How Was The White Witch Defeated In Narnia?

The White Witch’s downfall in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe was so fabulous after her long, cold, hard rule of Narnia. It was all tied up with the Deep Magic and Aslan’s sacrifice of himself on the Stone Table. She thought she had gotten the better of him there, but she was wrong. He had been willing to give up his life for Peter, and the Deeper Magic, from before the dawn of time, to be sure, had to be fulfilled. So, Aslan came back to life, and then, in a great and powerful battle, the White Witch’s army was defeated. The turning point of the battle came when Peter and his two friends joined forces with Aslan. Her long, hard, cold rule of Narnia was coming to an end. It was her own pride and her own refusal to recognize certain rules, long in force in Narnia, that brought her down in the end. The scene where Aslan rides to meet her is one of the most powerful in all of literature and it always sends shivers down my own spine. I hope it has the same effect on you even though you’re reading it all on your own.

What I love most about this scene is how thoroughly layered it is. The White Witch’s defeat is not simply a battle of swords, or even magic. Rather, it is a full-on thaw, literal and figurative. Spring returns to Narnia, and with it, the land’s long dormant statues come to life once more. Indeed, it is as though the very land itself is rejecting the Witch’s tyranny. The deep sense of cosmic balance being restored here is no small feat, and it is one that CS Lewis pulled off beautifully. And of course, we must also consider the contribution that Edmund made to the Witch’s downfall. His betrayal, and subsequent redemption, played no small role in the unfolding of this prophecy, and the circumstances of the Witch’s defeat are a perfect mix of destiny, sacrifice, and family.

The White Witch has one of the most memorable fantasy endings of all. She is so fearsome – turning creatures to stone, ruling Narnia with cruel and sometimes mean violence – and yet she falls because she played for higher stakes than she realized. Her downfall is predicted by a great and ancient prophecy which speaks of “two sons of Adam and two daughters of Eve”. When the Pevensies finally do stand up to her, it is as if the whole universe shifts on its side. And of course, Aslan’s return was required to bring about this event. But the children’s courage to stand up to the Witch in the final battle was what actually sealed her fate. The Witch had underestimated the Pevensies until it was too late. Her powerful and icy magic is broken in the final battle in a truly cathartic and memorable scene – like winter melting away with the first signs of spring.

It is interesting to explore the many layers of the White Witch’s defeat in the Battle of Ber Amp inaugural and the subsequent moments in the story when Aslan returns. The story so keenly portrays winter in all of its cold, unappealing, sterility and mannered behavior. As life returns to Narnia the snow begins to melt, the White Witch’s wand starts to crack and on her attempt to claim Edmund’s soul her powerful voice falters. I have long perceived that the White Witch underestimated love in all of its forms and that the only thing she could not grasp was Aslan’s extraordinary and noble self-sacrifice for the boy Edmund. She was vanquished by her greatest misconception of the magical and natural world she so forcefully sought to control and dominate.

In contrast, the children, even if somewhat active, play a very minor role in the last confrontation with the White Witch. This fight is not a duel of magic against magic; it’s a final reckoning. Rather than employing any tricks or magical spells, Aslan simply pounces and that is the end of it. There is something almost biblical about the nature of evil being so simply erased from the world in one swift, momentous moment. And in contrast to the White Witch’s magic, which relied upon fear and strict rules, Aslan is all about life and renewal. Thus, despite his efforts to save her, her defeat is almost inevitable.