The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe: Lessons of Sacrifice

The theme of sacrifice is woven into C. S. Lewis’ book The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, and the filmmakers who adapted it for a 2005 movie kept this important element. In fact, they amplified it by including more examples than were given in the book. In the movie, we first see sacrifice during the air-raid. Edmund returns to the house to get his dad’s picture, and Peter accompanies him back to the safety of the Pevensies’ bomb shelter.

In Narnia, Mr. Tumnus sacrifices his security to guide Lucy back to the lamp-post after he attempted to kidnap her. When all four of the Pevensie children--Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy--arrive in Narnia, Mr. and Mrs. Beaver then put themselves at risk to help these four.  They are betrayed by Edmund, who joins the evil White Witch, and a fox sacrifices himself to draw the Witch’s Secret Police off on a false scent.

But the most important example of sacrifice in this movie comes when Aslan the royal lion chooses to die so that Edmund, the traitor who joined the Witch, can go free. This is a parallel to what Jesus Christ has done for sinners, including me. Once I was a sinner who looked down on and snubbed almost all of the people in the world. They lived in the wrong countries, read the wrong books, knew the wrong friends.  This is obviously opposed to Jesus’ command to “love thy neighbor as thyself." (see Mark 12:31)  But Jesus Christ set me free from those chains just like Aslan saved Edmund from the White Witch’s vengeance.



Near the end of the movie, the Pevensie siblings and Aslan's army engage the Witch's cohorts in a climactic battle, which shows several instances of duty and sacrifice. When Peter’s white unicorn is shot with an arrow, it bucks, sending him flying directly into the path of the Witch’s hordes. To give Peter time to regain his army, the valiant centaur Oreius and a rhinoceros charge headlong at the enemy, ultimately sacrificing themselves (the rhinoceros is wounded and Oreius turned to stone) to help Peter.

As the battle rages, Edmund sees the Witch sneaking toward Peter, who is heavily engaged in the fighting.  She wants to turn him to stone with her magic wand. Edmund ambushes her and breaks her wand into splinters. The White Witch stabs Edmund, badly wounding him, but Peter charges to his brother's assistance.  He then duels the Witch in an epic swordfight.

All of these lessons should be exhibited in our own lives.  We do not have to duel the White Witch with swords, but oftentimes we need to sacrifice in other ways.  Washing dishes, volunteering in thankless positions, being patient with those who are impatient--all of these are a sacrifice just as much as Oreius's charge or the Beavers' hospitality.