Theology and Children's Literature: Understanding The Magician's Nephew Anonymous College

Though written primarily for a young audience, C.S. Lewis’s fiction overflows with Biblical allusion and religious imagery. A Lewis narrative, indeed, becomes a vessel through which he is able to infuse his writing with his own complex theological ideology. This is evident in the events of his children’s novel The Magician’s Nephew; through the use of Biblical parallels woven throughout this work of fiction, Lewis offers a window into his own perceptions of God as well as the nature of evil.

Chapter Nine of The Magician’s Nephew, titled “The Founding of Narnia,” serves in many ways as an allegory for the creation story found in Genesis. Aslan, who serves as a symbol of God within the world of Narnia, sings creation into life and eventually appoints the Cabby and his wife as the King and Queen of Narnia—a parallel to the appointment of Adam and Eve as the rulers over the rest of the animals in the world. However, beyond simply outlining parallels between the founding of Narnia and the creation story, Lewis uses these parallels as a way of making rather bold yet subtle claims about the nature of God. Lewis does not simply leave Aslan as the creator; he bestows him with a character that reflects Lewis’s own understanding of who...