THE DREAM OF NARNIA’S KINGS & QUEENS 97 Narnia. Edmund had told the White Witch about his siblings while he was enjoying the drink and food of Turkish Delight that she had provided for him. Edmund was told by the Witch that she would make him her prince and then one day king. He would rule over his siblings with power and eat Turkish Delight all day. All he had to do was to gather his siblings and bring them to her. In the story, Edmund demonstrates his poor moral character. He lies to Peter and Susan about the existence of Narnia; he betrays Lucy; he is unapologetic when he bullies and hurts others; he is greedy for Turkish Delight and in the thought of humiliating Peter when he is king. As good readers, we realize that Edmund would be a terrible ruler. Nevertheless, despite being an unsympathetic character, we do muster some sympathy for him as he slowly realizes that his dreams of Turkish Delight and being a prince (and ultimately a king) are merely a mirage; they are a will-o’-thewisp; a shadow with no substance. When he enters Cair Paravel for the first time, he is without his siblings and discovers that the White Witch is cruel, unforgiving, and that all the promises she made were empty statements. His first meal is not Turkish Delight but stale bread which he can hardly choke down. Instead of being called a prince, he is called a brat. And instead of being crowned with a gold crown and bending his siblings to his will, he is ultimately a prisoner, tied up while walking to the Stone Table with the White Witch. From Shadows to Substance: The Real Story Edmund’s story has strong parallels to humanity’s story in the Bible. These parallels go beyond the titles of Sons of Adam and Daughters of Eve. Humans were made by God in his image (Gen 1:26-28) which is defined as exercising governance over the created order. In short, while God is the great King, he has delegated to human beings to be vice-regents over his creation. This exercise of rule is illustrated in Genesis 2 where Adam and Eve are stationed in the Garden of Eden to work and to serve (Gen 2:15). However, the biblical story quickly reveals that Adam and Eve betrayed their God and proved unfaithful to the responsibilities he gave them. They believed another story, the serpent’s story. This story told them that they
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