Books That Matter Mondays: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
When I was very young, I shared a bedroom with my older sister. In those days, before I could read, we had one white bookshelf that stretched from the carpet to almost the ceiling. The books were entirely hers, and since she was well into junior high, her books were long, thick, and quite intimidating. At night, she would turn off the lights when she came to bed, and I would pretend to sleep. Sometimes, I was lucky, and she would call me over to her bed, and I would perch myself on the edge and wait. Then, she would pull out a large, green-covered book filled with illustrations. She would open it up and read to me, “Once there were four children whose names were Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy.”
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis was the first book that I remember hearing, and when I finally grew old enough, one of the first books that I read. Published in 1950, the book is the first of C.S. Lewis’s acclaimed The Chronicles of Narnia. Since then, the novel has been hailed as one of the top novels of all time, for both children and adults. In 2005, Andrew Adamson even directed a film adaptation of the book.
The novel begins in 1940 as four siblings — Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy — evacuate out of London during World War II to escape the air raids plaguing the city. The children travel to the country to live with Professor Kirke, and while exploring his house on a rainy day, Lucy discovers a wardrobe that leads to a land called Narnia. There she meets a faun named Mr. Tumnus, who informs her that his magical home lives under the cold rule of the White Witch who has caused Narnia to fall into an eternal winter. Mr. Tumnus reveals that he intended to hand Lucy over to the White Witch under an order that all humans must be captured. However, he releases her, and Lucy crawls back through the wardrobe.
Lucy then discovers that while she was gone for hours in Narnia, only seconds have passed for her siblings. They laugh at her story, until later when Edmund travels to Narnia with Lucy during a game of hide-and-seek. Edmund meets the White Witch and promises to bring his siblings to her on his next visit. Soon after, all four children venture into Narnia and learn that Mr. Tumnus has been captured by the White Witch. The children then meet two Beavers, who inform them that they are part of a prophecy to overthrow the Witch and that they must meet Aslan, a great lion who is the rightful king of Narnia. After hearing this information, Edmund leaves to join the White Witch, and the other children begin their journey to meet Aslan. What follows is an epic adventure of good versus evil and outstanding courage.
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe began my lifelong journey into literature, and its ability to open the imaginations of children and adults makes this book a truly incredible experience. The world of Narnia serves as the example for aspiring fantasy writers of a truly magical world, and it inspired in me a sense of literary adventure that I would pursue for years. My sister may not have pushed me through a wardrobe, but she pushed me to begin reading and thinking for myself. When I think of Narnia, I am still a child, listening with my eyes shut, feeling my way through the wardrobe with Lucy, into a strange and exciting world.
