The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe
September 19th 2006 04:55
'The Lion, The WItch and the Wardrobe' is a deadset motherfucking children's classic. The film? Haven't seen it. Do I want to? Maybe. Who can tell these things. Is the book good? Hell yes!
Our story starts with four children sent to live in the country with their uncle during World War II. Whilst there they discover a wardrobe that leads to another world, the wintery realm of Narnia - inhabited by fawns and talking beavers, and ruled with a tyrannical grip by an evil and icy witch named Jadis. One of the children gets mixed up with the Witch, tempted and corrupted by her evil, and breaks with the other children when they fall in with a messianic lion named Aslan, who seeks to lead the inhabitants of Narnia against the evil Witch.
Now, of C. S. Lewis's Narnia chronicles I've only read this and 'The Magician's Nephew'. Whereas 'The Magician's Nephew' draws parallels with the Old Testement, it's tales of Creation, and the satan-like nature of Jadis, 'The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe' is firmly rooted in the New Testement, with references to ressurection, betrayal and the redemptive nature of forgiveness. Lewis was a deeply religious man, and he built this allegorical tale around the Bible - Aslan is very much a re-imagining of Jesus in another land.
The first time I read this book the religious stuff went straight over my head (I was eight years old I think), but upon re-reading it much later on, these aspects became very clear and hard to miss. Despite being fairly anti-Christian, I feel I can take it in fictional form. Lewis happens to be a very good writer and he allows for humour and adventure alongside his messages and so the Biblical allusions don't take anything away from the story for non-believing heathen like myself.
'The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe', whilst set as the second book in the Narnia chronicles, was actually the first of the books to be written. Thus, it's not completely necessary to read 'The Magician's Nephew' beforehand. 'The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe' can be read as very much a stand-alone children's classic and is suitable for all ages. It's a 'magical' story, in the most cliched sense of the word, and it deserves it's status as a cornerstone of fantasy fiction.
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