Arguably one of the most popular children’s series on the market, C.S Lewis's "Chronicles of Narnia" is a collection of fantasy novels with obvious Christian symbolism. The series has sold over 100 million copies in 41 different languages. In 2005, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe premiered on the big screen, grossing almost 300 million in the box office. There is even a “Chronicles of Narnia” island on Second Life.The story of the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is probably familiar to most of you, so I’ll quickly summarize it. Aslan, who is symbolic of Christ, willingly sacrifices himself to redeem Edmond from wrongdoing. He then comes back to life and redeems Narnia from the evil White Witch.
I can remember reading the Chronicles of Narnia for the first time and having one of those pop culture testimony-building experiences that we talked about the first day of class. I fell in love with the Aslan and was devastated when he sacrificed himself. It was a sort of epiphany in my young mind that I remember to this day.
C.S. Lewis wasn’t always a religious mastermind. At birth, he was baptized as a member of the Church of Ireland. He declared himself atheist at age 15 before re-converting to Christianity at the age of 33. He joined the Church of England much to the dismay of his close friend, J.R.R. Tolkien, who wished for him to join the Roman Catholic Church. When the chronicles of Narnia was published in the 1950s, Tolkien was disappointed with the blatant symbolism used by Lewis in the series.
Lewis obviously wrote the series with children in mind considering his use of simple language, talking animals and other fantasy elements. But the allegory of Christian beliefs and personal meaning makes it read and beloved by adults as well.
As overtly Christian as the Chronicles of Narnia is, you won’t find it in the religion section in the bookstore. It’s not preachy and it doesn’t ever mention the words religion or Christian in any of the books. Yet the symbolism is so blatant and powerful that even the youngest of readers with a belief in Jesus Christ will see it.
Lewis’s book contains elements of two different categories of literature: the didactic and the mimetic. Didactic literature aims to instruct or teach a moral principle while mimetic literature seeks to elicit an emotional response in the reader.
One scene which exemplifies both categories is the sacrifice of Aslan. While the Christian imagery of his death is undeniably didactic, the emotional emphasis of the scene causes a strong mimetic response. Thus the two function together for a stronger and more unified effect upon the audience.
So, to you, I pose these questions:
Is The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe in general more didactic (presenting an overall message/theme) or mimetic (single emotional response)?
Is using symbolism in literature, rather than openly addressing religious topics, a more effective way to reach people emotionally and spiritually?
Using symbolism is another way of addressing religious topics, and one that sometimes effectively communicates better than direct dogma. The scriptures use both heavily, with Christ himself utilizing allegory constantly. It would be a moot point to pose one method as superior to the other. They are complimentary.
ReplyDeleteTo Expand on Austin's comments: one of the great things about symbolism in stories like narnia is that the story works with or without the symbol. If you look at parables of allegories in the scriptures they work the same way, If you don't see (or don't want to see) they symbolism, then it's a nice story that teaches a moral principle. In the case of Narnia, Edmond chooses temporary pleasure, suffers, and realizes that he should stick with his siblings. A good moral. But like Christ's teaching symbols allow you to pull out other meanings. I think this is why stories with Christian symbol do so well in popular culture, people can pull out what they want to, making it popular with christians, and non christians alike. So perhaps in popular culture, stories with symbols rather than blatant doctrine are likely to reach more people.
ReplyDeleteSymbolism in literature, and really in any aspect of our lives, is a powerful and discrete tool. Members of the audience, without being aware of the deliberate use of symbolism, will still leave the movie/put down the book with the underlying message working its way into their choices and perceptions.
ReplyDeleteI think that the novel is leaning more towards a didactic story. The entire book reflects the story of Christ as well as other underlying Christian stories and themes. Also, I think that the effectiveness of using Christian symbolism rather than openly is relative. If you are writing to an audience that doesn’t like to be told what to do and likes to analyze and pick apart novels to find underlying themes, a book in the Narnia series would be most effective. But for others, who read books for inspiration, direction and enlightenment directly, the openly Christian books would probably be best.
ReplyDeleteWe seem to enjoy so much finding aspects of religion in popular culture. I constantly hear people compare movies like Narnia, Star Wars, and Lord of the Rings to the scriptures. I always wonder why it seems like some people I know enjoy the parallels so much. It's almost as if they reinvent their image of Christ through a pop culture figure who appeals more to them. A character whose acts of sacrifice are more identifiable in some way. To me, the best example of Christ is Christ. Maybe I'm the only one, but I've seen people who have a much easier time relating to Aslan and Gandalf than the One they supposedly emulate. Why is that?
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