Allegorical Reference in C.S. Lewis' "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe"

C.S. Lewis often used allegorical references in his works. A prime example of this is his famous The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. The magical wand that the Witch carries throughout the story represents some aspect of power or enforcement of power, such as Fascism, during this period of time. This is because this "children's" book is set during World War II and contains numerous allegorical references to this period in time.

Indeed, the Witch's wand may represent the origins of fascism itself. The wand, in the form of a rod or a stick, representing Fascism and the fact that the origins of the word Fascism come from the Latin fascis, meaning a bundle of rods or sticks surrounding an axe, puts a solid weight behind the wand representing Fascist power (Wikipedia). To take this even further the fasces (plural for fascis) were used by Nazi Germany to represent their power as a part of Fascist symbolism, and is used by government bodies even today as imagery associated with their power (Wikipedia).

This wand is carried by the Witch and is used both to enforce her will and punish those that oppose it. A good place to start would be to compare how this wand is used in the earlier parts of the story and how Fascism is used during the lead up to and early parts of WWII. The first mention of the wand comes when Edmund meets the witch on her sleigh after following his sister Lucy into the wardrobe. In reference to the Witch, Lewis writes that "She... held a long straight golden wand in her right hand and wore a golden crown on her head." (33). That the crown, a symbol of power, is mentioned with the wand implies that it is also related to her power.

This area of the story seems to mimic early activities of the German National Socialist (Nazi) party. They adopted an authoritarian policy of Fascism and then managed their rise to power during the politically and economically unstable Weimar republic of interwar Germany. This was achieved by the Nazi party promising people that their Fascist policies would give them what they most wanted at the time, an end to political and economic instability (Findley and Rothney 131-132). A striking similarity to this is observed when the Witch asks Edmund "What [he] would like best to eat." (38) and then proceeds to give him what he asks for by using the wand. The witch's use of the wand to turn the forest animals opposing her rule by celebrating Christmas into stone (125-128) is also quite similar to the events of the night of June 30, 1934, more infamously known as the "Night of the Long Knives" when various tools of Fascist power, such as the SS, liquidated most of Hitler's opponents (W. Churchill 100-101). Afterwards the German dictator warned that if anyone "raises his hand to strike the state, then certain death is his lot" (Findley and Rothney 132).

These points of interest can be seen as purely coincidental. However only when taken in conjunction with Lewis' references to the wand during and after the final battle and their similarities to the defeat of Fascism during the final days of World War II can their total implications be observed . "...when [Edmund] reached her [the White Witch] he had the sense to bring his sword smashing down on her wand instead of going for her directly... "(196), and also that "Once her wand was broken we began to have some chance..."(196). This occurs during the final battle against the Witch, and ends in her defeat and death. An interesting parallel can be drawn between this part of the final battle and the final days of World War II. Only after the Russian tanks overran and destroyed the very last elements of Fascist power (in this case the German army stationed in Berlin and around Hitler's bunker) did Hitler admit defeat and kill himself, and Germany's part in World War 2 end (Findley and Rothney 235).

Lewis comes from a medieval scholarly background in which allegorical references are common. In fact there are many more items, people and happenings within The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe that may represent other elements of the World War 2 time period. Examples include the Witch's sleigh being forced to stop due to the coming of spring and melting of the snow (Hitler's advance into Russia was stalled due to the opposite effects of Winter setting in) and interesting parallels between various locations such as The Witch's castle representing Berlin, among many others.

Bibliography

Churchill, Winston The Second World War: The Gathering Storm. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1948.

Findley, C.V. and Rothney, J.A. Twentieth-Century World: Fifth Edition. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2002.

Lewis, C.S. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. New York: HarperCollins Publishing, n.d.

Roberts, Andrew Hitler and Churchill: Secrets of Leadership. London: Wiedenfeld and Nicolson, 2003

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fasces accessed October 29th, 2006