Lewis Myths And Legends Common In An Epic

Next, to discuss the myths and legends common in an epic, portrayed in this novel through the characters. Narnia itself is full of magic and legend, but it is the inhabitants of Narnia, both good and evil, that really show this tale’s mythological side: “Ogres with monstrous teeth, and wolves, and bull - headed men ; Spirits of evil trees and poisonous plants;… Cruels and Hags and Incubuses, Wraiths, Horrors, Sprites, Orknies and Ettins.” This long description lists some of the evil mythological creatures to inhabit Narnia, some beyond

Aslan himself is seen as a figure of Christ as he is not only a saviour but also sacrifices himself for Edmund and is crucified and resurrected just as Jesus Christ was: “when a willing victim who had committed no treachery was killed in a traitor’s stead. The Table would crack and Death itself would start working backwards.” Here Aslan is explaining to the two girls, Susan and Lucy how he survived after they had seen with their own eyes his death and resurrection. This story of resurrection is famous in Christianity and amongst other religions which is likely why Lewis chose to convey his version of it through the mystical character Aslan. As well as this, throughout the novel the children are referred to the sons of Adam and the daughters of Eve which is another famous tale in religion, specifically Christianity. God created Adam and Eve to live peacefully together in the Garden of Eden and were told by God the only rule was to not eat the forbidden fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Eve was then tempted by Satan and ate the fruit therefore giving into this temptation of evil and later Adam too ate it, resulting in them both being banished to the outside world by God . This is reflected in The Lion,

Out of the four children, Peter is described as the bigger, more heroic hero, mainly as he is the oldest but still only a child. He managed to fight her long enough for Edmund to swoop in and destroy her wand: “It was Peter she was fighting - both of them going at it so hard that Lucy could hardly make out what was happening – she only saw the stone knife and Peter’s sword flashing so quickly that they looked like three knives and three swords.” Here we see Peter’s heroic fighting against the more powerful witch and his ability to fend her off. Peter also shows signs of a heroic impulse, especially when he hears his sister’s horn and goes running towards her to help: Peter did not feel very brave… But that made no difference to what he had to do. He rushed straight up to the monster and aimed a slash of his sword at its side” Here is a prime example of a heroic impulse. Peter, not knowing how to fight and only just been given his sword, runs up and attacks the monster even though he was petrified. He manages to kill the beast and gain glory and confidence as a result. Peter’s superior fighting