User blog:AustinDR/PG Proposal: Aslan

What is the work?
The Chronicles of Narnia is a seven-part book series written by the late C. S. Lewis which are Christian allegorical tales about another world known as Narnia which is filled with talking animals, mythological creatures, witches, etc. The series had several adaptations done most primarily by Disney (and technically Twentieth Century Fox since Disney bought its assets so Voyage of the Dawn Treader is a "Disney film").

Who is he?
The Great Lion Aslan; the Wonderful Lion. Aslan is the son of the Emperor-Beyond-The-Sea and the leader/deity of Narnia. In The Magician's Nephew, the young Digory Kirke and Polly Plummer inadvertently bring Jadis the White Witch with them when they traversed to the destroyed world of Charn. Arriving in Narnia, they experience Aslan singing Narnia into existence and appointing different creatures with tasks and granting them the ability to speak. He then banishes the White Witch to the far north and had a tree built to keep her away. Unfortunately, the tree is destroyed and the White Witch returned to Narnia and reigned for hundreds of years and established an eternal winter.

In The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, Aslan returns to Narnia as part of the prophecy of four Sons of Adam and Daughters of Eve would come to overthrow the White Witch. After Edmund is tempted by the White Witch through Turkish delights, the White Witch claims ownership of Edmund due to the rules of Deep Magic stating that all traitors belonged to her, which were set up by the Emperor-over-the-sea. In secret, Aslan made a deal with the White Witch to die in Edmund's place if it meant that Edmund would be spared. And so, Aslan is shaved and harassed by the White Witch's followers. Being placed on the Stone Table, the White Witch boasts that she was still going to kill Edmund anyway despite of the deal, and she slays Aslan. Mice chew the ropes holding Aslan's body in place, and shortly thereafter, Aslan is brought back to life. It is revealed that there was an even Deeper Magic that the White Witch didn't perceive; if an innocent were sacrificed on the Stone Table, death would be reversed. Aslan and the others then race into war against the White Witch, and Aslan personally kills her.

Aslan would make a few more appearances in the book series assisting the Pevensie children or other characters, and later plays a prominent role in the final book of the series The Last Battle where he and Father Time destroy the Old Narnia and judges those Narnians faithful to him by permitting them entrance into Aslan's Country.

Corrupting Factors? Goodness Zone?
So, for the first thing, yes, Aslan does end up killing the White Witch. But in this case, especially in the live action adaptation of the Lion, Witch, and the Wardrobe, there is a moment of brief reluctance but he goes with it anyway to end the curse. But the main issue I'm sure that many will contest is his actions in the final book of the series. The Pevensies and Digory and Polly return to Narnia after getting killed in a train wreck back on Earth. But despite this traumatizing development, the Pevensies could now remain in Narnia and go into Aslan's Country. Except there's one problem: Susan is not present. It is briefly mentioned that Susan no longer believed in Narnia or Aslan (no longer a "friend" of Narnia), and that she was all about nylons and lipstick, and invitations. So, in other words, Susan remained alive while her siblings died in a wreck and she could not enter Narnia again because she no longer believed in it. This caused a plethora of debates when it was first published. Many thought that it meant C. S. Lewis was a sexist because of him mentioning "lipstick and nylons" as being the assumed reason as to why Susan was no longer a friend to Narnia, but from everything that I had read and researched, I believe that the answer is Susan tried to grow up too quickly and thus became foolish. C. S. Lewis did say that there could be a chance for Susan to come to her senses...but he then died. So, yeah.

Corrupting factors...there are none. It should be pretty obvious that Aslan is really supposed to be an alternate world take on Jesus. He even nearly outright says as much in The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. But...I'm more lenient on Aslan's chances of counting because of the fact that the book series doesn't try to preach to the readers or babying them. That, and the fact that Narnia is a fictional place that has a fictional religious system that only takes a few broad strokes from Christianity. I mean the "he is not a tame lion" is a better explanation than "God works in mysterious ways." But from this, I should mention that Aslan does have moral agency. What I mean is that he is aware of good and evil, but always make good decisions based on the interests of the Narnians.

Admiration Standard
Passes. He is a figure that inspires the other characters' actions; he even willingly sacrifices himself to save a traitor.

Verdict
I'll leave that to you guys.