The Four Seeds

Over-allegorizing a text is something that has been enjoyed by both Christians and fantasy nerds alike. Though I have reservations about attempting to find allegorical meaning in certain books, there are some that I see a definite benefit in, whether or not it's what the author intended.

Such is the case with The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe. Pieces of allegory are definitely not hard to find, and often enrich the text in insightful and sometimes alarming ways. Upon my second reading of the book, one possible allegorical connection I made was between the 4 children protagonists in the story and the four seeds Christ talks about in Matthew 13.

The first seed the Lord mentions falls along a path, but the birds come and eat it up almost immediately. This reminds me of Peter. The seed of faith in Aslan falls in the right place; he hails him as King of all and learns to trust Him in battle, but it is snatched up quickly by his pride and desire to be more of a leader than he is ready for. His complete trust in Aslan is taken away when he tries to assume the role of father, or family leader. This comes to a climax when he tries to fight the White Witch on his own.

The second seed fell on rocky places that didn't have much soil. It grew fast, but soon withered in the sun because it had no root. This reminds me of Susan. Susan is eager to be perfect; more and more like her mother, and infallible. Her longing for maturity and adulthood is like the sun that withered the plant of her faith and shriveled up the roots, because that's what she believed in more than faith in Aslan.

The third seed fell on among thorns, which choked it as it tried to grow. This reminds me of Edmund. He was the only one who had the influence of evil weighing upon him before he even had heard of Aslan. Between the White Witch, and the fact that he was already in a precarious moral standing (being nasty to those smaller to him, as the book mentions) could serve as the thorns. His faith never stood a chance, and it was only something extraordinary, the sacrifice of Aslan, that finally broke the thorns that choked him and let him believe.

Lastly, the fourth seed fell on good soil and grew up unhindered. That reminds me of Lucy, for obvious reasons. She never let outside sources taint her inward faith, and remained strong and unquestioning throughout the entire book. It almost seems ironic to me that the seeds should be "growing up" in the parable, and the one who is considered the least grown up of the bunch should have the healthiest growing seed.

That's just a little bit of simple thought on a parallel between this parable told by Christ, and this story told by Lewis.