the story as a child, though it does bother me now that I am an adult. Perhaps it would be best if we all became like children again when reading "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" and were "taken off guard" by the Lion who is good, but never safe!

Discussion Questions

1. Did you read The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe as a child? If so, what impact did it have on you then? How has your perspective on the book changed as an adult? If you have only read the book as an adult, how have you enjoyed reading "a story for children"? Do you think Lewis intended a message for adults in the book as well as for children? If so, what message?
2. Lewis once said that the idea for LWW began with a picture in his mind of a faun with an umbrella in a wood. LWW is filled with vivid images, some of which are intended to convey Christian truth. Which of the images are most meaningful for you and why?
3. When the Pevensie children first hear the name of Aslan mentioned, Lewis tells us that a very curious thing happened. "None of the children knew who Aslan was any more than you do; but the moment the Beaver had spoken these words everyone felt quite different. Perhaps it has sometimes happened to you in a dream that someone says something which you don't understand but in the dream it feels as if it had some enormous meaning--either a terrifying one which turns the whole dream into a nightmare or else a lovely meaning too lovely to put into words, which makes the dream so beautiful that you remember it all your life and are always wishing you could get into that dream again. It was like that now. At the name of Aslan each one of the children felt something jump in his inside. Edmund felt a sensation of mysterious horror. Peter felt suddenly brave and adventurous. Susan felt as if some delicious smell or some delightful strain of music had just floated by her. And Lucy got the feeling you have when you wake up in the morning and realise that it is the beginning of the holidays or the beginning of summer." (pp. 64-65) How do you react to this passage? Have you ever had a similar experience? Explain.
4. While LWW does convey some powerful Christian concepts, Lewis does little if any "preaching" through the story. One exception to this is on page 45 when the Professor says to the children, "There are only three possibilities. Either your sister is telling lies, or she is mad, or she is telling the truth. You know she doesn't tell lies and it is obvious that she is not bad. For the moment then and unless any further evidence turns up, we must assume that she is telling the truth." Does this remind you of anything Lewis has said in his other books?
5. One of the sub-themes running throughout the Chronicles of Narnia is the suggestion that the educational system in England was none too good during the mid 20th century. The Professor repeatedly asks, "Why don't they teach logic at these schools?" (p. 45) From what you know of Lewis, what did he have against the educational system in England? How do you think he would view our American system today? (See also p. 177.)
6. What does Edmund's encounter and developing relationship with the White Witch have to teach us about temptation? How does this challenge you in your own life?
7. Do you find Lewis's portrayal of Aslan as a lion who is "not safe, but good" an attractive one? Would you like to get to know Aslan? Why or why not?
8. Lewis demonstrates his great love of nature and animals throughout LWW. On page 76, Mr. Beaver suggests that the White Witch's reign will be ended and all of nature will be put right when Aslan shows up on the scene. There is also a faint echo here of the teaching in Romans 8:19-21, "The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God." Do you think Lewis would have joined in the contemporary environmental movement, were he alive today? Why or why not? Where might he have agreed with this movement and where might he have differed? (Note also p. 180.)
9. Of course, the climactic event of LWW is the killing of Aslan by the White Witch and his subsequent resurrection from the dead. Do you find this to be a compelling mythic portrayal of the death and resurrection of Christ? Why or why not? What effect did this part of the story have on you as a child, or on other children you have known who have read the story?
10. Obviously, Lewis believed that myth was an excellent means of communicating theology. He considered the imagination to be the organ for perceiving meaning. In what ways do you think Lewis was more effective at communicating Christian experience through myth than through his more straightforward apologetic works? What do you think are the weaknesses and dangers of communicating Christian truth through myth?