Narnia

Narnia is the central fantasy realm of C. S. Lewis's The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, a parallel world of talking animals, mythical beings, and ancient magic that the four Pevensie children enter through a magical wardrobe. It is a land defined by its long winter under the White Witch's tyranny, its deep prophecies, and its ultimate redemption through the sacrifice and resurrection of Aslan, the true King. The country stretches from the Lamp-post in the west to the great castle of Cair Paravel on the eastern sea, and its fate is tied to the arrival of two Sons of Adam and two Daughters of Eve.

Geography and Key Locations

Narnia is a varied land of forests, rivers, and mountains. The first point of entry for the children is a Lamp-post standing in a snowy wood, which Mr. Tumnus the Faun describes as the western boundary of Narnia, with the great castle of Cair Paravel lying on the eastern sea. The river that flows through the land is a major landmark; the Beavers' dam-house is built across it, and further downstream lie the Fords of Beruna, a broad, shallow crossing. The Stone Table, a great grim slab of grey stone supported on four upright stones and carved with strange lines, stands on a hilltop from which one can see the sea to the east. Cair Paravel itself, a castle on a little hill at the river's mouth, is the seat of the four thrones that are central to the prophecy. The White Witch's own house, a small castle of pointed towers, lies between two hills in a different part of the wood.

The White Witch's Winter and the Prophecy

When the children first arrive, Narnia is trapped in a state of perpetual winter, a spell cast by the White Witch, who calls herself Queen. As Mr. Tumnus explains, "It's she that makes it always winter. Always winter and never Christmas." This unnatural season is a mark of her oppressive rule. The hope of Narnia rests on two ancient prophecies. One states, "When Adam's flesh and Adam's bone sits at Cair Paravel in throne, the evil time will be over and done," referring to the arrival of two Sons of Adam and two Daughters of Eve. The other foretells that Aslan's coming will break the winter: "Wrong will be right, when Aslan comes in sight, at the sound of his roar, sorrows will be no more, when he bares his teeth, winter meets its death, and when he shakes his mane, we shall have spring again."

Aslan's Role and the Deep Magic

Aslan is the true King of Narnia, the son of the great Emperor-Beyond-the-Sea, and is described as a lion—not a tame one, but good. His arrival triggers the thaw that ends the Witch's winter, transforming the landscape from January to May in a matter of hours. The land's fundamental laws are governed by the "Deep Magic from the Dawn of Time," which the Witch invokes to claim Edmund as her lawful prey for his treachery. This magic, written on the Stone Table itself, grants her the right to kill every traitor. Aslan does not deny this law, but he submits to a deeper magic, one from before the dawn of time, which decrees that when a willing victim who has committed no treachery is killed in a traitor's stead, the Table would crack and Death itself would start working backwards. This sacrifice and resurrection break the Witch's power permanently.

The Coronation and the End of the Adventure

After the final battle, in which Edmund breaks the Witch's wand and Aslan kills her, the four children are crowned at Cair Paravel. In the Great Hall with its ivory roof, Aslan solemnly crowns them as King Peter the Magnificent, Queen Susan the Gentle, King Edmund the Just, and Queen Lucy the Valiant. They rule Narnia for many happy years, stamping out the remnants of the Witch's army, making good laws, and living in great joy. Their reign ends when, while hunting the White Stag, they stumble back through the thicket of coats into the wardrobe and find themselves children again in the Professor's house. As the Professor later tells them, they will not get back to Narnia by the same route, but they will return someday, for "once a King in Narnia, always a King in Narnia."