Stabat Mater: Susan, Lucy and Aslan

I just wanted to call attention briefly to one of the things in the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe that the movie did really well. Just as Mary stands at the foot of the Cross as Christ dies, so Susan and Lucy accompany Aslan to the stone table and bear witness to his sacrifice. In Christian Tradition this image has become known as the "Stabat Mater," which means, the "standing mother." It is the woman who faithfully stands by and bears witness, and, as Simeon prophesies, has her own heart pierced through by the sword of sorrow (Luke 2:35). This image has actually, I believe, been used in a number of movies recently that you might be surprised to find it in. In these movies it is not specifically a mother but there is a female who must bear witness. In BOTH of the "RING" movies the intitial killing has a "female witness." In the first it is the friend Becca (who becomes a sort of prohpetess from the experience), and in the second it is the girl the guy tried to get to watch the tape to save himself from the curse. In "BOONDOCK SAINTS" in the final scene where they are about to execute the head mobster in the courtroom, the father, Il Duce, tells the woman from the audience that she should not worry, it will all be over soon, but she MUST watch. But I think Susan and Lucy are my favorite from recent movies ... the hands on the mane of Aslan as he walks the "Via Dolorosa" was especially gripping. NOTE: Just a note in defense of my zeal for the "RING" movies ... the first was directed by none other than MR Pirates of the Caribbean himself, Gor Verbinski.