In my Sunday school class we are discussing all of the books in The Chronicles of Narnia. This week we started book 2, The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. During the discussion the subject came up regarding Edmund's character and whether or not the other children would have been as easily tempted or if he was inantely more suseptible. The discussion quickly turned to goodness vs. darkness and each of our vulnerabilities. Someone mentioned that Lucy was particularly pure of heart and would probably not been as easily swayed. After discussing purity, it occurred to me that in our society we equate white with all things good and black (or at least dark) with all things evil. With this in mind, I pose a question...Why did Lewis make the witch white?

There may be a variety of reasons, but I think the evil Witch in Narnia is white for the purpose of deception. Take, for example, 2 Corinthians 11:14, which says, "And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light." Were the witch to come in looking like her counterpart in the Wizard of Oz...it would be apparent that she was "bad." Instead, she's white, and friendly, and offers the boy food he likes. Much easier to entrap someone that way. IMHO, Mark

Maybe you are looking at it too hard.

She might be white just because snow is.

Why is Moby Dick white? Why have most nurses' uniforms been changed from white to green or blue?

White, as with many colors, can carry different connotations. Red, for example, is both the color of passionate love and the color of war. It is also used by some restaurants because it is believed to stimulate appetite.

And although white is often a symbol of purity or peace, it is also the color of death.

There is a long chapter in Moby Dick dedicated to the color of the whale; how terrifying and morbid it makes his aspect.

And consider how you might feel if you were semi-conscious on anesthesia and noticed white-robed figures continuously drifting through your peripheral vision. This might be a pleasant experience for those who believe in angels. But it could be potentially terrifying if you thought they were ghosts. Green is the color of life. Trees and flowers are green. Blue is tranquil and calm.

(Of course, I might be equally terrified if I thought I was surrounded by walking trees. Still, the point is made.)

White like a dove, yes. But we also say, "He turned white as a ghost." Pale and colorless is the face of death.