The tree and fruit (allegory)
Digory is asked to retrieve a special fruit from a tree inside a garden within a golden gate. This tree in Narnia is an allusion to the Tree of Life in the Garden of Eden (Genesis, the Bible). The biblical story is an allegory demonstrating the first sin of the race of man, descended from Adam and Eve. In the Bible, Adam and Eve live in the Garden of Eden, a paradise. In the garden, there is a Tree of Knowledge, from which Adam and Eve are forbidden to eat. However, one day a serpent tempts Eve to eat from the tree, and she shares the fruit with Adam, thus disobeying God's order and causing their expulsion from Eden.
Like the biblical story, the tree of Narnia also serves as an allegory. The inscription on the gate states that anyone who takes the fruit for themselves will get what they wish for but be disappointed for eternity. Digory does the right thing by only taking the fruit for Aslan. In contrast, the Queen succumbs to temptation and eats the forbidden fruit.
Within this allegory, Queen Jadis is also an allusion to the serpent who tempts Eve, as Queen Jadis tries to persuade Digory to go against what is right and to take a piece of fruit for his own purpose. In resisting this temptation, Digory triumphs over evil. In addition, Digory receives a reward for his good action: Aslan gives him a fruit to bring home to help cure his mother. The moral of the allegory is that doing the right thing will reap rewards; giving in to temptation will only cause misery and suffering.
Charn (allegory)
Charn, the land where Queen Jadis rules, is a dead and stale world. The history of Charn, demonstrated through the faces of its ancestors, shows that it was not always a cruel and suffering world. However, over the years, greed and desire for power seem to have corrupted the people. Queen Jadis wanted all the power, and nothing would stand in her way. In an act of vengeance against her sister, Queen Jadis ended all life in Charn by using a spell known as "the Deplorable Word." Saying this spell kills every living thing except the sayer of the spell, in this case, Queen Jadis. She has no remorse for having killed all living beings in her world. The story of Charn is an allegory for the dangers of greed, arrogance, and immorality; if these desires are not controlled, they can lead to the destruction of a civilization.
Aslan using the allegory of Charn as a warning to the children at the end of the book, stating, "Great nations in your world will be ruled by tyrants who care no more for joy and justice and mercy than the Empress Jadis. Let your world beware. That is the warning" (209). Thus Aslan can see that in the world in which the children live, the people there are also in danger of being overcome by greed and arrogance, leading to tyranny and suffering.
Perception (motif)
The old saying "beauty is in the eye of the beholder" is an idea expressed through the motif of perception. In The Magician's Nephew, different characters have different perceptions of beauty, of magic, and of other worlds, among other things. Perception is an important tool through which the characters view the world.
One example of how perception is in the eye of the beholder
The difference between Queen Jadis' and Polly and Digory's views of magic is one example of how perception shapes reality. In Narnia, Queen Jadis sees the magic as a threat, while the children see the magic as beautiful and fascinating. Another important example of difference in perception is Uncle Andrew's inability to hear or understand the talking animals of Narnia. Thus, sometimes perception is a choice: how one views the world depends on where one comes from, one's morality, and one's openness to magic. The motif of perception is closely linked to the themes of Magic and Good and Evil.
Aslan (symbol)
Throughout the history of Christianity, the Lion has been associated with strength and victory (Isaret). The Lion of Judah was the symbol for the tribe of Judah in Genesis; later the Book of Revelations Lion of Judah comes to symbolize Jesus. Aslan is symbolic of God as the creator and of a divine force of good, fighting the force of evil that is symbolized by the Queen. He is also symbolic of a benevolent God who inspires faith and love in his people. Aslan symbolizes the power of faith, as many of the things he says or does rely on the faith of his flock; for example Digory and Polly undertake a difficult journey (symbolic of a pilgrimage) on faith merely because Aslan has asked them to do so, they believe it is right because it is Aslan who has asked it of them. Throughout the Narnia series, Aslan symbolizes many aspects of Christianity as well as goodness.
Queen Jadis (symbol)
Queen Jadis symbolizes evil in its many forms. She tries to trick Digory into eating an apple from the apple tree; she is representative of the snake in the Garden of Eden. Queen Jadis symbolizes evil in how she rules her subjects; she is without remorse for killing off all of her subjects in Charn. She is cruel, uncaring, arrogant and selfish, and thus in many ways embodies evil. She symbolizes evil in every facet of her being, and the battle between her and Aslan symbolizes the battle between good and evil.
Existence of Other Worlds (motif)
The existence of other worlds is a motif throughout the novel; particularly, worlds outside of our galaxy rather than merely communities on other planets. Charn, for example, is said to have a completely different sun that is portrayed as red and old, thus marking it as being in a different galaxy. These other worlds cannot be seen through a telescope or reached by space travel; rather they can only be reached with magic. The children visit at least three other worlds and they reach them by jumping into ponds, and later, in other parts of the Narnia series, by walking through a wardrobe in Digory's country home. The motif of other worlds is also closely linked to the theme of magic.
