Aslan

1. Introduction
The works of C. S. Lewis can be divided into two different categories: the fictional writings such as The Great Divorce, The Screwtape Letters, The Space Trilogy, and non-fictional works that deal with matters such as literary criticism, philosophy and theosophy. In many of these essays, Lewis shows a particular interest in the relationship of man with God. Lewis’ intention is toexpose to the common reader the way to understand Divinity, especially when confronted with experiences such as pain or destructive love, which raise questions about the concept of God. To do this, he illustrates the usually complex Christian theological discussions with examples taken from everyday life.
Lewis’s most popular fictional work is The Chronicles of Narnia, a collection of sevenstories having Narnia for a setting. Narnia is a world created by Lewis, in which a group of children live adventures full of symbolic meaning. The books contain Christian ideas intended to be easily accessible to young readers. In addition to Christian themes, Lewis also borrows characters from Greek and Roman mythology as well as traditional British and Irish fairy tales.
Aslan, a powerful andbenevolent lion, is the most relevant character in all these stories. He is a talking lion, King of the Beasts, son of the Emperor Over the Sea; a wise, compassionate, magical authority both temporal and spiritual; mysterious and beloved guide to the human children who visit; guardian and savior of Narnia. These representations of Aslan will be analyzed in the light of the theological ideas thatLewis sets forward in his essays.
In order to carry out this study, two literary approaches will be taken into consideration. On the one hand, The Mythological-Archetypal Approach will be used to understand the representation, and the form of perception of the symbol. On the other hand, The Psychological Approach will be employed to analyze human and natural love, according to the different forms oflove.
This thesis will be structured in four parts: a theoretical framework, an analysis of the symbolism in The Chronicles of Narnia, an author’s biography, and an analysis about Aslan. Firstly, the theoretical framework will review the main information about the analysis of Aslan as a symbolic figure, and a very systematic explanation of the concept symbol, as well as, an explanation ananalysis of how C. S. Lewis understood Divine Love. Secondly, the analysis of the symbolism in The Chronicles of Narnia will provide information and other points of view of the symbolism in the stories. Thirdly, the author’s biography will provide information regarding C.S. Lewis’s life and work, and a summary of his novels. The last part, the analysis, will provide information about Aslan, which willhave two main goals. The first one is to prove that the image of Aslan is a symbolic representation and not an allegorical one. The second goal is to prove that Aslan shares essential characteristics that Lewis attributes to Divine Love.
Finally, the conclusion will show whether the purpose of this thesis was, definitely, reached and if the posed objectives of the conclusion in the analysis wereaccomplished.
Objectives
To provide information on C. S. Lewis’ personal and professional life.
To establish a working definition.
To prove that the image of Aslan is a symbolic representation and not allegoric.
To prove that Aslan shares essential characteristics that Lewis attributes to Divine Love.
2. Theoretical Framework
The theoretical framework for the analysis of Aslan as asymbolic figure is the theory that Tzvetan Todorov develops in Teorías del Símbolo. Todorov proposes a very systematic explanation of the modern meaning of the concept ‘symbol’. I will center the analysis in two main ideas: that the image of Aslan is a symbolic representation and not allegoric, and that Aslan shares essential characteristics that Lewis attributes to Divine Love.
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