Analysis - The Magician's Nephew

One of the main things that The Chronicles of Narnia is know for is it's Christian themes. The Magician's Nephew tells the story of the creation of Narnia and it has parallels to the story of the Creation and the Garden of Eden in the Bible. Chapter 9, The Founding of Narnia, tells how a great Lion singing a song is walking through an empty wasteland and the world is coming alive from him as he walks. Grass, trees, rivers and animals all come to life from his song.

Similarly in the Bible, Genesis tells of how God commanded for light, water, vegetation, and living creatures. In Narnia, these all appeared in the same order as they did Genesis. Digory, Polly and the Cabby all had reactions that would be expected for such an awe-inspiring experience. But Uncle Andrew and the Witch were frightened of the Lion. The Witch, and all her evil, was so scared that she ran away. And Uncle Andrew, while he was scared and uncomfortable, was more concerned about getting the rings from Digory and going home.

After Narnia has been created, Aslan, the Lion, calls a council to discuss the evil that has already entered this new land. Because it was Digory who brought the Witch into Narnia, even by accident, Aslan sends him on a mission to get an apple from a special garden on a hill and bring it back. This garden is very similar to Genesis' tree of the knowledge of good and evil and the tree of life. On the gate to the garden is written,
Come in by the gold gates or not at all,
Take of my fruit for others or forbear,
For those who steal of those who climb my wall
Shall find their heart's desire and find despair.

Similar to the warning on the gate, in the Bible, God warns Adam and Eve "but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die"(Genesis 2:17). Just like the serpent tempts Adam and Eve, the Witch comes to tempt Digory with the prospect of being able to heal his mother. Later, Aslan tells Digory that while the fruit would have indeed saved his mother, it would not have been the same happiness she would have now that Digory had obeyed Aslan and brought the apple back.

There are other moments of Christian parallel in the story. At the beginning, when Digory and Polly visit Charn, Digory wants to hit the little bell because the carving on the side told him that he would be driven mad by the curiosity. He ends up getting in a fight with Polly and waking the Witch who brought all the trouble to London and Narnia. This is a classic example of temptation that is presented throughout the entire Bible.

In the end, though, the Digory listened to Aslan and was able to save his mother and be able to go back to his life in the country that he had missed so much.