lilith as snake, serpent, demon
Lewis clearly identifies the witch with Lilith and knew the tradition and follkore.
Below is a link to the Jewish conception of Lilith.
http://www.geocities.com/Wellesley/Garden/4240/zohar.html
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The Christian Tradition 1):
from
http://witcombe.sbc.edu/eve-women/7evelilith.html
Despite the fact that she is not officially recognized in the Christian tradition, in the Late Middle Ages she is occasionally identified with the serpent in Genesis 3 and shown accordingly with a woman's head and torso. For example, the bare-breasted woman with a snake's lower parts posed seductively in the branches of the tree between Adam and Eve in the scene of the temptation carved into the base of the trumeau in the left doorway of the West façade of the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris has been identified as Lilith
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The Chirstian Lilith 2)
from
http://www.lilitu.com/lilith/khephprint.html#folk
Perhaps the most famous version of this Christian Lilith is the Sistine Chapel paintings by Michealangelo. In this She is shown as a half-woman half-snake and is credited with being the very Serpent who instigated the Fall from Eden itself. Apparently, Lilith was not satisfied with her vows of revenge as they were, and decided to attack Adam where he least expected it— through his new wife, Eve. Perhaps even an amount of jealousy is involved here.
Of course, it was Satan who was said to have been the serpent in the Christian viewpoint. And, indeed, Lilith is said to be the wife of Satan (or, from the Hebrew angle, the wife of Samael). The Serpent was a joint effort between these two to take revenge upon Adam and cause them to Fall from grace. Lilith provided the body of the serpent, while Samael was the voice. As the wife of Samael (rather than Asmodeus), she is known as the Elder Lilith.
I have all ideas that this Serpent-Lilith was a result of the Rabbinical view of Lilith—She who seduces men from the True Path of God, thus causing them to fall from grace as Adam did.
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The above is just a sampling of the tradition Lewis was familar with. Lewis didn't need a hammer to hit the nail. It wouldn't be art otherwise. He made the reference he needed to make declaring Jadis the daughter (incarnation) of Lilith. Anything more literal from Lewis would be overkill. Many artists wouldn't have felt even that reference was necessary to those familar with the tradition.
The reason the Lion, With, and Wardrobe is among the most popular in the series is that the allegory is the cleanest. Looking for a pefect consistency through all the books will lead you were others have been. Lewis loses some focus over the course of the entire tale.
===============================================
More
http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~humm/Topics/Lilith/aNePics.html
Lewis clearly identifies the witch with Lilith and knew the tradition and follkore.
Below is a link to the Jewish conception of Lilith.
http://www.geocities.com/Wellesley/Garden/4240/zohar.html
==========================================
The Christian Tradition 1):
from
http://witcombe.sbc.edu/eve-women/7evelilith.html
Despite the fact that she is not officially recognized in the Christian tradition, in the Late Middle Ages she is occasionally identified with the serpent in Genesis 3 and shown accordingly with a woman's head and torso. For example, the bare-breasted woman with a snake's lower parts posed seductively in the branches of the tree between Adam and Eve in the scene of the temptation carved into the base of the trumeau in the left doorway of the West façade of the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris has been identified as Lilith
=================================================
The Chirstian Lilith 2)
from
http://www.lilitu.com/lilith/khephprint.html#folk
Perhaps the most famous version of this Christian Lilith is the Sistine Chapel paintings by Michealangelo. In this She is shown as a half-woman half-snake and is credited with being the very Serpent who instigated the Fall from Eden itself. Apparently, Lilith was not satisfied with her vows of revenge as they were, and decided to attack Adam where he least expected it— through his new wife, Eve. Perhaps even an amount of jealousy is involved here.
Of course, it was Satan who was said to have been the serpent in the Christian viewpoint. And, indeed, Lilith is said to be the wife of Satan (or, from the Hebrew angle, the wife of Samael). The Serpent was a joint effort between these two to take revenge upon Adam and cause them to Fall from grace. Lilith provided the body of the serpent, while Samael was the voice. As the wife of Samael (rather than Asmodeus), she is known as the Elder Lilith.
I have all ideas that this Serpent-Lilith was a result of the Rabbinical view of Lilith—She who seduces men from the True Path of God, thus causing them to fall from grace as Adam did.
===========================================
The above is just a sampling of the tradition Lewis was familar with. Lewis didn't need a hammer to hit the nail. It wouldn't be art otherwise. He made the reference he needed to make declaring Jadis the daughter (incarnation) of Lilith. Anything more literal from Lewis would be overkill. Many artists wouldn't have felt even that reference was necessary to those familar with the tradition.
The reason the Lion, With, and Wardrobe is among the most popular in the series is that the allegory is the cleanest. Looking for a pefect consistency through all the books will lead you were others have been. Lewis loses some focus over the course of the entire tale.
===============================================
More
http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~humm/Topics/Lilith/aNePics.html
