Allegory of the Chronicles

Brittany C.

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Allegory of the Chronicles

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Abstract

Many have felt that the Chronicles of Narnia were not allegorical. One was the famous author of the Chronicles, C.S. Lewis. Similarly to many, he felt that the stories in which he created were "not allegory but rather fairy tale, a branch of fantasy" (Duriez 97). However, Lewis's theory of his stories not being allegorical further proves that they are when compared with the definition of allegory being "abstract ideas or principles by characters, figures, or events in narrative, dramatic, or pictorial form" ("allegory"). It was J.R.R. Tolkien, the author of The Lord of the Rings trilogy, who started the theory of the stories being allegorical (Duriez 94). He believed that although it may not have been intentional there were too many allegorical references. Whether intentional or not, Lewis included enough allegory into some, if not all, of the stories, making them allegorical.

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, one of the seven stories that make up Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia, demonstrated allegory in many ways.
The ending to The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe contained the two most important allegorical representations were shown.
The Stone Table in this section seems to represent the stone tablets that were given to Jesus by Moses, who had brought them from Mt. Smai.
Aslan chose two of certain animals to acquire the gift of speech.
Uncle Andrew told himself that it was impossible so many times that eventually he could not hear the words of the creatures around him, creatures that he could understand minutes earlier.
C.S. Lewis wrote The Chronicles of Narnia to fall under one of the three ways of writing from ?The Three Ways of Writing for Children?, which was fantasy and fairy tale.

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[...] Beaver, and to Aslan was similar to that of one of the twelve apostles named Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Jesus for money (Holy Bible, Luke 6:16). The two sisters, Susan and Lucy, are also allegorical representations to characters in the Bible, Mary Magdalene and other women. Susan and Lucy were the two characters to witness Aslan's death and his resurrection. Lewis describes, rising of the sun had made everything look so different all colours and shadows were changed - that for a moment they didn't see the important thing. [...]

[...] Tell you what is engraved on the scepter of the Emperor-Beyond-the-Sea? You at least know the Magic which the Emperor put into Narnia at the very beginning. You know that every traitor belongs to me as my lawful prey and that for every treachery I have a right to kill . And so that human creature is mine. His life is forfeit to me. His blood is my property . unless I have blood as the Law says all Narnia will be overturned and perish in fire and water (Lewis 175). [...]

[...] Aslan chose two of certain animals to acquire the gift of speech. This was something that was very important because the selected animals would be the of Narnia and would control all that occurred among the woods. Noah chose two of each animal in order to repopulate the world after the great flood (Holy Bible, Genesis 6:19-20). Both were ways of creating or recreating a world and both used two of different animals to do so. A new character was used to demonstrate the allegory in The Magician's Nephew, Uncle Andrew. [...]

[...] Uncle Andrew told himself that it was impossible so many times that eventually he could not hear the words of the creatures around him, creatures that he could understand minutes earlier. His fear drove him to not be able to “hear the sounds of talking animals, including Aslan's speech or song” (Duriez 100). This is similar to atheism in the sense that those who practice that belief have convinced themselves that there is not God to the point where they believe it. [...]

[...] After the Witch left Aslan dead on the Table, Lucy and Susan watched dozens of mice chew through all the ropes in order to free him. This really demonstrated that Aslan was not just a lion because mice are afraid of cats, including lions, but with Aslan the mice had no fear, just respect and sorrow for what had happened. When Susan and Lucy turned to walk back they heard a loud crash and they turned to see what had happened. [...]

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