Why does the Emperor-Over-the-Sea play such a small role in the Chronicles of Narnia?

Question

The Emperor-Over-the-Sea is referenced at several points during the series. The Stone Table, Deep Magic and the Deeper Magic were all set in motion by him, and he is the father of Aslan.At the same time, he does not directly enter the series; he does not appear to be present in Aslan's Country during *The Silver Chair* or the events of *The Voyage of the Dawn Treader*, and doesn't appear to directly intervene. He doesn't even seem to be present at the creation of Narnia during *The Magician's Nephew* or the Final Judgment in *The Last Battle* - the entire country was sang into existence by Aslan.Given that C. S. Lewis was not a deist, why is this? Why was the Emperor-Over-the-Sea such a remote figure?

Answer 1

Generally speaking, we don't build doctrine on works outside of the Bible. The Chronicles of Narnia are allegorical novels that are written in such a way that they might give spiritual insights to the critically thinking reader. We should also consider that the books are directed toward children, and children are abstract thinkers. More specifically, I can humbly offer a few ideas. Jesus is the member of the trinity through whom God chose to reveal himself to man. He is the visible, physical manifestation of God in the flesh. We can also see the presence of the trinity in the creation. John tells us that Jesus was the Word and that he was there in the beginning. Genesis tells us that "God said" showing us how the Word (Jesus) was involved. An interesting question might be, if C. S. Lewis had chosen to include God the Father in the novels, how would he have portrayed him? The logical answer could be that he would have portrayed him as an older man. But that might confuse the issue for many readers because Jesus, the Son is the one who came as a man. Hope this gives you something to further your thinking in this area. I love the Chronicles of Narnia!