Oh, I'm not offended; I enjoy having discussions about my favorite books, and they can get boring if everyone agrees on everything. =D
I agree, though, that Jadis probably didn't intend to rule only Narnia. I think we run into the problem that Lewis didn't start out to write a series, so that the other lands in the world Narnia inhabited are later inventions. So when writing LWW, Narnia really was the whole world. So that's all interpretable as you will.
I do have to disagree with you in that Aslan is not a literal equivalent of Jesus. For one, it's hardly good writing if you write "Aslan is Jesus" in the middle of a narrative. A good writer shows, he doesn't tell. But Lewis shows throughout the series that Aslan is equivalent to Jesus. Lewis describes this himself in one of his letters: "Has there never been anyone in this world who (1.) Arrived at the same time as Father Christmas. (2.) Said he was the son of the great Emperor. (3.) gave himself up for someone else's fault to be jeered at and killed by wicked people. (4.) Came to life again. (5.) Is sometimes spoken of as a Lamb...."
Now, I know that's an outside source, but it's only reciting what is in the book itself. Aslan comes at Christmas. He's the son of the Emperor-Over-The-Sea. He gave himself up in place of Edmund and came to life again. He appears as a lamb. Even his lion form comes from Christianity: Jesus as the Lion of Judah.
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reply to long comment, part 1
Date: 2009-05-06 03:35 am (UTC)I agree, though, that Jadis probably didn't intend to rule only Narnia. I think we run into the problem that Lewis didn't start out to write a series, so that the other lands in the world Narnia inhabited are later inventions. So when writing LWW, Narnia really was the whole world. So that's all interpretable as you will.
I do have to disagree with you in that Aslan is not a literal equivalent of Jesus. For one, it's hardly good writing if you write "Aslan is Jesus" in the middle of a narrative. A good writer shows, he doesn't tell. But Lewis shows throughout the series that Aslan is equivalent to Jesus. Lewis describes this himself in one of his letters: "Has there never been anyone in this world who (1.) Arrived at the same time as Father Christmas. (2.) Said he was the son of the great Emperor. (3.) gave himself up for someone else's fault to be jeered at and killed by wicked people. (4.) Came to life again. (5.) Is sometimes spoken of as a Lamb...."
Now, I know that's an outside source, but it's only reciting what is in the book itself. Aslan comes at Christmas. He's the son of the Emperor-Over-The-Sea. He gave himself up in place of Edmund and came to life again. He appears as a lamb. Even his lion form comes from Christianity: Jesus as the Lion of Judah.