The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (book)



"This is going to be exciting enough without pretending."

- Peter Pevensie

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe presents the story of four ordinary children, Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy Pevensie, who find their way into the magical land of Narnia where they meet the great lion Aslan and take part in breaking the evil White Witch's reign of power while becoming kings and queens of this world.

Characters

 * Peter Pevensie
 * Susan Pevensie
 * Edmund Pevensie
 * Lucy Pevensie
 * Professor Digory Kirke
 * Mrs. Macready
 * Ivy (mentioned only)
 * Margaret (mentioned only)
 * Betty
 * Mr. Tumnus
 * White Witch (Jadis, selfproclaimed Queen of Narnia, Empress of the Lone Islands)
 * Ginarrbrik (unnamed in book, name adapted from movie adaption)
 * Maugrim
 * Mr. Beaver
 * Mrs. Beaver
 * Aslan
 * Father Christmas
 * Fox
 * Emperor-over-the-Sea (mentioned only)
 * White Stag (mentioned only)

Book Facts
Published in 1950, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe was originally written as a stand alone book and was not intended to have any sequels. It was written for four children that had come to live with C.S. Lewis during the Second World War. The original characters were named Ann, Martin, Rose, and Peter. The book is dedicated to his goddaughter. It is the first of the series published.

Plot Summary
England, 1940: The Pevensies are sent to the house of Professor Digory Kirke in order to be safe from the bombings of London during World War II. In another world a witch is ruling for a century and punishing it's people. The events in England lead to a series of reactions which will bring the witch to fall and bring peace and freedom to the Kingdom of Narnia.

While exploring the house of the Professor Lucy enters Narnia and meets there Mister Tumnus, a faun. At first, it seems that the faun wants to betray Lucy by bringing her into his home and letting her fall asleep. But as he decides to not give her as a prisoner to the Queen of Narnia, Jadis, called the White Witch they become friends. She then returns to England. Her siblings don't believe her story and ignore her attempts to bring them to Narnia. This would cause Lucy's second visit to Narnia without her siblings.

During the second time she enters Narnia she is secretly followed by Edmund, her older brother. There he meets the White Witch and is seduced by her. He confesses that his younger sister was once in Narnia and met Mr. Tumnus. She gives him the task to bring his siblings to her when they all enter Narnia with the promise to make him her heir and giving him more Turkish delight. He then meets back up with Lucy and they leave Narnia together and return to England. Lucy tries to convince her older siblings that Edmund went to Narnia as well but he lies to them and pretends that he pretended the game to fool Lucy.

Finally while hiding from Mrs. Macready Peter and Susan venture into the magical world. Once the four children reach the strange world they bring the lost hope that breaks the spell of the long winter. This is not done however, without betrayal and it's price. Edmund leaves the group while resting at the Beavers to go to the Witch's castle. He is taken prisoner after the witch believes he did not follow her orders. In the dungeons he meets Mister Tummnus who is later turned to stone by Jadis.

While he is in hostile, his siblings go on to find out about the Golden Age Prophecy and to embrace their destiny as the long awaited rulers of Narnia.

After the battle between the White Witch's army and the Army of Aslan, the Great Lion and king over all kings of Narnia, the Age of Winter is finally over and the children take their places as the kings and queens of Narnia. Fifteen yars after these events they return to England during the hunt for the White Stag. Upon their return they notice that the time has not passed since their departure. After telling their story to the Professor they remain silent to others as told by the Professor.

Themes
Like all books The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe has themes or lessons. Some of these may include:
 * Embracing Destiny
 * Death
 * Resurrection
 * Sacrifice
 * Good versus Evil
 * Friendship

Time
The Narnian time of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe was 1000 to 1015. It was the second book in the series chronologically. The English time or time on Earth was 1940 AD. The children return from Narnia in the exact moment they left their own world. This allows the children to be adults in Narnia and children when they return. The Professor advised them not to talk too much about it, but that does not mean they ever forgot about Narnia.

Atmosphere
In Narnia, consistent with the acceleration of time, the atmosphere seems different and it changes the children stirring in them feelings of bravery and maturity. This may explain why they grow up in Narnia but are the same age when the return from it.

Locations

 * London countryside
 * Old Professor's house
 * Wardrobe
 * Lamp-post
 * Narnia
 * Mr. Tumnus' home
 * Cair Paravel
 * Mr. and Mrs. Beavers' dam
 * Fords of Beruna
 * The Stone Table

Movie adaption
In The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (Disney movie) there are many differences.


 * In the book, the bombings of London were mentioned only while in the movie adaption there is a long sequence which shows the Pevensies hiding from death in their shelter.
 * In the book, the Professor hears from Narnia at the end of the story. In the film, he is trying to convince Peter and Susan to believe her younger sister.
 * In the book, Lucy is waiting at Edmund's side to see him recover. In the film, she runs immediately to aid the others with her gift.
 * The last chapter is very shortened realized in the film.