Bibliography
Bell, Robert H. “Inside the Wardrobe: is 'Narnia' a Christian allegory?(C. S. Lewis's The Chronicles of Narnia).” Commonweal 132 Dec 16 2005: 12-14.
Robert H. Bell discusses the relationship many parents see between children reading The Chronicles of Narnia and them being prepared for their own spiritual journey. The story allows children to hear about how evil will try to win but goodness and those who choose God will ultimately win over evil. Bell continues to discuss ways in which Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia are reflective of Christianity.
Bloom, Harold. Bloom’s Modern Interpretation. New York, NY.: Infobase Publishing, 2006.
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is symbolic of Christianity. Aslan in this story is the Jesus-figure who has overcome death. The white witch is the embodiment of the evil forces that are working to destroy nature, which is beautiful and good. The white witch ultimately is representative of Satan. Christianity holds the value that though Satan manages to do some harm and pull some away from God, God will ultimately defeat Satan and the power of Good overcomes the power of Evil. In this story, the white witch manipulates many into being on her side and partaking in evil, but Aslan destroys her in the end.
Campbell, Ethan and Jackson, Robert. “’Good, Not Safe’:Structure vs. Chaos in Narniaand the Writing Workshop.” Mythlore, 26 October 1 2007 41-60.
Campbell & Jackson state that in the scene in which Aslan is being killed by the White Witch, the way he is treated before the death is given much more attention than the death itself. This is reflective of how Jesus’ torture and suffering at the hands of the Roman soldiers often affects people more than the moment of His death. It is also discussed that Aslan’s death is able to save Edmund in a similar way to how Jesus’ death was necessary to save mankind because a blood sacrifice had to be made.
Complete Works of C. S. Lewis. Google Docs. Nov 5 2015
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1ePf79HMM1LbP8dOHWV2_kUAmw8ZhqOah2VXo4CtQJ5U/edit#gid=0
This document provides a list of C. S. Lewis' writing and the date they were published. This was used to show that Lewis wrote many other Christian pieces before writing The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.
D’soouza, Nelson. “Narnia & Passion of Christ.” Youtube. 30 Mar 2014. 5 Oct 2015
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nkM5yM2QYGo
Provides a visual comparison of Aslan’s death and resurrection to the death and resurrection of Jesus. Though we cannot know how accurate this depiction of Jesus’ death is, it is the best visual we have based off of scripture.
Gleghorn, Michael. “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe: Reflections on Its Meaning.” Probe. 6 Mar 2006. 10 Oct 2015
https://www.probe.org/the-lion-the-witch-and-the-wardrobe-reflections-on-its-meaning/
In this article it is explained why Lewis did not believe his story to be a Christian allegory, but instead a Christian supposal. The representation of temptation, sin, sacrifice and redemption in the novel are brought forward and explored.
Higgins, Deborah. "Allegory in C. S. Lewis' The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe: A window to the Gospel of John." The International Faith and Learning Seminar. 1994.
This writing provides insight into The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe as Christian allegory. It discusses the ways in which the book is an allegory to the story of Jesus' life.
Holbrook, David. The Skeleton in the Wardrobe. Mississauga, ON.: Associated University Presses, 1991.
This book discusses when Lucy has seen Narnia and goes to her siblings but they don’t believe her. Lucy believed in Narnia wholeheartedly and was excited to share it with her brothers and sister, but they would not believe her and thought she was telling stories. Lucy’s belief in Narnia was like those who wholeheartedly believe in Christianity, while Edmund, Peter and Susan represent those who do not believe in it. Lucy was not able to convince them of Narnia’s existence until they saw it for themselves, reflective of how a person does not think much of Christianity unless they have had a meaningful experience with it themselves.
Lewis, C. S. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. New York: HarperCollins, 1994. Print.
This is the book that is being studied.
Long, Josh B. “Disparaging Narnia: Reconsidering Tolkien's view of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.” Mythlore, 31 April 1 2013 31-47.
Long provides a look at some criticisms of Lewis’ work that were made mainly by Tolkien. Long discusses Tolkien’s view that the Christian symbolism was too blatant and that the Lion was a poor representation of Jesus. This article provides many more arguments but none relating to both The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and Christianity.
New International Verion. Michigan; Zondervan, 2011. Print.
The Bible is used to provide support for certain arguments relating to Christianity and how The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe relates to it.
O’Rourke, Meghan. “The Lion King.” Slate. 9 Dec 2005. 5 Oct 2015
http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/the_highbrow/2005/12/the_lion_king.html
This article discusses some ways in which the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe is more than simply a representation of Christianity, and that there are values in it even for those who have no interest in the religion. Some points explored here include Lewis’ love for mythical creatures and how that is prevalent in the writing and his ability to portray a certain atmosphere of Narnia that children are drawn to more than the specifics of the storyline.
Perry, Joel. “Christian Parallels in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.” 18 Sept 2006. 4 Oct 2015
http://www.joelperry.com/2006/09/christian_parallels_in_the_lio.html
This article provides a general comparison of the ways in which Narnia is reflective of Christianity with a few fresh perspectives. One of such arguments is that the brothers and sister of Lucy are not able to enter Narnia until they believe she might be telling the truth. When they believed she was making up untrue stories they were not able to pass through the wardrobe and into Narnia. This is similar Jesus’ teachings when He said that no one will enter the Kingdom of Heaven unless they have faith like a child.
“Religion in The Chronicles of Narnia.” Wikipedia. 22 Aug 2015. 4 Oct 2015
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion_in_The_Chronicles_of_Narnia
Discusses how there is a flaw in the fluency between the story of Jesus and the chronicles of Narnia in that Edmund is intended to be the Judas character who is ultimately to blame for the death. In Lewis’ works Edmund then realized the error in his ways and repented to fight alongside Aslan, however Judas did not seek forgiveness and return to being one of Jesus’ disciples.
“The Lion, The Witch, And The Wardrobe.” Angelfire. 10 Oct 2015
http://www.angelfire.com/realm2/lotrmn/b2.html
This website provides biblical references for some of the symbolism in the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe. Though it does not cover all Christian references in the book, it provides relative bible verses for some of the main ones.
“What are the Christian themes in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe?” Got Questions?. 15 Oct 2015
http://www.gotquestions.org/Narnia_Lion-Witch-Wardrobe.html
Provides insight into why it was appropriate for Aslan to have killed the White Witch when comparing it to scripture in Revelations which says that Jesus will destroy evil on His return.
Williams, Rowan. The Lion’s World. New York, NY.:Oxford University Press, 2012.
Though The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe was written by a Christian and was likely written as a Christian metaphor, it can be read as a children’s story without interpreting it as a metaphor for Christianity. Lewis’ writing is trying to reach people who may be uninterested in Christianity, but do not truly know the heart of what it is to be a believer of God. Lewis does this by showing God through the majesty and power of a lion engaging in exciting adventures and battles.