Lion, Witch, Wardrobe (and the Narnia order)

After we finished The Hobbit I was determined to regularly keep reading better, longer books to our firstborn. The next book seemed obvious, C.S. Lewis' The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, the first of The Chronicles of Narnia series. It's more fantasy but a far easier read and more appropriate for a five-year-old. My wife also had never heard the story so she listened in almost every night, and when she missed our son's bedtime I'd re-read the chapter later, to her. We kept a good cadence and finished the book quickly, and now I have a few thoughts.

The cover I remember having as a kid

Before getting started, a quick note on the order of the Narnia books, as there seems to be some confusion out there. Please, please, please read the books in the order they were originally published, that is:

1. The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe (1950)

2. Prince Caspian (1951)

3. The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (1952)

4. The Silver Chair (1953)

5. The Horse and His Boy (1954)

6. The Magician's Nephew (1955)

7. The Last Battle (1956)

As opposed to the internal chronological order, which moves The Magician's Nephew to first and The Horse and His Boy to third, Lewis' original order preserves the best way to introduce the readers to the concept and the world of Narnia, i.e. the wardrobe that the Pevensie children stumble through. The stories flow together better due to the continuity of characters, and the first three books in the original order are also just better books if my memory serves me right. There isn't any real benefit to shifting the books around, so why do it? Alright, enough on that.

What's immediately impressive on reading The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe for the first time in about 20 years (I'm assuming the last time was before the 2005 movie), is how rich a story Lewis wrote for its length. It has 17 chapters of about 10 short pages each, nice bite sized pieces, and yet if you sat down to read it you'd probably finish in two to three hours. In that short time you meet four children who happen upon another world and are thrust into becoming heroes, without seeking to be. Their distinct personalities shine through and are frequently the most relatable parts of the story, certainly if you have siblings of your own and remember your interactions growing up. Narnia is big and beautiful, full of magic and mythical creatures. You'll remember a host of characters from this place of fairy tales: the White Witch, Mr. Tumnus, the Beavers, the 'other lion,' Rumblebuffin, and of course, Aslan.

I believe our son understood what was happening in this book throughout, without too many asides from me. It is a tale for younger children. Only one chapter left him a little worse for wear, but it's designed to be shocking.

Even though I'm very familiar with this book, I was a little surprised with how heavy handed Lewis was with his allegory. If you don't know, Aslan, the lion, embodies Jesus. He's described as the son of the Emperor-Beyond-the-Sea, the real ruler of Narnia. He's powerful, inspiring and blameless, but yet he sacrifices himself for someone who doesn't deserve it and dies in ritualistic fashion. Then he defeats death and ushers in victory over the evil in the world. The best discussion of Aslan comes from the Beavers telling the Pevensies about him for the first time.

'Aslan?' said Mr. Beaver, 'Why don't you know? He's the King. He's the Lord of the whole wood, but not often here, you understand. Never in my time or my father's time. But the word has reached us that he has come back. He is in Narnia at this moment. He'll settle the White Queen all right. It is he, not you, that will save Mr. Tumnus.'

'Is--is he a man?' asked Lucy.

'Aslan a man!' said Mr. Beaver sternly. 'Certainly not. I tell you he is the King of the wood and the son of the great Emperor-Beyond-the-Sea. Don't you know who is the King of Beasts? Aslan is a lion--the Lion, the great Lion.'

'Ooh!'said Susan, 'I'd thought he was a man. Is he--quite safe? I shall feel rather nervous about meeting a lion.'

'That you will, dearie, and no mistake,' said Mrs. Beaver, 'if there's anyone who can appear before Aslan without their knees knocking, they're either braver than most or else just silly.'

'Then he isn't safe?' said Lucy.

'Safe?' said Mr. Beaver. 'Don't you hear what Mrs. Beaver tells you? Who said anything about safe? 'Course he isn't safe. But he's good. He's the King, I tell you.'

It's a genius way to teach children about Jesus, as should be expected from C.S. Lewis. Course he isn't safe. But he's good. We should perhaps think of Jesus as a lion more often.

My last comment on the book is simply an appreciation of Lucy. She's kind and truthful and bold, repeatedly standing up for herself and for what's right. This is a little girl character we should think of and hold up as an example more often. I'm sure as a kid I liked Peter most, but hopefully we can all admit now which of the children is the best.

When we were most of the way through I went out and found a used copy of the 2005 film, made by Disney. (Of course it's on Disney+ too, I don't think it was there a few weeks ago but I could be wrong.) It has some recognizable faces/voices and overall is pretty good! Watching our son get scared in advance of what was going to happen was amusing, though he couldn't handle the stone table sequence at all. The children actors, Lucy especially, do fine to well and the movie is faithful to the story, though by hashing out the battle and more it stretches over two hours. I have to say, however, I was a little disappointed they left out the key piece of the conversation highlighted above, whether or not Aslan is safe. They might have intentionally softened the great Lion. Ah well.

It was fun reliving this book and I recommend it. Next up: Prince Caspian.