A Second Chance for Creation

Throughout The Magician's Nephew, Lewis seems to have woven a theme of second chances. If he did not intend for the Chronicles of Narnia to be an allegory for Christianity, then maybe it was his way of exploring what Christianity could be like given a chance in a brand new world.

Lewis's spin on creation in The Magician's Nephew has numerous similarities to the creation story in the Bible. First, the order of creation in Narnia echos that of the Bible: the stars are created first, followed by light, separation of sky and land, and the creation of plants and animals. Aslan does not create man, as Polly, Digory, Uncle Andrew, Jadis, and the Cabby serve as the human figures in the story. Also, instead of a day of rest, there is a moment of complete silence after Aslan creates the creatures of Narnia. Interestingly, Aslan gives a few select talking creatures charge over the "dumb" creatures (the ones unable to talk). Later on, the new Queen and King of Narnia are give the opportunity to name all the animals.

Perhaps one of first places where the story diverges significantly from the Biblical story is when Digory is being tempted by Jadis to eat the "apple of youth." In order to atone for bringing evil into Narnia (the evil being Queen Jadis), Aslan sends Digory to pick an apple from a tree located in a garden in the mountains. After arriving at the garden and picking the sweet-smelling fruit, Digory is tempted to eat the apple. One expects that he will eat the fruit, as Adam and Eve did, but after spying a bird watching him, he does not. Just as Digory is leaving the garden, he spies Jadis polishing off an apple. She proceeds to tempt him to eat the apple himself and when that doesn't work, to bring it with him back to Earth in order to heal his mother. After a few uncertain moments, Digory makes the decision to obey Aslan and bring the apple back to him. In a way, I think that this could have been Lewis's way of telling a story where the first sin did not come from being tempted by evil. While Digory had sinned in bringing Jadis to Narnia, Aslan gave him a second chance, implying that "humans can work with God to undo evil results that come from wrongdoings" (The Atonement of Narnia, pg.248).

Also, as we talked about in class, the death of Lewis's mother left a large hole in his life. Through The Magician's Nephew, he was able to write a story where a mother was given a second chance at life. Perhaps this was his way of coping with the guilt of not being able to save his mother.

Though the Narnia books do not exactly parallel Christianity, it seems as though they may have been a way for Lewis to explore different ideas about how creation could have been different. In a world where second chances are not always given, it is intriguing to think about a world in which creation, in a way, is given a second chance.