From the elaboration above, it can be seen how Lewis’ Christianity really has such a strong influence on his literary work. It can be seen how he exploits the Biblical
Concept of God as the creator and sovereign ruler having perfect moral feature in the creation of the character of Aslan. Aslan is created to be a symbol of virtuous supreme
power to convey those three qualities. In the story, those qualities can be seen explicitly on the way how Aslan is given the supreme power to create the land of Narnia, and to
make others submissive before him. In addition, Aslan is also depicted as having virtuous moral qualities.
This is unquestionably the form of Lewis’ expression on his Christian Life.
2. The Biblical Concept of The Devil in the creation process of the White Witch
as the symbol of vicious supreme power
As has been stated in the previous chapter, the White Witch is another manifestation of Magic in the form of a beautiful, tall, and solemn queen. It is stated
that she has a strong, proud, and happy expression, yet with cruel looks. If this imagery is related to the Bible, we may come up with the Biblical concept
of the Devil, it is said that actually the Devil used to be a cherub; the most powerful and beautiful of angelic beings, created by God Himself as it is seen in Ezekiel, saying that:
Your heart was proud because of your beauty; you corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor. I cast you to the ground; I exposed you before kings, to
feast their eyes on you 29:17.
Lewis unquestionably creates this portrayal on purpose. As previously he exploits the Biblical concept of God in creating the image of Aslan, it is also probable that Lewis
tries to use the Biblical concept of Devil the in creating the image of the White Witch. It may be because Lewis tries to depict two conflicting figures in his literary work as it is
in the Bible. Not only is Angelic beauty manifested in the White Witch, Lewis also includes
powerful strength in the characterization of the Witch. This strength can be seen from the magical power she possessed, namely the deplorable word, which is capable of
destroying her world and people where she is in conflict with her sister regarding the successor to the throne.
It can be seen that the deplorable word works in the opposite way to Aslan’s word
for the Deplorable is used to destroy reality while Aslan’s is to define reality. This
conflicting power asserts the possibility that Lewis, indeed, wants to express two opposing forces in the Bible; God and the Devil. This idea can be seen in the Gospel of
John 10:10, saying: “ The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they
may have life, and have it abundantly. ”
This verse is applicable to see that the Witch ’s
Nature is to destroy something. She is never hesitant in using her power as long as she can make others submit before her, although it means she has to kill. It makes her to be
explicitly described as a vicious person with her cold, merciless, and sadistic nature. This vicious nature has made her feel no pity for others that she speaks so easily
about killing other people. It is because she never positions herself in an equal position to others as she sees herself as the master who deserves to do anything toward her tools
for fulfilling her hunger and greed for power. She is said to be very practical so that she
will not be interested in others unless she can use them. It is also suitable with the concept conveyed with the verse above in the way Devil uses his power to cast
someone’s happiness away.
The Bible elaborated further on the nature of the Devil which we can use to refer to the White Witch. As it is said above, the Devil is created with such exceeding beauty
and brightness, yet all those qualities have brought him to pride leading him to his fall. The story of his fall is elaborated further in the book of prophet Isaiah:
How you
are fallen
from heaven,
O Day Star,
son of
Dawn How you are cut down to the ground, you who laid the nations low
You said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the
stars of God; I will sit on the mount of assembly on the heights of Zaphon; I will ascend to the tops of the clouds, I will make myself like the Most High 14:12-
14.
In this verse, it can be seen that the Devil does not want to accept God as his creator deserving the full honor from His creation. As he is created in an exceedingly high
position compared to other angels, he starts to desire God’s position. He is obsessed by wanting to become God so that he can rule the whole universe. He also wants to achieve
all of the glory due to God. All of those reasons lead him trying to cast God out of His throne. This effort to overcome God’s supreme power fails unquestionabl. As the
punishment, God sends him out of heaven. However, the Devil is not finished trying to rebel against God. There is a time
when the Devil takes on the form of a serpent in the Garden of Eden; where the first humans live, to tempt Eve; the
first woman created, to question and ignore God’s
command. The Devil tries to convinc e her that God’s instruction on not eating the fruit
from the tree of knowledge of good and evil is actually done as a way obtaining something good from her. She, unfortunately, believes in the
Devil’s lie. Lewis also manifests Devil’s rebellion against God and its failure in the story. It is
written that the White Witch viciousness and ambition for power makes her wants to fight against Aslan due to his superior power. This fight is started when she tries to fling
the iron bar straight at Aslan head as she enters Narnia. In addition, it is also said that her attempts fails. However, it never stops her and she tries the next fight by trying to
tempt Digory to ignore Aslan’s command. She wants to convince Digory that Aslan’s
command is actually done on a purpose to keep something good from Digory. Furtunately, Digory makes the right decision to submit to
Aslan’s command.
As it is seen fro m the elaboration above, Lewis’ background as a Christian has
a prominent influence on the characterization of the White Witch in the novel. It is likely that Lewis tries to insert Biblical concepts on the Devil in the image of the White
Witch to strengthen her position as the symbolization of vicious supreme power in the story.
3. The Biblical Story on the Origin of Temptation in the creation of The Apple
