Holy Week and C.S. Lewis’ The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

Wednesday, April 1, 2026

Sr. María Elizabeth Borobia, FSP

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Spoiler alert: Dear reader, if you have never read or viewed The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and do not want spoilers, feel free to pause, bookmark the link, and go read or view Lewis’ work.

Holy Week is upon us! A week in which we live the passion, death, and resurrection of Christ, up close and personal. Sometimes, it’s not easy to sit with it all, and a child’s perspective can help us enter in.

Deep truths through children’s fiction and animated movies?

Through children’s literature and an animated movie, I came to a fuller understanding of the Paschal Mystery: the passion, death, and resurrection of Christ. In my early twenties, as a novice in our community in Boston, we watched an animated adaptation of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, the second book of The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis. Although I had read and appreciated the Narnia books earlier, this movie version touched me deeply. I remember praying with several scenes of the film for the rest of the week.

Since then, I have read and re-read The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and deepened my appreciation for C.S. Lewis’ genius. Each time, I come away with some new insight, and my faith is also deepened. The themes of sin, redemption, pride, humility, suffering, sacrifice, joy, celebration, moral courage, love, death, and resurrection are masterfully woven into the fictional story of Lucy, Edmund, Susan, and Peter Pevensie and their adventures in the land of Narnia, where Aslan is king.

In The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, the four Pevensie siblings stumble through a magical wardrobe into the land of Narnia, ruled by the evil White Witch. Lucy, Edmund, Susan, and Peter each play a role in bringing freedom to the talking animals and magical creatures through cooperating with Aslan the Lion, the rightful king of Narnia, who comes to defeat the Witch.

Let’s look at two of the story’s main themes: sin and humility. Then we’ll unpack the Easter story.

Sin. That ugly three-letter word. We all know it, and we all struggle with it. Like in the Genesis account of the fall of Adam and Eve, pride is often at the root of our own downfall. The Pevensie children are called “Sons of Adam and Daughters of Eve,” and each struggles with a particular tendency to sin. Like them, each of us has our own “specialization.” Sin clouds our intellect, hardens our heart, and weakens our will, as we see portrayed in the story—and in our own lives.

Lewis develops the concept of sin most fully in Jadis, the White Witch, who has wrongfully appropriated for herself various titles, including Queen of Narnia and Empress of the Lone Islands. The White Witch is completely self-serving, cruel, and the epitome of evil. She will stop at nothing to gain what she wants, even to callously kill whoever and whatever stands in her way. But she is so very cunning and deceivingly charming. This reminds me of the serpent in the third chapter of Genesis 3.

Lewis also develops the story of Edmund, the youngest boy, who falls into the wrong crowd at school (in England) and begins to compare himself to his siblings. Edmund grows resentful of his eldest brother and becomes increasingly mean to his little sister, Lucy. Edmund continues to make choices that alienate him further from his true self and others.

Sin begets sin. In the land of Narnia, his still-wounded self easily falls for temptation: gluttony, deceit, and seeking power and esteem at all costs. He is blinded to the cruelty of the White Witch, who promises to give him what he wants. He goes so far as to betray his siblings and all those who had risked their lives for them. He puts his wants before their own lives.

Humility. Like J.R.R. Tolkien's hobbits, Lewis’ human protagonists are little (in stature and age) and most authentically themselves when not grasping after possessions, power, or prestige. Another way of saying it: accepting the truth of who they really are.

Lucy, the youngest, shows a healthy humility. She knows her limits, yet can stand her ground when challenged and be her true self—not preoccupied with showing off.

Lucy has her flaws, yet is seeking the good and is able to ask Aslan for help. When the children encounter Aslan, Lucy’s humility and simplicity of heart allow her to recognize his majesty and authority.

Aslan, the rightful King of Narnia, is an even more perfect model of humility. He shows the ultimate humility in letting go of his power and strength, indeed his very life, to save the traitor, Edmund. Edmund, once reconciled and redeemed by Aslan’s self-gift, later shows courageous humility and wisdom.

The Paschal Mystery

The dynamics of Christ’s passion, death, and resurrection come alive in Aslan’s story. We’re drawn in to experience the mystery of Christ’s self-gift to redeem us and give us eternal life. The reality of sin is conquered through a humble, total gift of self.

When the Pevensie children realize that Edmund has betrayed them and has been captured by the White Witch, Lucy pleads with Aslan, asking if anything can be done. “All shall be done,” said Aslan. “But it may be harder than you think.” And then he is silent for a long time (Lewis, 1950, p. 129).

The Witch claims Edmund’s life because of his transgression. Aslan secretly offers to take his place, and Edmund is freed.

The night of Aslan’s sacrifice (known only to Aslan, the Witch, and all her followers), Lucy and Susan cannot sleep and sense that something is wrong. They seek and follow Aslan at a distance until he sees them and reveals that he is glad to have their company as he walks toward the Stone Table. This passage always brings me to the Agony in the Garden, when Christ feels so utterly alone and desires the presence of his closest disciples, who cannot stay awake for him.

In Lewis’ story, Lucy and Susan are wide awake and become witnesses to the suffering and sacrifice that follows. It is like John, Mary, and Magdalene at the foot of the cross of Jesus, except that Susan and Lucy remain hidden out of obedience.

Reminiscent of Isaiah’s fourth servant song, “like a lamb led to the slaughter” (Isaiah 53:7), Aslan, the great Lion, does not resist, does not cry out, does not summon his power to protect himself. He is insulted, mocked, beaten, kicked, and spat upon. His beautiful mane is cut off, and he is muzzled.

Once he is cruelly bound, the Witch kills him with her strange-looking knife, only after insinuating that he is giving his life in vain, as she will now go after his followers. The scene at the Stone Table is not a pretty one. Neither was the crucifixion at Calvary.

Evil never has the last word!

After Lucy, Susan, and the mice free Aslan from being bound, and take time to mourn and keep vigil, morning comes. And with it, the dramatic splitting in two of the Stone Table.

As with Easter morning, when Christ rises triumphantly from the grave, Aslan returns, larger and more beautiful than before. His mane is back, and his joy is unbounded. He leaps and roars playfully, majestically. In the movie version, flowers spring up wherever his paws have landed. All is made new. Sorrow is turned to joy. Love, the deepest, truest “magic,” has conquered!

Now when Easter comes, we too rejoice! In our own paschal mystery—Christ suffering, dying**,** and rising in us—peace and joy come after every sorrow. Just like Christ, we may bear the marks of suffering, whether seen or unseen. With love, His love, these wounds are healed and become glorious in Him! He is risen! Alleluia!