Jadis

## The White Witch

* Kill the Pevensie children in order to prevent them from becoming the new monarchs of Narnia (failed)
* To take over Narnia and rule upon it forever (failed)

### Type of Villain:

Tyrannical Magician

**The White Witch**, real name known as **Jadis**, is the sole-living resident and the self-proclaimed queen of the entire universe of Narnia. She is an extremely powerful sorceress, and always will be the most infamous and despotic ruler of Narnia forever.

Jadis is the tyrannical queen, who cast an incredibly powerful spell over the entire land of Narnia so that it is always winter and never, ever, ever any other season, nor Christmas. This magic spell was so strong that it lasted for a full century. As a tremendously powerful sorceress, capable and trained of dark magic, Queen Jadis wielded a much fearful wand through which she could transform anyone who opposed her into ice and stone.

Despite the fact that she was a tyrannical usurper, Jadis was shown to be truly knowledgeable in the laws of Narnia as well as the ways of the Deep Magic. She is also served by numerous servants: Maugrim (her enforcer), Otmin (her general), Ginarrbrik (her servant), and the polar bears (her pets). Her evil tyranny eventually evoked the Narnians into a triumphant uprising known as the Winter Revolution. Like the world that she creates, the witch is pale and cold, practically lifeless, and lacking in both passion and compassion. In fact, the only passion she ever seems to feel is anger.

Jadis was born into the royal family of the world of Charn, who were said to be part-Jinn and part-Giant. Very little is known about her childhood or early adult life. It was known, however, that she had practiced witchcraft in her own world, and delved into dark magic, far beyond what was considered proper. She discovered a magic spell that her ancestors had hidden long before, strong enough to destroy all living things except the caster. This was known as the Deplorable Word, and was Jadis' greatest weapon. As a member of the royal family, she became engaged in a global political struggle with her own sister, as the two fought to become Queen of their worldwide empire. At the beginning of this war, there was a clear agreement made between the two that prohibited the use of magic, though, according to Jadis herself, her sister broke this promise. The final battle of the conflict lasted three days, during which Jadis' forces were slaughtered completely by those of her sister until Jadis stood alone within her palace. As her sister climbed the palace terrace toward her, Jadis, rather than surrender, suddenly spoke the Deplorable Word. Charn instantly became a desolate world where all living organisms perished instantly. By default, Jadis became queen.

With no living creatures left to rule over, Jadis placed a spell upon herself that would preserve her sitting statuesquely beside the images of her ancestors in her palace's Hall of Images. She did this on the off chance that someday someone might come from another world, as the spell would last until the occasion when someone rang the small bell located in the Hall. In this state she remained for unknown centuries (but possibly a thousand years), until the bell was struck by two human children who had accidentally arrived in her world.

**"*And the force of those spells was that I should sleep among them, like an image myself, and need neither food nor fire, though it were a thousand years, till one came and struck the bell and awoke me.*"**

**―Jadis (Chapter 5)**

Upon being awoken, she demanded the name of the magician who had sent for her. The boy who had woken her, Digory Kirke, told her that Andrew Ketterley, his uncle, was a magician from Earth. She also demonstrated her magical power by crumbling an immense and impenetrable black door. Digory and his companion, Polly Plummer, were then forced to take Jadis back with them to their own world, by a combination of physical force and Jadis's charm to manipulate others, which she used to manipulate Digory.

## **Physical Appearance**

Jadis was an extremely tall, muscular, and supernaturally -- yet terrifyingly -- beautiful being to behold, and she demonstrated much vanity and pride in her beauty and appearance, and seemed to be aware at how many were in awe of her beauty despite her heartlessness and evil. She possessed long, flowing, shiny black hair and icily blue eyes, and wore a magnificent golden crown. She had a look of such fierceness and cold, stern, intimidating pride that it was enough to take one's breath away. After arriving in Narnia, her skin turned as white as salt or icing sugar, one of the factors earning her the name "the White Witch". In the film, her hair is ash-blond and she wears a crown made entirely of ice.

## **Personality and Traits**

Jadis was the ultimate personification of pure evil in the Narnian universe, a satanic temptress responsible for bringing evil into Narnia. As revealed in *The Magician's Nephew*, from the very beginning when she was Queen of Charn, Jadis was already a ruthless and hubristic sociopath who firmly believed herself to be above all rules of conduct -- she had no regrets or remorse over how she wiped out her own entire species through the Deplorable Word, and believed that Andrew had sent Digory and Polly to bring her to him for *"love of her beauty"*, and that she would have their world (Earth) *"at her feet"* within a year through her beauty and magic.

Jadis was also incapable of viewing anyone else as her equal, and saw others simply as either tools to be used or obstacles to be demolished, as evidenced by her treatment of Andrew once she realised that he was not a true magician like she was. Though she usually carried herself with the regality of the haughtiest queen, Jadis was not above resorting to sheer brute force to get her way, as demonstrated by her physically assaulting Letitia and the subsequent rampage she caused in London. Her most defining trait, however, was that she was a true megalomaniac -- Jadis had an incomparable obsession with power, and was driven by an insatiable desire to conquer and subjugate everyone and everything she came into contact with. For instance, she paid *"a terrible price"* to learn the Deplorable Word, and despite her initial unease when she first entered Earth and, later, Narnia, she was quick to regain her balance and expressed her desires of world domination. Jadis was also prone to violent mood swings -- calm and calculating one moment, and furious the next.

While Jadis is probably the one character in the entire series with no redeeming traits whatsoever, her sharp intellect, steely courage, iron will, and magical aptitude were still remarkable. For instance, through the innate changes she felt after she ate an Apple of Youth, she accurately deduced that she would never grow old or die. The fact that, throughout the centuries where the Tree of Protection barred her from Narnia, she still managed to hone her powers, create a new magic wand, and even gather an army was also a definite testament to her intellect and her formidable magical skills. Besides this, despite her awareness of the Golden Age Prophecy, and being initially disturbed by the Pevensies' and, later, Aslan's arrival in Narnia, Jadis was not overly concerned, for she reasoned that the prophecy would be unfulfilled with Edmund under her control, and she had an advantage against Aslan through the Law of the Deep Magic. It must also be noted that, while she initially wanted to do something against Edmund (probably turn him into stone or even kill him) during their first meeting, she very quickly changed her mind, and put on a sweet charming act that enabled her to put him under her control through enchanted Turkish Delight, which testifies to her being an expert manipulator.

Last but not least, despite her initial understandable fear of Aslan (which was to the extent where she threatened whoever dared to utter his name in her presence with instant death), Jadis had no qualms with raising her voice at him when she claimed her rights over Edmund's blood through the Deep Magic. Also, while her private chat with Aslan concluded with her being frightened into fleeing for her life by his roar, she later gleefully had him humiliated, tortured, and even shaved before killing him. In fact, before she struck the final blow, she observed to him her perfect confidence of victory despite the fact that his death had not nullified the Golden Age Prophecy, and her direct participation in the battle clearly conveyed her courage and will.