What Aslan said to Edmund

Sven-El

Sven-El

Well-known member
has any one here ever wondered what it was that Aslan said to Edmund after his rescue? Would any one care to speculate? What reasons could Lewis have had as an author for witholdign form the readers the nature of the conversation?
 
Lewis probably would have answered that it was none of our business what Aslan told Edmund. That or he would have said that as soon as he heard, he would pass it along :D

The first thing they talked about was probably Edmund asking for forgiveness and Aslan asking for an explanation for his actions. Aslan may have told Edmund that his transgressions were not yet paid but that Edmund would have to work hard to be able to forgive himself. Aslan may also have mentioned that Aslan himself would have to a lot to safeguard Edmund in the immediate future but not to worry about him.

MrBob
 
truth, hope & restoration

It really was clever of Lewis that Edmund's and Aslan's first conference was kept private...
I think that there is a bit of failure and loss each of us can relate to, and having Aslan's words left up to our imagination can help us hear/imagine better what we might need to hear ourselves:
words of truth yet restoration and hope.
 
"Family members have the right to know what is happening among them."

Edmundia, while it is correct that family members have the right to about events surrounding them, they do not have the right to know about private conversations, especially between a parent and each of their children. A brother does not have the right to know what his parents said to his sister regarding a certain transgression she made. All that the brother needs know is that his sister did wrong and she will be punished, sometimes, it isn't even necessary to know what she did.

Throughout Narnia, Aslan had private conversations with certain characters. Peter and Susan didn't specify what Aslan told them at the end of PC other than to tell their younger siblings that they themselves would not be returning to Narnia. Do you think Lucy even told Eustace about reading the magician's book in VotDt or that she was about to read a spell or what Aslan told her afterwards? I doubt it. In that case, Edmund had no need to know about Lucy's temporary weakness as nothing came of it.

MrBob
 
I, honestly, think it was for exactly this reason. Speculation and headcanon. It leaves it open for people to fill it in themselves, it's nice to have some aspects like that in a story.
 
I have wondered and even wrote a fanfic about what Aslan said to Edmund after his rescue. I think I wondered so much because I've always connected to Edmund and his journey, and he's the Pevensie child I relate to the most. This conversation seems to be such a pivotal moment in Edmund's life that I do find myself reflecting on what Aslan could have said to Edmund that could be so transformative to Edmund. To me, there is nothing wrong with readers being curious as long as it is done in the spirit of compassion/sympathy for Edmund and a desire to better know and understand Aslan rather than in a spirit of nosy gossiping. Personally, I suspect that the fact that we aren't told exactly what Aslan said to Edmund gives us a chance to imagine what Aslan would say to us in Edmund's position. So in a way, it is an invitation for us to place ourselves in Edmund's situation and to empathize with Edmund and to perhaps have our own experience with Aslan's grace. So I like the fact that there is the space for each individual reader to speculate or not speculate on what is said as the reader chooses.

I think what the reader does see is enough to know that the conversation had a transformative effect on Edmund. That it was redemptive and restorative for him. That it was an encounter with grace and mercy and likely justice for him. After all, Edmund will be known as King Edmund the Just. Perhaps some of Aslan's discussion with Edmund is about the nature of justice. I could see that really resonating with Edmund.

Anyway, I imagine that it would be a very profound conversation. Painful and humbling for Edmund in some parts, but also gentle and encouraging. And I believe that by the end of it, Edmund would emerge with a clear understanding of how much Aslan loves him.

I think the privacy of the conversation between Edmund and Aslan really shows the privacy and intimacy that believers in God can have in their conversations with God through prayer. It is sometimes in these most private, intimate moments with God that we can be at our most vulnerable and be our truest selves so I like that C.S. Lewis leaves spaces for characters like Edmund to have those very private and very important, transformative conversations with Aslan.

I think it also shows the uniqueness of Edmund's relationship with Aslan. Aslan and Edmund had at least this one conversation that nobody else would have with Aslan. That is like how everyone has their own relationship with God, and for each of us, there are these private conversations with God to which nobody else is invited but can be some of the most beautiful conversations we have with God.

That is my view, basically.

Do I think it wrong to speculate on Aslan's conversation with Edmund? No, because at least for me, it was a graceful exercise where I thought about my own relationship with God and had a little dialogue with God myself that was both humbling and encouraging for me. Speculating on Edmund's relationship with Aslan built my own relationship with God. I am sure if I told C.S. Lewis that he'd be happy to hear it.

Do I think it was wrong for C.S. Lewis not to include the conversation in the story? No, because I think it did give readers like myself a chance to speculate if we wanted and to maybe grow in our own relationships with God.

Sorry for the rambling post. Hopefully some of it makes sense.
 
I love that we're never told.
It puts me in mind of all the details in the Bible we're not given in that history we love so much, like how in the world Job and his wife reconciled after she broke down on him when they lost everything and their children died. Or how it was that Solomon came to be king over his brothers, not being firstborn and after thay HUGE scandal with Bathsheba and Uriah. Or the conversation in the upper room after Jesus showed up and left again after His resurrection. Sooo much detail, all left out. But all scripture being inspired by the Spirit, nothing was left out! Which means we didn't need to know. Perhaps the minutiae detracts from the message. Obviously not everything could be written down. I don't need to know what Aslan said to Edmund. I need to know what Aslan did for Edmund, and Edmund's humble, grateful, changed-life response. ❤❤
 
SunshineRose said:
I think it also shows the uniqueness of Edmund's relationship with Aslan. Aslan and Edmund had at least this one conversation that nobody else would have with Aslan. That is like how everyone has their own relationship with God, and for each of us, there are these private conversations with God to which nobody else is invited but can be some of the most beautiful conversations we have with God.
Click to expand...
Love your reflections Sunshine Rose!
I also am reminded of the private scene towards the end of The Last Battle in which Aslan has his one-on-one with Puzzle the donkey... and poor dear Puzzle's response, although we do not know what Aslan said then either.
 
Lillyanyway: "--after that HUGE scandal with Bathsheba and Uriah."

It is appalling that more than one dramatization of this tragedy has pretended it was "a wonderful romance." Excuse me while I projectile-vomit. What really happened was that David had become intoxicated with power, and figured he could just TAKE anything he wanted. He was not "in love" with Bathsheba, and she had not purposely tried to attract his attention; he was out to amuse himself with no consideration for HER feelings.

These facts are conclusively proven by Nathan's denunciation of David after the planned death of Uriah. The prophet not only placed one hundred percent of the blame on David; he removed all ambiguity by describing Bathsheba as a defenseless lamb-- AND by remaining friendly to her afterwards.
 
Perhaps what Aslan said to Edmund was so Edmund-shaped that it wouldn't fit into C.S. Lewis' ability to channel it creatively. I doubt if anyone ever wrote a fanfic about Jesus they would have invented his ideas of being born again or blessed are the poor in spirit.
 
I think the first thing they likely discussed was Jadis’ treachery. Aslan doesn’t seem to have anything positive to say about her. He likely would’ve blamed any wrongdoing on her part and absolved Edmund of any blame.
 
One thing it CANNOT have been would be: "Y'know what, Edmund? I am actually the Biblical Jesus Christ, assuming a different form in the Narnian world. My death here was just an extension of My death on the Cross."

This would have been TRUE; but if Aslan HAD said it in "Lion/Witch/Wardrobe," the children would have had no cause later to ask Aslan if they could meet Him on Earth.
 
I believe that Lewis decided not to reveal Edmund and Aslan’s conversation (well, probably as a symbolic representation of confession) because he still wanted to keep some parts of Edmund’s motivation for the big battle scene. I could be wrong, but this really was Edmund’s story and his conversation with Aslan would have essentially laid out everything he was going to do from there until the end of the book.
 
Back
Top