Snakes and Witches: On Temptation, Morality and Death in The Chronicles of Narnia and His Dark Materials

The goal of this thesis is to show the ways in which C. S. Lewis’ The Chronicles of Narnia and Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials depict Biblical themes, and to illustrate the worldview and moral values they represent by making use of these Biblical themes. I discuss the differences and similarities of the two series in their portrayal of themes like temptation, sin, morality, death and the afterlife. For my theoretical background and secondary material, I draw on theological literary criticism and thematics, as well as previous research on both Lewis’ and Pullman’s work. Using these as my background, I analyse the primary material through close reading. I show that the two series make use of a variety Biblical references and themes to create a moral framework and present their respective views on these themes. My main result is that their portrayal of morality and the other ideologies that they portray vary drastically, but that their overall goal is very similar. Both The Chronicles of Narnia and His Dark Materials aims to provide young readers with ideas about what is moral, how to live a morally good life, and where this life ultimately leads. In their own ways, both series also provide reassurance to their young audience when it comes to the topic of death. In their work, both Lewis and Pullman treat existential questions about what it means to be human, and they give different answers to these questions that I present in this thesis. I also demonstrate the relevance of this topic by discussing some of the critical opinions on both series, pointing to the underlying issue of deciding what is appropriate for young audiences to read. This is an important and ongoing cultural and societal discussion, in which our moral values and the ideologies we want to pass on to the next generation are constantly re-negotiated. Analysing the ways in which these values are represented on a textual level can give us an increased understanding of the issues at stake. With this thesis, I hope to be able to contribute to this discussion