Too few people make it to the last book in “The Chronicles of Narnia” series. If you have, then you no doubt consider yourself privileged to have read its joyfully apocalyptic tale. “The Last Battle” (1956) draws from Christian themes to represent the end times in the world of Narnia.
For those who never made it to the world of Narnia in the first place, I highly recommend journeying with the Pevensie children through the wardrobe as they discover Narnia in the second book in the series. No matter what your age, there’s delight to be found and truth to be learned in the realm of Narnia, a land governed by the lion Aslan and filled with all manner of mythical creatures and talking animals.
Throughout the series, several sons of Adam and daughters of Eve (as those from our world are called) unexpectedly find themselves in the world of Narnia and are whisked away on a series of adventures. Two children are present at the creation of the world, four are present during what constitutes the Passion and Resurrection of Aslan (the Christ-figure in the world of Narnia), and two children are present during the world’s end times. Though the children always return to their own world in the other books in the series, they find that time passes differently in Narnia from how it does in our world. Their service to Aslan and to the inhabitants of Narnia elevates them to the status of royalty in Narnia, though no one in their own world is aware of the fact.
In addition to its Christian approach, “The Last Battle” contains political undertones. From the start, the children (and the readers) wonder: To whom do we owe our allegiance? There is never any shortage of earthly powers vying for our loyalty, but how can we know whom to trust? What point is there in choosing something to believe if everyone believes different things and believes himself to be in the right? It often seems as though we can never know for sure where the truth lies. With so many sources of supposed truth, it can seem impossible to know for certain which is the right one.
Donkey in Lion’s Skin
In one of his letters to a friend, Lewis writes: “The truth is that evil is not a real thing at all, like God. It is simply good spoiled. That is why I say there can be good without evil, but no evil without good. You know what the biologists mean by a parasite—an animal that lives on another animal. Evil is a parasite. It is there only because good is there for it to spoil and confuse.”
This is one of the prominent themes of “The Last Battle.” Evil has no proper substance; it cannot create, only destroy or distort. At the opening of the book, Shift, the ape, alters a lion’s skin and persuades Puzzle, the donkey, to wear it and impersonate Aslan. The easily controlled Puzzle follows Shift’s orders and leads many Narnians astray. Those who believe the ape’s ruse carry out his commands and are essentially forced into servitude.
All the while, the faithful followers of Aslan ask how this evil can be possible. How is it that Aslan would not only allow but also orchestrate all this suffering?
Playing With Fire
The Narnians are not the only ones embroiled in Shift’s scheme. The Calormenes, generally enemies of Narnia, are brought in on the ruse. They worship Tash, and as part of their manipulation of the Narnians, the Calormene leaders push a moral relativist idea that Tash and Aslan are just different names for the same being. Worshiping one is just as good as worshiping the other, they say, and they occasionally even refer to one or the other as “Tashlan” to promote this idea.
In reality, Shift and the Calormene captain don’t believe Aslan and Tash exist at all. But this doesn’t stop Tash from replying to their summons when they invoke Tash’s presence. Tirian and the loyal Narnians see Tash and can immediately recognize that this is no creature on equal footing with Aslan. “People shouldn’t call for demons unless they really mean what they say,” Poggin the dwarf remarks. Tash’s appearance further confirms Lewis’s idea of evil as a distortion of what is good: Tash takes the form of a man with the head of a bird of prey and four arms terminating in claws.
Simply Good Spoiled
When the conflict between the Narnians and Calormenes reaches a peak, Lewis gives us another example of evil as a mere distortion of good. During his time as “Aslan,” Puzzle had remained in a stable. After Puzzle leaves, Shift and the Calormenes repurpose the stable, saying that anyone who wishes to see “Tashlan” might enter the stable and see him. Unbeknownst to them, Aslan makes the stable a door to his own country, and those who enter the stable never emerge again into the old Narnia. Upon realizing this, the Calormenes siding with Shift force the faithful Narnians (including Tirian) through the doors.Tirian finds himself in Aslan’s country with all the kings and queens of Narnia. They eventually realize that though their world was passing away, the land where they now find themselves is the true Narnia, a fuller version of all they knew. What was good becomes more itself and flourishes under Aslan’s rule; what was bad is claimed by Tash, including the Calormenes and Narnians who devised the evil scheme.
All Find What They Truly Seek
As each character receives the reward for his or her actions, the kings and queens rejoice to find that one of the righteous Calormenes, Emeth, is among those claimed by Aslan. Emeth serves as an example of why it serves us well to pursue the truth, even if we go astray. Emeth requests to be let into the stable to meet Tash, whom he has served loyally all his life. Tirian and the kings and queens later find him in Aslan’s country, having been claimed not by Tash but rather by Aslan.
Aslan explains that it was not really Tash that Emeth had served after all. Aslan tells him, “‘Not because he and I are one, but because we are opposites, I take to me the services which thou hast done to him. For I and he are of such different kinds that no service which is vile can be done to me, and none which is not vile can be done to him.’”
Thus, Lewis shows us that no one who obeys the dictates of his conscience and strives to uphold truth and goodness is punished. If we are led astray or mistakenly serve what we believe to be goodness, in the end we serve goodness in actuality. Far worse is to live only for oneself and to say, “I will not serve,” for as Aslan says, “All find what they truly seek.”
Aslan gives each character the fate he or she desires. Lonely and desolate are the fates of those Narnians who sought only to be left to themselves. The characters who served Aslan receive all that they desired: to be with him in his country. Goodness, continuing to fill and create, extends their stories indefinitely, such that they truly do live “happily ever after,” enjoying eternal life in Aslan’s country.
