The weakening of the White Witch's power is first given serious attention in chapter ten of LWW, “The Spell Begins to Break.” Here it is clearly shown that the melting of the snow, the thawing of the rivers, and, in effect, the coming of spring is all due to Aslan's arrival.
Yet, several chapters earlier (the previous day), the Pevensie children are led to Mr. Beaver by a Robin (chapter six - “Into the Forest”). I do not know the habits of European robins, but, if they are anything like our American robins, it would seem that the sight of that bird would be a first sign of spring. At least (with regard to American robins), it appears that robins are among the first migrating birds to be seen back north in early spring – often before the snow has left the ground (i.e. when it seems that winter is still here).
Indeed, Lucy exclaims that the Robin is the first bird she has seen in Narnia. This seems interesting, for, if the Robin was in fact the first sign of spring's coming, this would mean that spring was on its way before the children had even heard the name of Aslan. Thus, the Witch's power would have been on the wane before the events of chapter ten (and with Aslan “on the move” [ch. 7 “A Day With the Beavers”], why should her power NOT have already started to be less evident?)
This is just a silly thought, of course.
Any ideas?
Yet, several chapters earlier (the previous day), the Pevensie children are led to Mr. Beaver by a Robin (chapter six - “Into the Forest”). I do not know the habits of European robins, but, if they are anything like our American robins, it would seem that the sight of that bird would be a first sign of spring. At least (with regard to American robins), it appears that robins are among the first migrating birds to be seen back north in early spring – often before the snow has left the ground (i.e. when it seems that winter is still here).
Indeed, Lucy exclaims that the Robin is the first bird she has seen in Narnia. This seems interesting, for, if the Robin was in fact the first sign of spring's coming, this would mean that spring was on its way before the children had even heard the name of Aslan. Thus, the Witch's power would have been on the wane before the events of chapter ten (and with Aslan “on the move” [ch. 7 “A Day With the Beavers”], why should her power NOT have already started to be less evident?)
This is just a silly thought, of course.
Any ideas?
posted by Christensen at 9:36 PM
1 Comments:
If Aslan was already on the move it could certainly be that the White Witch's power was already waning. I was under the impression that the coming of spring did not so much have to do with the children coming to Narnia as it did with Aslan's return. Aslan had already returned before the children got there and was, in fact, waiting for them at the Stone Table. Also, another point to consider is that the robin leading the children to Mr. Beaver obviously isn't just an ordinary robin and do Talking Robins migrate in Narnia? I doubt it (where would they migrate to?), so it might not have anything to do with the coming of spring. On another line of thought, perhaps the appearance of the robin is only a literary technique foreshadowing events to come. I do not think that the appearance of the robin can lead us to conclude that the White Witch's power was already waning before any of this story began to take place.
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