Saviors in Fantasy: An Analysis of Aslan and Christ in Contrast

Author

Abstract

In The Chronicles of Narnia, C.S. Lewis charts the life of another world and the interactions it has with Earth. In the first book, The Magician’s Nephew, the world of Narnia is created by Aslan, a talking lion with a deific-level power, and the flaws of Earth human actors introduces the Witch, who will be the source of conflict or “evil” in the next book, to Narnia. In the second book, titled The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe, Aslan sacrifices himself to protect four young children from Earth and the countless citizens of Narnia from the Witch’s wrath. Further books in the series chart the development of Narnia’s society, several ages of strife and major historical events in Narnia’s timeline, and its eventual “destruction” in the final book of the series. This essay aims to utilize an archetypal theoretical lens to analyze the similarities between Aslan and Jesus Christ to deduce the features of the archetypal fantastical savior or messiah and analyze the effect such a character has on the world it belongs to. To constrain the focus of this essay, it focuses on the key moment of Aslan’s sacrifice and compares it to the Crucifixion, as well as some key context for both events. The second, fourth, and fifth books have been recreated as films, and images from the film version of The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe will provide multimodal elements for visual analysis.

Project: Saviors in Fantasy: An Analysis of Aslan and Christ in Contrast