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1 Commentary

The books can be read as allegory, though a strict allegorical reading can be quite confusing and reductionist. The books do contain many allusions to Christian ideas ( Aslan, the lion, is the equivalent of Jesus Christ). Lewis, a devout adult convert to Christianity, had stated his intention to make the Chronicles serve as a means to introduce Christian theological concepts to children, while remaining entertaining enough to hold young audiences.

In this Lewis succeeded. The Chronicles of Narnia have become favourites with both children and adults. The extra theological load is well incorporated; the books are not weighty in the least, unlike BunyanJohn Bunyan ( November 30, 1628 August 31, 1688), a Christian writer and preacher, was born at Harrowden (1 mile south-east of Bedford), in the Parish of Elstow, England. He wrote The Pilgrim's Progress arguably the most famous published Christian allegor's Pilgrim's Progress, and can be read for their adventure, colour, and fun without concern for the larger issues. Lewis himself claimed the books were not allegorical but "suppositional", more like what we would now call alternative historyAlternative history or alternate history is fiction that is set in a world in which history has diverged from history as it is generally known, or simply put "What If?". While to some extent, all fiction can be classified as alternative history, this genr—supposing such a world as that described therein, and assuming the need for certain religious situations—a divine CreationReligious creation beliefs Several religions have creation beliefs, some of which account for the existence and present form of the Universe by the act of creation by a supreme being or creator god. Most of these accounts depict one or several gods fashio, a trinitarian elementThis article concerns the holy Trinity of Christianity. For other uses of trinity see disambiguation. The Blessed Trinity is God, according to the doctrine of most branches of Christianity; the doctrine says that though God is one God, God exists in three comparable to Jesus coming to the world, and others—what would happen?

One of Lewis's early academic publications was The Allegory of Love (1936), about medieval allegories of courtly love. Consequently he preferred a strict definition of allegory, as he wrote to another young fan:

"I did not say to myself 'Let us represent Jesus as He really is in our world by a Lion in Narnia'; I said, 'Let us suppose that there were a land like Narnia and that the Son of God, as he became a Man in our world, became a Lion there, and then imagine what would happen.'"

On the other hand, Lewis did have a more loosely defined allegory in mind, as he wrote another fan:

"The whole series works out like this:

• The Magician's Nephew tells the Creation and how evil entered Narnia,
• The Lion etc. - the CrucifixionJesus typically, and inaccurately, show him supported by nails through the palms. Crucifixion is an ancient method of execution, in which the victim was tied or nailed to a large wooden cross ( Latin: crux and left to hang there until dead. Crucifixion ha and Resurrection,
• Prince Caspian - restoration of the true religion after a corruption,
• The Horse and His Boy - the calling and conversion of the heathen,
• The Voyage of the Dawn Treader - the spiritual life (especially in Reepicheep),
• The Silver Chair - the continuing war against the powers of darkness,
• The Last Battle - the coming of AntichristIn Christian eschatology, the Antichrist is a person or other entity that is the embodiment of evil, and utterly opposed to truth. In the New Testament, the word "antichrist" (Greek antichristos is used only in 1 John and 2 John, where it generally descri (the ape). The end of the world and the last judgement."