There are many aspects of the Aslan character that are worthy of critical analysis, one that is of particular interest to me is Aslan's varying size and form upon his appearances. Lewis's myths are often interpreted as allegories. In this sense, I wonder what level of significance Aslan's size and form have in relation to his usual allegorical counterpart Jesus. It is important to note that Aslan's essence seems to stay the same, benevolent, dangerous, and kind, but how he is perceived is in flux. In Prince Caspian Lucy is the only one who can see Aslan, while Peter, Susan, and Edmund doubt Lu's claim to be following the lion's lead. It seems that belief in Alan as actually there, or maybe as simply actually existing, is the first step to seeing him. For Peter, Susan, and Edmund he slowly appears before the eyes as simply some feeling that they are following, then more than a feeling but some sort of figure, then a real live lion that is leading the way. For the dwarf Aslan suddenly appears. I wonder how this allegory might relate to Jesus. In my experience, Christ enters peoples life in many different ways. For some it is a gradual process of deep spiritual journey, and for others it is a radical and sudden joy when Jesus appears in their life. As the children knew Aslan before, he slowly appeared to them again, as I have seen Jesus do in many people's hearts. But for the seriously doubting dwarf, the change is instant and sudden. As for many people I know that led lives completely changed, in an instant, by the love of Christ.
As for the size of Aslan, I am still unsure. He says that 'as you get older so I will seem bigger.' I wonder how this connects in the Jesus allegory? There are many possible explanations, but my favorite is that as a Christ follower grows older, the love of Christ consumes more and more of their life. An example is that as a person learns over the years how much we know about the universe through science, and then how much more we don't know and how great we estimate the cosmos to be, God becomes that much bigger to the person. Or another could be when two people get married and they see God entering more and more of each others lives. That could be what Lewis is referring to in the Jesus allegory.
Monday, April 12, 2010
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