The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe | Chapter 6: Into the Forest

Chapter Summary:

The chapter begins with all four children in the wardrobe hiding from Mrs. Macready's tour. Suddenly, the four children find themselves in Narnia. Peter apologizes to Lucy. They all put on fur coats from the wardrobe and begin to explore. Edmund accidentally lets slip that he has been to Narnia before, and he is immediately shunned by his siblings for being cruel to Lucy.

Lucy leads her siblings to Mr. Tumnus's house, but they find that it has been destroyed. A notice reads that Mr. Tumnus has been arrested for treason against the Queen (for harboring spies and meeting with humans) and is awaiting trial. Lucy explains who the Queen/Witch is, and is then determined to go rescue Mr. Tumnus.

The children then see a robin nearby and Lucy speculates that animals may speak in Narnia. She asks if the robin could lead them to Mr. Tumnus, and the robin promptly begins to lead them along a path through the forest. During their walk, Edmund mentions to Peter the danger of following an unknown guide and wonders which 'side' (Mr. Tumnus or the White Witch) is the 'right' side.

Reflection: 

In this chapter, we see Edmund continue down a very dangerous path--filled with lies and secrets. As most lies of any substance are prone to do, Edmund's former travel into Narnia is revealed when Edmund says "oughtn't we to be bearing a bit more to the left, that is, if we are aiming for the lamp-post?" (p 92). As soon as he says this, Edmund's lie is gone, but his secret (his meeting with the White Witch) remains, as well as his motive (get his siblings to the White Witch's house). Interestingly, Peter, Susan, and Lucy react to Edmund's lie as a form of betrayal (particularly against Lucy). In his anger, Edmund plans an even larger betrayal--that is, to bring his siblings to the White Witch's house, which I would suspect, deep down, Edmund knows is a rather bad idea (at the least, a selfish one).

Thus, Edmund is on the treadmill of lies, secrets, and betrayal--his lie is revealed, he is treated as one who betrays, and then in his anger he plots a larger betrayal. The situation looks pretty bleak for Edmund, unfortunately (and it is, which we will learn in later chapters). 

The good news is that because this is a children's book, we can probably count on Edmund's eventual redemption from his lie/secret/betray treadmill (I won't spoil the outcome). After all, this is an important lesson for people of any age to learn--no matter how much you screw up, there are always ways to seek forgiveness, redeem yourself, and get off of the treadmill--whatever treadmill that might be. 

But Edmund has a long way to go until he gets to that point. He could learn a thing or two from observing his siblings, but his pride prevents him. Look at the very first thing that happens when Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy emerge into Narnia together for the first time:

"Peter turned at once to Lucy. 

'I apologize for not believing you,' he said, 'I'm sorry. Will you shake hands?'

'Of course,' said Lucy, and did" (p. 92).

The very first action that is taken by Peter upon entering Narnia is apologizing and asking forgiveness--and Lucy grants it. Edmund should watch and learn.

But--Edmund doesn't watch and learn. Which brings me to an interesting point. In the Bible, while no one ever sympathizes with Judas, who betrays Jesus, the fact that he does is meant to be--there is nothing that can prevent it, and it must happen in order for Jesus's death, resurrection, and so forth. Thus, in a very backwards way, does Judas initialize something that would have happened anyway? If he didn't do it, certainly someone would have done it, right? And if no one ever did it, would Jesus have ever died and risen? Similar questions surround Edmund. Is he predetermined to run on his treadmill of lies/secrets/betrayal? After all, much evil will come of his actions, but much good will as well. (I realize I've spent a paragraph on what the church has been asking for thousands of years, and I know I don't do it justice, nor am I trying to do so--just something to think about as it relates to TCON.)