The Last Battle

Lewis examines the many terrible repercussions of deception as he traces the enormous lie originated by Shift presenting a false Aslan. First, Lewis portrays the method Shift uses to deceive Puzzle into impersonating Aslan: Shift attempts to make Puzzle feel guilty if he does not try on the lion skin, which Shift claims he worked hard on so that Puzzle could have a beautiful coat. Then Shift deliberately misinterprets the supernatural warning signs of a thunderclap and an earthquake to convince Puzzle to ignore his moral qualms. From the start, Shift’s lies therefore involve blasphemy and the perversion of good qualities (e.g., Puzzle’s sense of obligation and gratitude).

Next, Shift deceives more and more Narnians into believing that Aslan has returned by displaying the disguised Puzzle from a distance. This has dangerous repercussions, as the Narnians obey “Aslan’s” harsh orders and allow their enemies, the Calormenes, to enslave them. Given the centrality of free will in Christian theology, this has huge significance: Shift has duped the Narnians into surrendering their agency even as they have surrendered their rationality to his lies. Believers grow confused and disheartened by the contradiction between their traditional view of Aslan and the false Aslan’s cruel orders.