3 - Not a tame lion

Not a tame lion

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe carefully prepares the way for Aslan’s appearance. When in Chapter 7 Mr Beaver confides ‘in a low whisper’ that ‘They say Aslan is on the move’ (p. 141), we are given a glimpse of what is instantly evoked by the name for the children. They do not know who Aslan is, ‘any more than you do’, as Lewis tells the reader, but ‘some enormous meaning’ is called up, like something heard or glimpsed in a dream that mysteriously promises to give shape to an otherwise chaotic bundle of events or impressions. Edmund feels horror, Peter feels ‘brave and adventurous’, Susan has the sensation of a scent or a strain of music, and Lucy ‘got the feeling you have when you wake up in the morning and realize that it is the beginning of the holidays or the beginning of summer’...