A common trope in storytelling is the young man or young woman who comes from humble beginnings and finds himself or herself to be a king or queen by the end of the story. As readers, we love observing the unfolding of their adventure and culmination to rule. Usually, these characters are sympathetic and good-natured; we would enjoy meeting them, befriending them, and we trust them to rule well. But what about a character who does not yet know they are destined to be a king and who has such deep character flaws that we recognize their rule would be a self-centered disaster? We neither like them, nor want to be near them, and we certainly do not want them to have authority over others. We have just such a scenario in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis. Narnia’s Dream for Benevolent Rulers Edmund is one of the four Sons of Adam and Daughters of Eve who by the end of the story is crowned co-ruler over Narnia with his siblings in Cair Paravel. However, as the story begins, Edmund has no idea that he will one day be a ruler of Narnia. As careful readers, we learn from Mr. Tumnus’ conversation with Lucy that Narnia is expecting a day when Sons of Adam and Daughters of Eve will come to that country. During Mr. Tumnus’ confession to Lucy, he states “I had orders from the White Witch that if ever I saw a Son of Adam or a Daughter of Eve in the wood, I was to catch them and hand them over to her.” Moments later even amidst his The Dream of Narnia’s Kings & Queens versus the Mirage of Edmund J. Michael McKay Jr.
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