by carol » December 12th, 2005, 6:21 pm
No, Lewis himself said it was NOT an allegory.
The word Allegory has a specific meaning, which is why people are disagreeing with those who say it is.
An allegory is like a coded version of a story, where everything (!) represents something in the real world. Our best known example is "The Pilgrim's Progress" where each person and place the hero meets represents some aspect of Christian life and experience.
What people seem to mean, when they state that it's an allegory, is that they can see many elements in the story that have parallels in our world and our faith. It is correct to describe these as symbolic elements, or Christian themes. Often an item may represent something directly, or be intended to remind us of something, or suggest several things. That sort of symbolism is not called allegory.
- English graduate