by Larry W. » February 12th, 2005, 8:44 pm
I remember from a college course on C. S. Lewis that I took many years ago that these "parallels" in the Chronicles of Narnia should be considered as references to or reminders of events in the Bible. The professor said that we should not make direct parallel connections to the Bible because its stories are separate works of literature. So Eustace's driving the thorn into the lion's paw reminds us of Christ's crucifixion but it isn't an exact parallel since The Silver Chair is a different story than the account of Jesus death in the Bible. Aslan's death on the Stone Table in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe is also a powerful reminder of Christ's death on the cross but is not actually a direct parallel. The place, the setting, and the characters are different, except for Aslan, who is what Christ would be in the world of Narnia. They are are different stories, although they have many similarities. Lewis dicovered some concepts in pagan mythology, and since they had much in common with Christianity he used them appropriately in the books, e.g. the idea of a dying god was very close to the Christian view. However, many Christian ideas run throughout the Narnia series, so the references, including those to the Bible, help us in interpreting the Narnia series.
Larry W.
