Everything about White Witch totally explained
Jadis, the White Witch is the main
villain of
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, the first published book in
C. S. Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia series, and the second chronologically. Jadis also appears at length in
The Magician's Nephew, which concerns her origins and the origins of Narnia.
A short biographical sketch added to the books by later editors have led some readers to conclude that Jadis and the
Lady of the Green Kirtle from
The Silver Chair are the same person; but there's no suggestion to that effect in Lewis's writing.
Character history
The White Witch was born before the creation of Narnia, Narnian year
Narnian timeline, and died in battle in Narnian year
1000.
In
The Magician's Nephew, Jadis is revealed to be a native of
Charn, where she descended from a long line of
kings and
queens. (Charn is in a different world entirely from Narnia.) This line began well, but grew progressively malevolent over many generations. Jadis, having destroyed Charn, leaves it for the world of Narnia, passing through the
Wood between the Worlds, an endless forest filled with pools of water that act as portals to other worlds, including the worlds of
Earth and Narnia. While in the Wood, she appears to lose health, strength, and magical ability. Charn is destroyed so utterly that when Jadis leaves its pool in the Wood, the pool dries to nothing. Once in the world of Narnia, Jadis travels to the north, becoming the first of the "Northern Witches".
In
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, she's usurped power over
Narnia, having magically forced the land into an "
endless winter" during her reign, which at the beginning of the book had lasted for a hundred years. Even though it had been winter for so long, the Witch prevents
Christmas from ever coming during that time.
During her reign, the White Witch is styled "Her Imperial Majesty Jadis, Queen of Narnia,
Chatelaine of
Cair Paravel, Empress of the
Lone Islands". She makes two claims which, if true, might have given her authority to rule over Narnia. The first is that she's human. At the beginning of Narnia, Aslan gave "sons of
Adam and daughters of
Eve" dominion over all the beasts and magical creatures of Narnia. (Narnian dwarfs are not considered to be human, even though they can and do reproduce with humans; they're referred to as "Sons of Earth".) Although the White Witch appears human (despite her irregular skin color and abnormal height), Narnian rumor holds that she descends from Adam's first wife,
Lilith, and was half-
Jinn and half-
giantess, and thus not even partially human.
The Magician's Nephew, by contrast, recounts her origin on Charn; but whether the people of Charn are human is never addressed.
The witch's second claim is that she's a servant of the
Emperor-Over-the-Sea and rules with his blessing. This is at best a half-truth: she's the first to rebel in Narnia, and by the workings of the Deep Magic she's given ownership of all traitors and the right to kill them. For this reason,
Mr. Beaver characterizes her as the Emperor's
hangman (though Aslan rebukes him for saying this). The Witch favors the
Stone Table for her executions.
featuring
Tilda Swinton as the White Witch.]]
It is explained to the Pevensies that, according to an ancient
prophecy, when two sons of Adam and two daughters of Eve fill the four thrones at
Cair Paravel as Kings and Queens of Narnia, the reign of the White Witch and the endless winter would end. The White Witch is aware of the prophecy, and employs spies to tell her of any human that came to Narnia. While there are other humans in the world of Narnia at the time of the first book — humans descended from the original
King Frank and
Queen Helen populate
Archenland,
Calormen, and the island kingdoms — humans are completely unknown in occupied Narnia, to the extent that the Narnians think them mythological.
The White Witch's most notorious deed, aside from uttering the Deplorable Word in Charn, is killing Aslan on the Stone Table (as a surrogate for
Edmund), her right by the Deep Magic. Aslan returns to life by Deeper Magic, and in the subsequent
battle, Aslan leaps upon the Witch and kills her, ending her reign of terror.
In
Prince Caspian, Nikabrik (a dwarf), a hag, and a wer-wolf [touse Lewis's spelling] plan to bring back the Witch using black sorcery in their bid to defeat
King Miraz, but their plan backfires when they're killed in a fight with the
title character and his allies.
In
The Silver Chair, she's called one of the "Northern Witches", along with the
Lady of the Green Kirtle, who Glimfeather (the Owl) speculates may be "of the same crew" as the White Witch, though Jadis was the only survivor of Charn.
Characteristics
In her own dominion,
Charn, Jadis is formidable; but she finds her magic largely useless in other worlds. She eventually strengthens her powers and usurps the throne of Narnia, using her magic to cast the land into perpetual winter. Her most feared weapon is her wand, whose magic is capable of turning people into stone. The petrified remains of her enemies decorate the halls of her castle.
An extraordinarily beautiful and imposing woman, Jadis' beauty enchants both
Digory Kirke and
Edmund Pevensie on first encounters. She is also physically powerful and, capable of breaking iron with her bare hands and lifting human beings off their feet. Unlike her magic, she retains her superhuman strength in other worlds (except in the
Wood between the Worlds). She is seven feet tall, as were all members of the Royal Family of Charn, and once she's eaten the Fruit of Everlasting Life, her skin becomes as white as paper. A natural-born sorceress and a cunning strategist, Jadis is arrogant and cruel, considering herself above all rules and viewing others as tools to be used or obstacles to be demolished. Her callousness is most clearly demonstrated when she uses the
Deplorable Word in Charn to vanquish her sister, even though the Word would eradicate all life in that world but her own. She prefers to destroy that entire world than submit to her sister's authority, and afterwards shows a remorseless pride in her actions.
The White Witch's Narnian followers include
Wolves,
Dwarfs,
Giants,
Werewolves, some of the Tree Spirits,
Ghouls,
Boggles,
Ogres,
Minotaurs, Cruels,
Hags,
Spectres, People of the Toadstools,
Incubi,
Wraiths, Vicious Plants, Horrors, Orknies,
Efreets, Evil
Sprites, Wooses,
Ettins, Giant
Bats,
Vultures, and Evil
Apes.
The various movie versions add other creatures to her army:
- In the 1979 animated movie: a Bigfoot-like creature and an Ostrich-like creature.
- In the 1988 miniseries: Barbarians, Dark Samurais, Lichs, Hyenas, and Lizard Men.
- In the 2005 movie: White Tigers, Goblins, Harpies and Cyclops Ragers, two Polar Bears who pulled her chariot, Minoboars, and Ankle-slicers. In concept art for the movie, Manticores and Succubi were intended for the White Witch's army.
Etymology
For the name 'Jadis', Lewis may have taken the
French word
jadis, which means "of old" or "once upon a time" — a customary opening in French fairy tales. It has also been suggested that the source may have been the
Turkish word
cadı which means "witch". (Compare also
Farsi جادو
jâdu 'witchcraft', جادوگر
jâdugar 'witch'.)
Portrayals
American actress
Beth Porter provided the voice of the White Witch for the
1979 animated television adaptation of
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.
In the 1988
BBC miniseries The Chronicles of Narnia, the White Witch was played by
Barbara Kellerman. In a later episode, Kellerman was cast in the role as the
Lady of the Green Kirtle, as the limited budget of the miniseries caused the BBC to re-use several other actors and actresses in multiple roles. Due to this, some readers believe that the White Witch and Green Lady are the same person, especially due to a lack of back story given to the Green Lady. However, this was never explicitly supported in the writings of Lewis.
In the 2005
Walt Disney Pictures feature film, she was portrayed by British actress
Tilda Swinton. Swinton's performance won particular acclaim among fans and critics.
BBC film critic Stella Papamichael wrote:
film adaptation of
The Magician's Nephew.
In the parody film
Epic Movie the main antagonist is the White Bitch of Gnarnia, a parody of Jadis portrayed by
Jennifer Coolidge.
Jadis the White Witch appears in the
Robot Chicken episode "Robot Chicken's Half-Assed Christmas Special", voiced by
Emma Caulfield. Her sleigh happens upon the nerd who kills
Mr. Tumnus, and she invites him to her palace. She then entices him to go on a mission to eliminate Aslan.
Further Information
Get more info on 'White Witch'.
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