The Magician's Nephew

“And immediately, without a flash or a noise or a warning of any sort, there was no Polly. Digory and his Uncle were alone in the room.”

This quote captures the novel’s inciting incident, the event that sets all the other events in motion. At this point, Uncle Andrew has manipulated Polly into touching a yellow ring that sent her into another world. Digory knew Uncle Andrew was up to something, but he had no idea what it was. Now, whether he likes it or not, Digory is entangled in Uncle Andrew’s schemes and experiments.

“But of course you must understand that rules of that sort, however excellent they may be for little boys—and servants—and women—and even people in general, can’t possibly be expected to apply to profound students and great thinkers and sages. No, Digory. Men like me, who possess hidden wisdom, are freed from common rules just as we are cut off from common pleasures. Ours, my boy, is a high and lonely destiny.”

Uncle Andrew explains to Digory why he has no remorse about lying to his godmother when he promised to bury the box she gave him, or killing multiple guinea pigs in his experiments, or sending Polly to another world. Pride is a recurring motif linked to the use of destructive magic. Uncle Andrew uses his magic to further his own agenda in an example of Creative Selflessness Versus Destructive Pride.

“Even if you are my Uncle […] you’ve behaved like a coward, sending a girl to a place you’re afraid to go to yourself.”

This passage demonstrates aspects of Digory’s and Uncle Andrew’s characters. Uncle Andrew just admitted he is too afraid to go to the other world himself, which is why he tricked Polly into going. After hearing this, Digory cannot keep quiet. Through the indirect characterization of his words, Digory reveals himself to have a strict sense of justice.

“‘Very well, I’ll go. But there’s one thing I jolly well mean to say first. I didn’t believe in Magic till today. I see now it’s real. Well if it is, I suppose all the old fairy tales are more or less true. And you’re simply a wicked, cruel magician like the ones in the stories. Well, I’ve never read a story in which people of that sort weren’t paid out in the end, and I bet you will be. And serve you right.’ Of all the things Digory had said this was the first that really went home. Uncle Andrew started and there came over his face a look of such horror that, beast though he was, you could almost feel sorry for him.”

Digory realizes that Uncle Andrew cornered him into going into the other world to rescue Polly. Because of his sense of justice, Digory cannot leave Polly and agrees to rescue her. His response to Uncle Andrew contains the first mention of another important theme, Temptation and Its Consequences. Digory claims that Uncle Andrew will experience the consequences of acting on the temptation to use magic.

“The last figure of all was the most interesting—a woman even more richly dressed than the others, very tall (but every figure in that room was taller than the people of our world), with a look of such fierceness and pride that it took your breath away. Yet she was beautiful too.”

Polly and Digory are in the Hall of Images, where all the rulers of Charn are commemorated. This quote introduces the Witch. Before she ever speaks (or even comes to life), Polly and Digory have already noticed the fierce pride that partially marks her as the novel’s antagonist.

“Make your choice, adventurous Stranger; Strike the bell and bide the danger, Or wonder, till it drives you mad, What would have followed if you had.”

The column in the center of the Hall of Images bears this engraving alongside a bell and hammer. The poem is both a warning and a temptation to Digory, who uses the idea that he might begin behaving erratically to rationalize his curiosity. 

“Before Polly’s hand reached her pocket, he grabbed her wrist, leaning across her with his back against her chest. Then, keeping her other arm out of the way with his other elbow, he leaned forward, picked up the hammer, and struck the golden bell a light, smart tap.”

The actions in this passage illustrate Temptation and Its Consequences, changing the course of the book and the characters’ lives. By ringing the bell, Digory has set up himself—and many other people for years to come—for suffering. Although the later scene in Narnia’s garden evokes the biblical story of humanity’s fall much more explicitly, this moment plays the same narrative role as Adam and Eve eating the forbidden fruit: It introduces evil into a formerly uncorrupted world.

“‘Has your master magician, your uncle, power like mine?’ asked the Queen, firmly seizing Digory’s hand again. ‘But I shall know later. In the meantime, remember what you have seen. This is what happens to things, and to people, who stand in my way.’”

The Witch has just used her magic by turning the large doors of the palace to dust. This quote characterizes the Witch as both powerful and incredibly prideful and it illustrates the connection between the two: The Witch uses her power to destroy things because she is determined to have her own way.

“‘I had forgotten that you are only a common boy. How should you understand reasons of State? You must learn, child, that what would be wrong for you or for any of the common people is not wrong in a great Queen such as I. The weight of the world is on our shoulders. We must be freed from all rules. Ours is a high and lonely destiny.’

Digory suddenly remembered that Uncle Andrew had used exactly the same words. But they sounded much grander when Queen Jadis said them; perhaps because Uncle Andrew was not seven feet tall and dazzlingly beautiful.”

Both the Witch and Uncle Andrew are intensely prideful and view themselves as above the rules of others, able to do whatever they want. This mindset is what makes their magic destructive. The only difference is in scale; Uncle Andrew is merely a human, but he shares the flaws of the Witch, who is cast as a demonic figure.

“‘What lovely grapes!’ came Aunt Letty’s voice. ‘I’m sure if anything could do her good these would. But poor, dear little Mabel! I’m afraid it would need fruit from the land of youth to help her now. Nothing in this world will do much.’ Then they both lowered their voices and said a lot more that he could not hear.”

Aunt Letty’s words alert Digory to the possibility that somewhere in another world, there could be a source of good, creative magic that could heal his mother. It gives Digory a new mission and, more importantly, hope. 

“The Cabby, however, obviously the bravest as well as the kindest person present, was keeping close to the horse, dodging this way and that to avoid the bar, but still trying to catch Strawberry’s head.”

The Witch has stolen the Cabby’s horse and cab, wrecked the Cab, and driven the horse wild. This quote introduces the Cabby and his main characteristics—namely, his bravery and kindness. These character traits are rewarded when he becomes the first King of Narnia despite his lowly position on Earth.

“Then two wonders happened at the same moment. One was that the voice was suddenly joined by other voices; more voices than you could possibly count. They were in harmony with it, but far higher up the scale: cold, tingling, silvery voices. The second wonder was that the blackness overhead, all at once, was blazing with stars. They didn’t come out gently one by one, as they do on a summer evening. One moment there had been nothing but darkness; next moment a thousand, thousand points of light leaped out—single stars, constellations, and planets, brighter and bigger than any in our world. There were no clouds. The new stars and the new voices began at exactly the same time. If you had seen and heard it, as Digory did, you would have felt quite certain that it was the stars themselves which were singing, and that it was the First Voice, the deep one, which had made them appear and made them sing.”

When Polly, Digory, the Witch, Uncle Andrew, the Cabby, and the Cabby’s horse are transported to a different world, they initially find it completely dark and empty. The Voice (i.e., Aslan, or God) then begins to sing in the novel’s first instance of creative magic. Aslan’s creation of Narnia via song alludes to the biblical creation story, where God speaks the world into existence.

“There was soon light enough for them to see one another’s faces. The Cabby and the two children had open mouths and shining eyes; they were drinking in the sound, and they looked as if it reminded them of something. Uncle Andrew’s mouth was open too, but not open with joy. […] He was not liking the Voice. If he could have got away from it by creeping into a rat’s hole, he would have done so. But the Witch looked as if, in a way, she understood the music better than any of them. Her mouth was shut, her lips were pressed together, and her fists were clenched. Ever since the song began she had felt that this whole world was filled with a Magic different from hers and stronger. She hated it. She would have smashed that whole world, or all worlds, to pieces, if it would only stop the singing.”

The characters’ reactions to the singing draw a clear divide between Polly, Digory, and the Cabby versus Uncle Andrew and the Witch. The children and the Cabby are open to the wonders going on around them and experience the singing without fear. Uncle Andrew does not understand what is happening but is afraid. The Witch views the magic of this new world as a threat. This highlights the core of each character. The children and the cabby are good-hearted and selfless and therefore unafraid. Uncle Andrew and the Witch are prideful, selfish characters who fear any power but their own.

“It was a Lion. Huge, shaggy, and bright, it stood facing the risen sun. Its mouth was wide open in song and it was about three hundred yards away.”

The characters finally see who is singing: Aslan, the Creator-God of Narnia. By choosing to make Aslan a lion, Lewis alludes to the biblical Lion of Judah, as well as the symbolism of a lion as an embodiment of Jesus Christ in the Book of Revelation.

“Can you imagine a stretch of grassy land bubbling like water in a pot? For that is really the best description of what was happening. In all directions it was swelling into humps. They were of very different sizes, some no bigger than molehills, some as big as wheelbarrows, two the size of cottages. And the humps moved and swelled till they burst, and the crumbled earth poured out of them, and from each hump there came out an animal.”

This quote demonstrates the creative power of Aslan and is an example of Lewis’s use of imagery (and simile) to solidify a scene within a reader’s mind. That the animals emerge from the ground evokes the biblical description of God creating humanity from clay.

“And now, for the first time, the Lion was quite silent. He was going to and fro among the animals. And every now and then he would go up to two of them (always two at a time) and touch their noses with his. He would touch two beavers among all the beavers, two leopards among all the leopards, one stag and one deer among all the deer, and leave the rest. Some sorts of animal he passed over altogether. But the pairs which he had touched instantly left their own kinds and followed him.”

This scene alludes to the biblical story of God picking two of every kind of animal to enter Noah’s ark before the flood. The phrasing also suggests Jesus Christ picking disciples and requiring that they leave everything and follow him. This solidifies the symbolism of Aslan as a representation of God as creator and as Jesus Christ the sacrificial savior.

“The Lion opened his mouth, but no sound came from it; he was breathing out, a long, warm breath; it seemed to sway all the beasts as the wind sways a line of trees. Far overhead from beyond the veil of blue sky which hid them the stars sang again; a pure, cold, difficult music. Then there came a swift flash like fire (but it burnt nobody) either from the sky or from the Lion itself, and every drop of blood tingled in the children’s bodies, and the deepest, wildest voice they had ever heard was saying: ‘Narnia, Narnia, Narnia, awake. Love. Think. Speak. Be walking trees. Be talking beasts. Be divine waters.’”

Aslan differentiates the Talking Beasts from the other animals by breathing intelligent life into them—an allusion to God breathing life into Adam during the creation of man. The “swift flash like fire” alludes to the way the Holy Spirit fell on the members of the first church in the Book of Acts. This passage also highlights the theme of Loss of Innocence, as the Talking Beasts can now discern right from wrong and therefore be held responsible for their actions.

“We must now go back a bit and explain what the whole scene had looked like from Uncle Andrew’s point of view. It had not made at all the same impression on him as on the Cabby and the children. For what you see and hear depends a good deal on where you are standing: it also depends on what sort of person you are.”

Uncle Andrew has convinced himself that all the animals are wild. This touches on the motif of perception and how it impacts one’s lived experience. The way Uncle Andrew convinces himself that Aslan was roaring, not singing, represents people who convince themselves that God is not real despite witnessing miracles.

“Evil will come of that evil, but it is still a long way off, and I will see to it that the worst falls upon myself. In the meantime, let us take such order that for many hundred years yet this shall be a merry land in a merry world. And as Adam’s race has done the harm, Adam’s race shall help to heal it.”

Aslan foreshadows his sacrificial death in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, further cementing Aslan as a representation of Jesus Christ. His remarks about “Adam’s race” also allude to the Christian story in their suggestion that the harm done by humans (i.e., original sin) can only be remedied by God becoming human. This quote characterizes Aslan as a good-hearted, selfless leader, which contributes to the power of his creative magic.

“Up till then he had been looking at the Lion’s great feet and the huge claws on them; now, in his despair, he looked up at its face. What he saw surprised him as much as anything in his whole life. For the tawny face was bent down near his own and (wonder of wonders) great shining tears stood in the Lion’s eyes. They were such big, bright tears compared with Digory’s own that for a moment he felt as if the Lion must really be sorrier about his Mother than he was himself.

‘My son, my son,’ said Aslan. ‘I know. Grief is great. Only you and I in this land know that yet.’”

In this passage, Digory realizes the consequences of waking the Witch and bringing her to Narnia and feels ashamed. In spite of this, he asks Aslan if there is any way to save his mother, finally looking at Aslan face to face. The quote touches on the theme of Loss of Innocence: Narnia has lost innocence because evil has entered it, and Digory has lost his naiveté in realizing what terrible consequences will come of his action (he also knows grief more acutely than anyone else present). This quote also characterizes Aslan as empathetic and kind.

“A terrible thirst and hunger came over him and a longing to taste that fruit. He put it hastily into his pocket; but there were plenty of others. Could it be wrong to taste one? After all, he thought, the notice on the gate might not have been exactly an order; it might have been only a piece of advice—and who cares about advice? Or even if it were an order, would he be disobeying it by eating an apple? He had already obeyed the part about taking one ‘for others.’“

This quote deals directly with the theme of Temptation and Its Consequences and alludes to the temptation of Eve in the Garden of Eden. Digory desires immensely to take a piece of fruit for himself after smelling it, and he begins to question both the warning on the gate and Aslan’s instructions. He resists this temptation, demonstrating his character growth.

“Do you not see, Fool, that one bite of that apple would heal her? You have it in your pocket. We are here by ourselves and the Lion is far away. Use your Magic and go back to your own world. A minute later you can be at your Mother’s bedside, giving her the fruit. Five minutes later you will see the color coming back to her face. She will tell you the pain is gone. Soon she will tell you she feels stronger. Then she will fall asleep—think of that; hours of sweet natural sleep, without pain, without drugs. Next day everyone will be saying how wonderfully she has recovered. Soon she will be quite well again. All will be well again. Your home will be happy again. You will be like other boys.”

The Witch first tempts Digory to eat the fruit and rule Narnia with her in everlasting youth, but he refused. Here, she is more effectively tempting him to take the fruit for his mother, twisting his innocent desire to help her. This highlights the subtle forms temptation can take and alludes to the way the serpent tempted Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, reinforcing the symbolism of the Witch as the embodiment of evil.

“‘Well done,’ said Aslan in a voice that made the earth shake. Then Digory knew that all the Narnians had heard those words and that the story of them would be handed down from father to son in that new world for hundreds of years and perhaps forever. But he was in no danger of feeling conceited for he didn’t think about it at all now that he was face to face with Aslan. This time he found he could look straight into the Lion’s eyes. He had forgotten his troubles and felt absolutely content.”

Because Digory resisted the temptation to take the fruit for himself or his mother, Aslan publicly honors him. More than that, Digory realizes the inherent value of resisting temptation: He can look Aslan in the eye and not be ashamed of himself, demonstrating his growth.