The Chronicles of Narnia - The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe — Chapter 3

Narration Prompt

Summarize the chapter's narrative arc, then identify the central tension and evaluate whether the author handles it honestly.

Discussion Questions

1. Lewis introduces his antagonist through an encounter that structurally mirrors every famous temptation narrative in Western literature — from Eve in Genesis to Faust to the Grand Inquisitor. The Witch offers bread (Turkish Delight), spectacle (the promise of a crown), and authority (sovereignty over siblings). Evaluate whether Lewis is consciously engaging this tradition or whether these parallels emerge inevitably from the universality of the temptation structure itself.
2. The enchanted Turkish Delight raises a philosophical problem Lewis never fully resolves: if Edmund's craving is artificially imposed, his subsequent moral failures are at least partially attributable to a force he did not choose and could not resist. Compare this to the theological problem of original sin — a condition inherited rather than chosen. Is Lewis suggesting that Edmund's enchantment is a Narnian analogue of the Fall, or is it a narrative convenience he deploys without fully accounting for its implications?

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