The Last Battle

The symbol of the Door transforms over the course of Lewis’s book. When evil men are using the Stable, its door is referred to as a “black mouth” through which creatures are flung as burnt offerings to be devoured by Tash (104). Even in this first manifestation, the door symbolizes a place of decision since a Calormene sentry waits to kill those who will not collude in the false Aslan plot. The door is simultaneously a place of entry and exit (as it can lead to death by means of the Calormene sentry or the monstrous Tash). However, believers in Aslan, such as Jewel the Unicorn, are hopeful that death “may be […] the door to Aslan’s country” (118), where they will not be devoured by a false God but will “sup” at Aslan’s table.

Indeed, those who believe in goodness, such as Emeth and Tirian, discover a lovely, sunlit country when they pass through the Stable door. Those who are dishonest, such as Ginger and Rishda, only encounter the devouring Tash. When Aslan arrives, Lewis suddenly capitalizes the word “Door” as it becomes the setting for Aslan’s Last Judgment. The Door miraculously enlarges to enable all Narnian creatures to pass through it, and when Narnia is gone, Aslan commands Peter to shut and lock the Door. Lewis’ symbolic use of the Door relies as well on biblical references to Christ as the door: the only way to eternal life.