Edmund’s journey in The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe is such a good representation
of temptation, sin, and redemption. His curiosity is what gets him into trouble
in the first place, when he hears the sound of bells in a strange land, he does
not hide or move out of sight to first get a glimpse of what is coming, but
waits in the open to see what he comes to find out is a sleigh with a woman
sitting upon it who calls herself the “Queen of Narnia,” but is otherwise known
as the White Witch. Edmund is dragged away from his purpose in being in Narnia,
a purpose he knew nothing of yet, but his purpose nonetheless. He is enticed by
his own desires, which are uncovered when the White Witch. Not only is he
willing to spend time with the manifestation of evil in Narnia, but he is also
willing to bring his siblings to her house, at which point her probable plan
was to destroy them, in exchange for what he wanted desperately, Turkish
Delight. This temptation and sin Edmund falls into is dangerous and the Turkish
Delight he so quickly devoured is enchanted, causing whoever eats it to never
be satisfied by it and to want more and
more. The Queen then goes a step further, not only tempting his desire for
sweets, something that was a rare luxury during wartime, but appeals to his desire
for respect and power. Edmund, a little boy who has always felt looked over and
insignificant next to his big brother Peter, quickly jumps at the chance of
having his siblings below him and the opportunity to become a Prince. She uses
the prophecy, he knows nothing of against him, had he known the prophecy he
would have known that he was already intended to be a king of Narnia, something
that is even better than what the Queen was offering to him. This desire for
respect and power can be found in all of us I think and can be used against us,
as it was used against Edmund. Edmund’s redemption is beautiful thing, a
sacrifice had to be made, a life for a life and Aslan willingly gave his in
exchange for a boy who had sold out his family to the White Witch who not only
intended to destroy them, but to also destroy him.
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