The Second World War deeply marks each page of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobethe famous novel by C.S. Lewis published in 1950. Behind the closet door that leads to Narnia, hides the trace of a historical episode that impacted an entire generation: the mass evacuation of British children during the Blitz.
This experience, which Lewis experienced up close when hosting displaced youth in his home in oxfordconstituted the starting point and the essence of the saga that, seven decades later, maintains its power of attraction over millions of readers, according to Smithsonian Magazine.
In September 1939, two days before the United Kingdom declared war on Nazi Germany, the British government activated the Operation Pied Piper. In just three days, nearly 1.5 million people – including 800,000 children – left cities such as London, Manchester and Birmingham to take refuge in rural areas.
Throughout the conflict, some four million British people moved to escape danger as the Imperial War Museum describes how the largest mass movement of people in British history.
The children, often separated from their families, faced diverse fates: some found an unrepeatable adventure in the countryside, while others suffered indifference or mistreatment from their hosts. This reality, which overloaded educational and health services, is reflected in the novel through the brothers Pevensie —Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy—sent away from London to protect themselves from bombing raids, remember Smithsonian Magazine.
CS Lewis himself was a direct witness to the evacuation, a decisive event in the birth of Narnia. At his Oxford residence, known as the kilnsreceived several groups of displaced children.
The first group arrived in the fall of 1939 and, over time, other young people also found shelter in the house, including Patricia Heidelbergerwho evoked his arrival as “come out of the shadows into the sunlight”.
Daily life in the Kilns was not easy: domestic responsibility fell to Janie Moorean elderly and sick woman, and the minors collaborated in household chores and caring for the animals. He highlighted the case of June Flewettlater known as June Freudwho lived there between 1943 and 1945. At the age of 16, he took on numerous tasks and left a marked impression on the Lewis brothers.
Decades later, Douglas GreshamLewis’s stepson, confessed to her that she had inspired the character of Lucy, the intrepid girl who discovers Narnia. “I didn’t know until then. I was absolutely thrilled,” Freud said, according to Smithsonian Magazine.
In The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobethe war conflict transcends the simple setting. The figure of the White Witch, who keeps Narnia under a perpetual winter and rules with absolute authority, represents threat and resistance.
the historian Owen Dudley Edwardscited by Smithsonian Magazinestated: “The obvious origin of the White Witch is Hitler”alluding to the atmosphere of police state and totalitarian terror that permeates the fictional kingdom. However, other specialists such as Devin Brown They point out that these elements can be associated with any historical tyranny, from Mussolini to Napoleon.
Lewis’s narrative incorporates scenes and speeches typical of war propaganda: the representation of the wolf Maugrimhead of the Witch’s secret police, and the confrontation in which Peter Pevensie The defeat illustrates fear and pain directly, recalling Lewis’ experiences as a soldier in the First World War, where he was wounded in the Battle of Arras.
The parallels between Narnia and Europe at war It is also seen in the structure of resistance and collaboration. The novel presents its version of the Gestapo and concentration camps – symbolized by the frozen statues – as well as traitors embodied in the character of Edmund. Brown maintains that, for Lewis, fantastic literature It is a space where children face real horrors through their imagination..
“Narnia has its own tyrant, its own secret police, its collaborators and its resistance, but in a Narnian key,” he explains, in statements collected by Smithsonian Magazine.
Lewis’ own words summarize his view on the power of fantasy: “Since they are so likely to encounter cruel enemies, at least they have heard of brave knights and heroic courage.”.
For him, fantasy stories give children imaginative resources to confront adversity, instead of leaving them only the weight of suffocating realism. In Narnia, the Pevensie brothers go from being simple spectators of the conflict to becoming kings, warriors and healers, capable of transforming their environment and resisting evil.
Lewis’s modesty led him to believe that his books would be forgotten after his death. Nevertheless, The Chronicles of Narnia maintain their validity and popularity. The saga has sold more than 115 million copies, has translations into some 60 languages and has inspired film and television adaptations, according to Smithsonian Magazine.
Forged in the crucible of war, the saga invites us to understand that, after going through extraordinary adventures, the gaze and words of those who have crossed the threshold of the imaginary never return the same. The secret shared in fantasy leaves an unmistakable mark on those who, even for a moment, inhabited that other world.
