Human Nature Inthe Lion, Witch, and the Wardrobe

Human Nature in The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe

The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe, a children’s book, is not the typical genre for C.S. Lewis. Many are accustomed to the logical reasoning of Lewis’ more explicitly theological work, Mere Christianity. People often unjustly dismiss children’s books, assuming they are too simple to hold value. While Lewis does not make it explicit, this novel includes many theological implications. He makes readers work to interpret the story. The characters, relationships, and events depicted by Lewis reveal human nature to be flawed, based on free will, and in need of God’s presence.

The differences in Lewis’ characterization of each child illustrate the imperfections of human nature. Early in the novel, human nature’s imperfection is seen in Edmund. The first thing he does is tell off the other children saying, “Oh, come off it!” (p. 4). Lewis writes, “Edmund could be spiteful, and on this occasion he was spiteful. He sneered and jeered at Lucy and kept on asking her if she’d found any other new countries in other cupboards all over the house” (p. 26). Juxtaposed to Lucy, who is characterized as innocent and curious, Edmund’s character clarifies the imperfections of human nature.

Lewis shows that the imperfections of human nature spawn from man’s free will. The Christian doctrine of the Fall, the start of man’s imperfection, emphasizes the destructive power of erroneous free will. Just as Adam and Eve choose to eat the forbidden fruit, Edmund chooses to eat that White Witch’s Turkish Delight. Lewis writes, “this was enchanted Turkish Delight and that anyone who had once tasted it would want more and more of it, and would even, if they were allowed, go on eating it till they killed themselves” (p. 38). Due to his weak human nature, skewed by sin and temptation, Edmund agrees that he will try to bring the other children to the White Witch. He turns his back on the others because of the White Witch’s promise of...