– The Great Lion, son of the Emperor-Over-the-Sea. Appears: Chapters VII, VIII, IX, XI–XV. New annotation: In the 2023 critical edition, scholars note that Aslan’s breathing (the “his warm breath”) is a direct inversion of the Witch’s “endless winter.” His return to the Stone Table (Chapter XV) is now interpreted as a deliberate echo of ancient Near Eastern resurrection myths, not merely Christian allegory.
| Location | Chapter Introduced | Key Feature (New Edition Notes) | | :--- | :--- | :--- | | | 1 | The spare room; the wardrobe door. New: Architectural notes suggest the house is based on Lewis’s childhood home, “Little Lea.” | | The Lamppost | 1 | The border between our world and Narnia. Index: Appears 7 times; origin story in The Magician’s Nephew . | | The Stone Table | 8 (mentioned) | Site of Deep Magic. New: The cracks in the table form a cross-like symbol in all illustrated editions. | | The Witch’s Courtyard | 9 | The statue garden. New index of statues: Tumnus, the Stone Giant, the Leopard, the Fox. | | Beaversdam | 6 | The Beavers’ dam-home. New: In the audiobook index, track 12 for the “secret back door.” | | Cair Paravel | 17 | The four thrones (Adam’s flesh). New: Castle layout indexed in the appendix map. | – The Great Lion, son of the Emperor-Over-the-Sea
, is currently experiencing a massive resurgence. From a highly anticipated | Location | Chapter Introduced | Key Feature
– Chapters: VII–XI. New index note: Mrs. Beaver’s sewing machine (Chapter VIII) is a famous anachronism. Newer annotated editions point out that this reflects Lewis’s post-WWII British domestic ideal. | | The Stone Table | 8 (mentioned) | Site of Deep Magic
Edmund follows Lucy into Narnia and encounters the White Witch, who seduces him with enchanted Turkish Delight and promises of power.