The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is C. S. Lewis’s classic fantasy novel that spins the tale of four children who discover and explore the magical land of Narnia. It’s a story of the fight between good and evil, with good prevailing in an unexpected but very familiar way.

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I read The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe as part of the 2025 Thoughtful Reading Challenge. October’s challenge was to read a book with a witch character because Halloween. Lewis’s White Witch character is suitably treacherous. In fact, in a story that’s full of Christian symbolism, she represents the devil.

Here’s a quick summary of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.

Siblings Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy Pevensie leave London during the blitz to live in the relatively safe countryside. One day, while the children are exploring their new home, Lucy discovers and enters a giant wardrobe. But it’s no ordinary piece of furniture; it’s a portal to Narnia, where it’s always winter but never Christmas.

Narnia is at the mercy of the White Witch – the self-proclaimed “Queen of Narnia” – who has put a spell on the land so that it’s always snowy and frozen. She also terrorizes the citizens, turning them into stone statutes when they do things contrary to her wishes or orders. In fact, one of the first creatures Lucy meets, a faun named Tumnus, is imprisoned when he disobeys the witch’s order to bring all humans to her.

But not all hope in Narnia is lost. There is news that Aslan, a magnificent lion and courageous leader, has returned to Narnia, and its inhabitants are certain that the White Witch’s days are numbered.

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During one of the children’s trips to Narnia, Edmund, who is a very naughty boy, sneaks away from his siblings to find the White Witch. He’s met her before and hopes to receive a reward of Turkish delight when he tells her Aslan has returned. Instead, he is treated poorly by the witch and triggers her plan to kill the human children visiting Narnia, including Edmund.

As the witch is getting ready to kill him, Aslan and the other kids arrive and intervene. Aslan agrees to be killed so that Edmund’s life can be spared. It’s a humiliating death that’s followed by a glorious resurrection. The children and the resurrected Aslan defeat the White Witch and her minions in battle, and it’s finally springtime in Narnia.

It was fun to explore the world of Narnia again. I read the Chronicles of Narnia when I was a kid, but that was long ago and not much stuck with me.

This time around, I was particularly interested in how C. S. Lewis created an allegory for Christianity with a children’s fantasy novel. As I’ve mentioned before, symbolism, metaphors, etc., are usually lost on my very literal brain, but the Christian symbolism in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is so obvious that even I got it.

Let’s start with the characters: Aslan represents Jesus Christ, the witch is Satan, and Edmund is Judas, who betrays Aslan for Turkish delight rather than thirty pieces of silver. In addition, Susan and Lucy, who stand watch over Aslan’s body and witness the stone table that he was laying on crack in half, represent the two women who discovered Jesus’s empty tomb.

The allegory extends beyond the characters. The most obvious symbolism is Aslan’s death and resurrection. Like Jesus, he died for people’s sins, as represented by Edmund and his Turkish delight gluttony. And similarly, his resurrection leads to freeing people held captive by the White Witch (i.e., Satan).

C. S. Lewis claimed The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is a “supposal” rather than an allegory, which requires a one-to-one ratio to the actual event. Instead of directly mimicking the story of Jesus, he started with a question like, “Suppose there is another world to be saved,” and his brilliant imagination created Narnia.

You and your kids don’t have to be Christian to enjoy The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. With strong themes of selflessness, redemption, courage, and good prevailing over evil, the story has broad appeal.

As for the reader, Michael York, he does an excellent job bringing the tale to life. A classic British novel deserves a classic British actor, so I was pleased with the choice.

What are your thoughts on The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe? And if you read a book with a witch character in October, please share!

For more family-friendly audio books, check out 23 Audiobooks to Listen to on Family Road Trips.

**Reminder – November’s challenge is to read a book written by a native American author.