The document analyzes how the character of Aslan in C.S. Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia series serves as an allegory for Jesus Christ. It discusses several examples from the books, such as Aslan creating Narnia in The Magician's Nephew parallel to God creating the world, Aslan sacrificing himself to save Edmund in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe parallel to Jesus' sacrifice, and Aslan guiding and teaching characters throughout the series. The purpose is to demonstrate how Aslan represents Jesus in the fictional world of Narnia.

1. ASLAN AS THE FIGURE OF CHRIST
The Year of the Faith
I BATX
Ana Mª Solís Campayo
Hengyi He Sun
Laura Sánchez Carrizosa

2. Introduction
The Chronicles of Narnia is a series of seven fantasy novels written by C.S. Lewis
between 1949 and 1954. Set in the fictional realm of Narnia, a fantasy world of magic,
mythical beasts, and talking animals, the series narrates the adventures of various
children who play central roles in the unfolding history of that world. Except in The
Horse and His Boy, the protagonists are all children from the real world, magically
transported to Narnia, where they are called upon by the lion Aslan to protect Narnia
from evil and restore the throne to its rightful line. The books span the entire history of
Narnia, from its creation in The Magician's Nephew to its eventual destruction in The
Last Battle.
Aslan, the Great Lion, is the central character of The Chronicles of Narnia. He is the
only character to appear in all seven books. Aslan is a talking lion, the King of Beasts,
son of the Emperor-Over-the-Sea; a wise, compassionate, magical authority, a
mysterious and benevolent guide to the human children who visit as well as guardian
and saviour of Narnia.
C. S. Lewis described Aslan as an alternative version of Jesus as the form in which
Christ might have appeared in an alternative reality. Lewis often capitalises the word
lion, since he represents Jesus.
The purpose of this project is to demonstrate that Aslan is a version of Jesus in a
fictional world. That’s the reason why we analysed different situations in which this
figure may appear in the book series.
In The Magician's Nephew
When Digory, Polly, Jadis (the White Witch), Uncle Andrew (Digory’s uncle), the cabby
and Strawberry (the cabby’s horse) inadvertently enter a new world using magic rings,
they find it an empty void. Aslan appears, and through the power of his singing, calls
the world of Narnia into existence. Aslan then selects two of most animals that his
song has called into existence and gives them the power of speech and reason. He
instructs them to look after all the animals. He appoints the cabby to be King Frank of
Narnia and brings his wife Nellie from Earth to be Queen Helen.
Here we can clearly observe the moment Aslan created the world of Narnia out of an
empty void. This is an allegory of the creation of our own world and all the living beings,
who were given a soul by God. Like God did, Aslan appoints the cabby and his wife to
be King and Queen of Narnia. We can compare this to Adam and Eve.

3. In The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
Narnia is now in the hundredth year of the tyrannical rule of Jadis, who has returned as
a powerful sorceress called the White Witch. Jadis has condemned the land to endless
winter – but never Christmas – and has turned hundreds of Aslan's followers to stone.
Mr. Beaver explains to the Pevensie children (Edmund, Peter, Susan and Lucy) that
Aslan is the true king of Narnia and that the children (as Sons of Adam and Daughters
of Eve) are the chosen ones to help end the tyrannical rule of the White Witch. Even as
the children explore Narnia, Aslan's presence begins to weaken Jadis' grip on the land.
Edmund, who was enchanted by the White Witch on his first visit to Narnia, attempts
to betray his siblings.
The White Witch comes in parley and demands her right to execute Edmund for his
betrayal, citing Deep Magic from the Dawn of Time that gives her power over all traitors.
In private conversation with her, Aslan offers himself in Edmund's place, and she
accepts his offer, though none of Aslan's followers know this. Susan and Lucy, unable
to sleep, follow Aslan to the Stone Table that night. They watch from afar as the White
Witch mocks Aslan and slays him with her knife.
Lucy, Susan, and a number of mice remove the bonds from Aslan's body; but as dawn
breaks they find that his body is gone. To their shock, Aslan reappears alive and well,
thanks to a Deeper Magic from before the Dawn of Time. The Witch, having entered
Narnia only at the Dawn of Time, had not known of this. Aslan explains that the Deeper
Magic is invoked when an innocent willingly offers their life in place of a traitor's,
causing death itself to be reversed until the victim is reborn.
In The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe we can compare in various scenes the
sacrifice of Aslan to Jesus’. In the book, the purpose of Aslan’s sacrifice is to save
Edmund’s life because he had been tempted by the Witch (the Devil) and had betrayed
his siblings. That’s what Jesus did when he was crucified: he died to save us and wash
our sins away.

4. In The Horse and his Boy
The Horse and His Boy is set during the reign of Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy in
Narnia.
This book is about finding one's home. The talking horses Bree and Hwin seek their
home in the land of Narnia where they were born. For Shasta and Aravis, the two
humans who journey with them, finding home is more a matter of the heart (Aravis had
run away from home and Shasta from slavery).
Aslan's influence throughout "The Horse and his Boy" is at first hidden from the
characters. Secretly, he delivered the infant Prince Cor of Archenland from his enemies,
placing him in the hands of a Calormene fisherman (who made a slave of him and
called him Shasta). When Shasta meets Bree, it is Aslan, disguised as a "witless" lion,
who drives them to join Aravis and Hwin. In the form of a cat Aslan comforts Shasta
when he feels abandoned at the Tombs of the Ancient Kings (although as a lion, Aslan
defends him from predatory jackals). It is Aslan who chases Bree and Hwin so that they
will reach Archenland in time to warn the king of the impending attack by the Calormene
army, led by Rabadash. Aslan gives Shasta the resolve to help save Archenland and
Narnia from the invaders. He slashes Aravis across the back with his claws as
punishment for disregarding her servant's safety when she ran away from home: the
cuts on her back equal the severity of her servant's whipping.
Eventually Aslan shows himself directly to the travellers. After the victory over the
Calormenes, Aslan reveals himself to Rabadash in an effort to free him of his arrogant
and violent ways. When kind words and forgiveness fail to soften Rabadash, who calls
Aslan the "demon of Narnia", Aslan resorts to an act of severe kindness: he turns
Rabadash into a donkey. To cure himself of this "condition", Rabadash must present
himself at the temple of the Calormene god Tash in Tashban, where in the sight of his
people he would be restored to human form. But if he thereafter goes without ten miles
of the temple, he would be turned back into a donkey permanently.
In this book we can observe the intercession of Jesus (Aslan), who helps people without
them noticing. Aslan punishes Shasta and Aravis for their respective sins, but he does it
kindly and fairly. Also, there’s the Sacrament of the Confession in which Rabadash has
to admit his fault and do penitence.
In Prince Caspian
The novel Prince Caspian takes place 1,300 Narnian years after the events in The Lion,
the Witch and the Wardrobe. Aslan and the Pevensie children have become near-
forgotten "myths", and Narnia is now ruled by Telmarines, humans who have since
defeated and settled in Narnia.

5. Aslan serves to guide the Pevensie children to Prince Caspian, but he appears to them
only when they put their faith in his will and really try to see him.
In Prince Caspian there’s a comparison between the faith Lucy puts in Aslan and the
faith christians put in Jesus. You can only ―see‖ Jesus if you really believe in Him. In the
book, only Lucy can see Aslan but the rest of the people don’t believe her. Finally, when
Aslan appears to them, they regret not believing Lucy.
In The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
Edmund, Lucy and their cousin Eustace arrive into Narnia through a painting of a ship
which turns into Caspian's ship, Dawn Treader. Caspian, having established peace in
Narnia as the new King, has set out on a voyage in search of the Seven Lost Lords who
had been loyal to his late father and were subsequently banished by the usurper Miraz.
On many of the islands where they stop, a brief glimpse of Aslan or his image is
enough to guide Caspian and his crew away from danger and folly. When the
recalcitrant Eustace becomes a dragon, Aslan meets him and pulls the dragon-skin
away, leaving Eustace a chastened and more pleasant boy.
In a magician's house on another island, Lucy attempts to perform a spell that would
make her tragically beautiful, despite being warned of negative consequences. Just as
she is about to say the words, however, she sees an image of Aslan snarling at her,
frightening her from reading the spell. Aslan also reprimands her for using another spell
to see what her friends say about her. Eventually Edmund, Lucy, Eustace, and
Reepicheep the mouse reach the world's end, where Aslan appears as a lamb before
transforming into a lion (a scene that refers to John 21:12, where Jesus appears
after his resurrection and makes a breakfast of fish for the disciples). He shows
Reepicheep the way to his country and helps the children return home. He tells Edmund
and Lucy that, like Peter and Susan, they have become too old to return to Narnia, and
that they must instead come to know him in their world — a relatively direct reference
to the Christian theme of the series.
Here, in The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, we can see the penitence and forgiveness.
Eustace commits the sin of greed when he wants to steal the dragon’s treasure. As a
punishment, Aslan turns him into a dragon. He is too ashamed of himself to show his
new form to his cousins, but finally he understands his fault and Aslan turns him back to
a human form. In addition, there’s a scene referring to the Bible where Jesus isn’t
recognized by his disciples after his resurrection. When Aslan tells Edmund and Lucy
that their older siblings can’t return to Narnia anymore, it is a reference to faith.
Christians must get to know Christ without the need to see him.

6. In The Silver Chair
The story begins with Eustace, who was introduced in The Voyage of the Dawn
Treader, and his classmate Jill. They are unhappy at their school, where bullying is left
uncorrected. One day they are beset by bullies, and Eustace suggests that they ask for
Aslan's help. They blunder through a temporary gate and find themselves in Aslan's
Country, atop an immense cliff. Jill, showing off, moves too close to the edge, and
Eustace falls off trying to pull her back.
Aslan appears and saves Eustace by blowing him into Narnia; then he explains to Jill
that she and Eustace are charged with the quest of finding Prince Rilian, Caspian's son,
who disappeared years before. He tells her that their task has become more difficult
because of what she did, but gives her four Signs to guide them on their quest. The
fourth and final Sign is that at a key moment they will be asked to do something "in
Aslan's name." Aslan makes no further appearance until the end of the story, but his
Signs prove central to the quest, and belief in Aslan plays a crucial part in defeating
the Lady of the Green Kirtle, who tries to destroy the children's belief in the reality of
Narnia. The children manage to rescue Rilian, and they return him to Narnia just in time
to meet his father who dies shortly afterwards.
In the end, Aslan sends Jill and Eustace back to our world, and aided by a rejuvenated
Caspian, helps them repay the school bullies — and make the school better in the
process. Aslan shows himself to the bullies, who, seeing only what they take to be a
wild lion, are severely shaken. But no one believes their story, as the only other
witnesses are Jill, Eustace and Caspian.
We can see in this book the figure of the Devil (the Lady of the Green Kirtle) who tries to
destroy our faith in God. Only this faith can prevent us from being fooled by the Devil.
Aslan also helps the kids in their daily lives, just as God does.

7. In The Last Battle
The ape Shift disguises the reluctant donkey Puzzle as Aslan and fools the Narnians
into thinking that Aslan has returned. Shift issues commands in "Aslan's" name and
takes advantage of the credulous Narnians.
Shift and the unbelieving Calormene leader Rishda Tarkaan encourage the invading
Calormenes and the dispirited Narnians to treat Aslan and the Calormene god Tash as
a single, combined being — "Tashlan." Dissenters are thrown into Puzzle's stable,
supposedly to meet "Tashlan," where they are murdered by Calormene soldiers.
King Tirian of Narnia calls on Aslan for help, and Jill and Eustace arrive in Narnia. They
help Tirian and the remaining loyal Narnians battle the Calormenes and their allies, but
are all forced through the stable door along with several Black Dwarfs. They find
themselves not within the confines of a stable, but in a paradise: Aslan's Country.
Aslan is there, with King Peter and the other Pevensies (except for Susan who no-
longer believes in Narnia) with other characters from previous books, and they watch
through the stable door as the world of Narnia is destroyed. The vegetation is eaten by
dragons and giant lizards. Father Time calls the stars down from the skies into the sea,
which rises to cover Narnia. The Sun expands and draws in the moon. Aslan then
commands Peter to shut the door on Narnia, and he leads them into his country, a
platonic ideal of Narnia. Digory, Polly, Peter, Edmund, Lucy, Eustace, and Jill learn that
they have died, or rather, passed into Aslan's country, which is more real than the
"Shadowlands" (to use Lewis's own word) from which they have come.
The Last Battle refers to The Judgement Day, when Aslan judges everyone and those
who didn’t believe in him are unable to pass to the ―new Narnia‖, Aslan’s country.
There’s an Apocalypse, when the sky is covered by the sea and the Sun and moon are
destroyed. All the characters who believed in Aslan have died and passed to a better
world.
Conclusion
In conclusion, there’s a clear reference to the figure of Christ in the series of books The
Chronicles of Narnia. We can observe the concrete moments of the Creation and the
Apocalypse. There are also different sins and their penitence. The author’s intention
was to explain the Christian faith to children but not in a direct way.