The king of Narnia
The King of Narnia and The Adventures in the closet or: The Lion and the Witch (English title: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe , dt. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe ) is a fantasy - novel for children of Irish Writer C. S. Lewis . The book was published in 1950, followed by six more volumes in the series The Chronicles of Narnia . In the chronicles' narrative order, The King of Narnia is the second volume after The Miracle of Narnia , published in 1956 .
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The King of Narnia tells the story of the four siblings Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy, who are sent to the countryside to see an old professor in the face of the air raids on London during World War II . In the mysterious big house, the four children find their way through a wardrobe into the fantastic world of Narnia , which is inhabited by mythical creatures such as centaurs , fauns and nymphs , fairy-tale characters such as dwarfs and giants and talking animals. The youngest, Lucy, is the first to end up in Narnia, which has an icy winter ; In the lantern forest (in the middle of which there is a street lamp) she makes friends with the Faun Tumnus, who tells her that winter has ruled Narnia for a hundred years, but without Christmas . The winter is caused by the "White Witch ", Jadis, who has risen to become Empress of Narnia and with her magic envelops the land in winter and turns all opponents into stone. She only fears the intrusion of "two sons of Adam and two daughters of Eve", who, according to an old prophecy, will climb the four throne chairs in the old royal fortress of Cair Paravel and end their rule.
After her return to our world, Lucy's siblings don't believe her when she tells them about her adventure. Shortly afterwards, Edmund also gets through the cupboard to Narnia, but he meets the White Witch, who recognizes the danger of the prophecy being fulfilled from his stories about his three siblings and corrupts Edmund with bewitched Turkish honey and promises of royalty and brings him to her side . That's why Edmund doesn't tell anything about his adventures after his return from Narnia and continues to accuse Lucy of lying.
Eventually, however, all four children get to Narnia. You will be brought to safety by those magical creatures who secretly resist the White Queen. The faun Tumnus, who should have reported the arrival of every human being to the witch, has meanwhile been turned to stone for his infidelity. A beaver family takes in the four children. They plan to take her to the old stone table where they want to meet Aslan , the returned true king, son of the great emperor across the sea, who appears in the form of a mighty lion. Edmund secretly leaves the beaver den and runs into the castle of the White Witch, to whom he reveals the arrival of his siblings and the plan to meet Aslan. However, he does not receive the reward he had hoped for, but is enslaved by the witch.
The other children have now recognized their brother's betrayal and flee with the beavers, pursued by the witch's wolf guard. On the way, however, they meet Santa Claus, since Aslan's imminent arrival is now getting the usual course of the year going again. The children receive weapons and other useful gifts for the upcoming fight against the witch and her followers. Finally spring arrives and the children come to the stone table where they face Aslan in awe. There he gathers the creatures of Narnia who are loyal to him and appoints Peter as general of his army.
The witch also gathers her army. She proposes negotiations to Aslan and reveals to him that she will kill Edmund for his betrayal according to the ancient magical laws. To prevent this, Aslan offers her a swap. Edmund is then released.
Aslan leaves the camp at night, but is noticed by Susan and Lucy. They secretly follow him and then have to watch as Aslan surrenders himself into the hands of the witch and her troops and lets himself be tied up on the stone table without resistance, sheared and finally killed. This sacrifice was necessary to free Edmund. The witch then moves on with her troops to destroy the rest of Aslan's army. Lucy and Susan cry for the dead Aslan, but then witness a miracle. Mice gnaw the fetters of the lion, then his body disappears, and finally he comes back alive. Since he had made himself available as an innocent victim, he can return to life on the basis of even older magical laws unknown to the witch.
Aslan then enters the witch's castle with Lucy and Susan and redeems hundreds of petrified creatures, including the faun Tumnus. With these new troops they can intervene in the battle between the witch and the army that is fighting under Peter's command just in time. Aslan kills the White Witch, the good creatures of Narnia conquer.
After the liberation of Narnia, Aslan named Peter the high king of the land and Edmund, Susan and Lucy king and queens. You mount the throne chairs in Cair Paravel (in some translations "Feeneden") and rule the country happily for many years after Aslan's return to his realm on the other side of the Eastern Ocean (this is where the next part The Ride to Narnia follows ). But once, while hunting the white stag, they find their way into the lantern forest and through the wardrobe into our world, where only a few moments have passed and they live again as the children they were at the beginning of the story.
Christian interpretation
The Chronicles of Narnia are deeply Christian. Aslan remembers Christ . His voluntary sacrificial death corresponds to the crucifixion of Jesus and his resurrection . As in the New Testament , the risen One appears first to two women: Susan and Lucy. His father across the sea would then be God the Father, the children of Aslan the disciples . Edmund stands for the sinful man who is redeemed and who can repent.
The witch Jadis is reminiscent of Satan through her role as seductress . The blood of all traitors also belongs to her and is from now on her property.
Likewise, it can be seen as the seductive or the sin itself, since it is delicate and beautiful and yet in secret, cold and cruel. Furthermore, one can define it as death itself, since with its scepter of rule it steals the life of others who are touched by its tip and binds it to itself in its palace.
The warts women, around the stone table, are depicted as bringers of death and enjoy Aslan's suffering. According to the Christian understanding, these symbolize hell and the devil with his henchmen. The latter initially thought that they had triumphed over Jesus after his crucifixion, but had to recognize their error. The resurrection of Aslan as a sign that life wins over death, establishes the outcome of the fight scene between Aslan and Jadis. Aslan, symbol of life, triumphs over Jadis, who in turn represents death.
Film adaptations and settings
- 1967 The Lion, the Witch, & the Wardrobe (TV, miniseries)
- 1979 The King of Narnia (TV, animation)
- 1988 The Chronicles of Narnia: The King of Narnia (TV, real film)
- 2005 The Chronicles of Narnia: The King of Narnia (cinema, real film)
- The group 2nd Chapter of Acts produced the concept album Roar Of Love in 1980 , which reproduces the content of the book in 14 songs.
Web links
Sources / literature
- The Chronicles of Narnia Volume 2 - The King of Narnia ISBN 978-3-8000-5168-7
- The Chronicles of Narnia (hardcover) ISBN 3-8000-5186-9
Individual evidence
- ↑ Lexicon: Texts of Fantastic Literature: Archive Link ( Memento of the original from September 27, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Narnia Translations: Archived copy ( Memento of the original from September 28, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
