“You have a traitor there, Aslan,” said the Witch. Of course everyone present knew that she meant Edmund. But Edmund had got past thinking about himself after all he’d been through and after the talk he’d had that morning. He just went on looking at Aslan. It didn’t seem to matter what the Witch said.”
The third chapter of Zechariah opens with a vision given to the prophet, Zechariah, concerning Joshua the high priest who stands under accusation by Satan. Here Joshua stands in filthy garments and indicted by the forked words of the Deceiver. Instead, God clears his high priest. Joshua has his iniquity removed, he is clothed in new and clean clothes.
In The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, Edmund betrays his siblings. In a picture close to the vision of Joshua, Edmund stands under accusation of the White Witch but also under the love of Aslan. His life and death belong to the White Witch in accordance with the Deep Magic of Narnia. But Aslan fulfills his promise that all will be done to save Edmund, by going in Edmund’s place and dying by the hands of the White Witch on the Stone Table.
But it does not end there. Aslan by a deeper magic causes time to work backwards, thus defeating death. The reign of the White Witch is over, she is defeated shortly after Aslan’s resurrection; the captives of Narnia are set free.
Clyde Kilby recalls a letter from a third-grade teacher upon reading Aslan’s death to her room. “The attitude of the room was worship, holiness. The rare impression of that moment will never leave me. When I finished the chapter about Aslan’s death the room was in stunned disbelief. Aslan dead! And then a child who had read further said, ‘Don’t give up — something wonderful is going to happen.’ It crept through the room and sighs issued. The little people had caught glimpses of the very real, the miracle of spiritual understanding.”
The transformation and redemption of Edmund Pevensie is one of the most beautiful moments in Narnia. When Edmund first arrives in Narnia, he experiences mysterious and horrible feelings at the mention of Aslan’s name around the Beaver’s table. It is after his rescue and encounter with Aslan that Edmund begins to mend. We are not told what Aslan said to Edmund, but Aslan words as Edmund’s siblings after their conversation echo the language of the Prodigal Son, “here is your brother.” Edmund is no longer thinking about himself. The Witch’s words hold no power or sway any more. He just keeps looking at Aslan.
Later in the Narnia books, Eustace Scrubb in The Voyage of the Dawn Treader recounts his own meeting with Aslan to Edmund. He listens with patience and understanding as Eustace describes his rebirth from a dragon to a boy. The name of Aslan was once hated by Eustace but now has comes to mean something different to me. Edmund forgives his cousin while letting him in on the redemption that took place in his own life. “You were only an ass, but I was a traitor.”
Eustace doesn’t want to know the rest. And it doesn’t matter. He wants to know Aslan now. A life changed and redeemed doesn’t dwell on the past. It moves to the rich sun-lit lands.
End Note: It is good to be back. I apologize for the limited posts over the past month and a half. Between getting my seniors ready for their thesis defense and our trip to Europe, it has been busy. I’m excited to get back into The Screwtape Letters and some more Lewis material this summer. Thanks for reading!