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The Lion, the Witch and the Cold War: Political Meanings in the Religious Writings of C.S. Lewis
- Journal of Religion and Popular Culture
- University of Toronto Press
- Volume 24, Number 1, Spring 2012
- pp. 1-14
- 10.1353/rpc.2012.0002
- Article
- Additional Information
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The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, the first of the Chronicles of Narnia series by C.S. Lewis, is a fairy tale with an obvious Christian theme. In addition, the work artfully renders a medievalist symbolic conception of the planet Jupiter. However, the novel is also laced with an ideological element that reflects certain negative attitudes toward totalitarianism. This essay explores the political aspect of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, showing how it harmonizes with the Western anti-Soviet mentality of the early Cold War period.