The Backstory of the LotGK
Posted: Jul 01, 2014 1:02 pm
The Lady of the Green Kirtle is by far one of the most mysterious characters in the entire Narnia series, and I think that audiences are going to be pretty curious about her. If the filmmakers are also anticipating that curiosity, then I think that there's reason to wonder whether or not they might try to explore her backstory and offer more of an explanation regarding who she is and where she came from.
In The Silver Chair, a number of different characters give us their opinions about origins of the Green Witch.
I think that a lot of Narnia fans (myself included) have a tendency to discount what the characters are saying here, given what we know about The Magician's Nephew. Jadis was the last of her race, and not a native of the Narnian universe at all. If there's other individuals belonging to the same group, then it would seem to indicate that she was the progenitor of another race in Narnia, and that seems a bit weird. It may also be perpetuating the idea that Jadis and the LotGK are the same person. (Something I strongly disagree with, but I'll get into that on another thread.)
Anyway, we often question the reliability of these quotes, but aside from what Rilian says in the tenth chapter (the enchantment casts doubt on his credibility), Lewis seems to make a point of indicating that these characters are wise. (The oldest owl, the older and wiser Beasts and Dwarfs, the oldest Dwarf.) I'm inclined to believe that these passages were intended as exposition regarding the origins of the Lady of the Green Kirtle, not just merely their best guesses or opinions.
The reason I've come to this conclusion is because Lewis didn't really plan out the Chronicles of Narnia beforehand. When responding to a letter from a fan who asked about the proper reading order, Lewis wrote, "When I wrote The Lion I did not know I was going to write any more. Then I wrote P. Caspian as a sequel and still didn't think there would be any more, and when I had done The Voyage I felt quite sure it would be the last, but I found I was wrong."
Prompted by a question from Roger Lancelyn Green, Lewis had been attempting to write the book that would become The Magician's Nephew since fairly soon after LWW's publication, but had significant trouble with the book and did not finish it until after he had completed The Last Battle. We have no idea when Lewis came up with the idea that Jadis was the last of her race and from another world, but based on the way Lewis wrote about "those Northern Witches" in The Silver Chair, it seems to me that it probably wasn't until later.
For these reasons, and also because they share attributes such as beauty and height, I've come to view the Lady of the Green Kirtle as someone who probably belonged to the same race as Jadis, at least at the time when Lewis wrote The Silver Chair. It's possible that she was originally meant to be a sister, also born of Lilith and a giant. (I'm guessing the giant was one of the original inhabitants of the ruined city.) We do see in The Magician's Nephew that Jadis warred with a bloodthirsty sister over control of Charn before Jadis killed her and everyone else, so it's possible the original idea was reworked for that book. Like the Lady of the Green Kirtle, Jadis's late sister desired to become ruler of a kingdom by conquest.
Anyway, enough with my speculation; let's cut to the chase...
How do you think the Lady of the Green Kirtle's backstory should be presented in the film adaptation of The Silver Chair? Should the filmmakers try to explain who she is and where she came from? If they do, should they keep an eye towards the eventual adaptation of The Magician's Nephew and try to sidestep possible contradictions or confusions between the two films? Or should they just focus on the backstory that the characters offered in the The Silver Chair and leave it at that, without trying to "solve" the mystery? Would it be better to just keep her origins obscure, and would it be reasonable to expect the filmmakers to go along with that?
In The Silver Chair, a number of different characters give us their opinions about origins of the Green Witch.
Chapter 4, "The Parliament of Owls" wrote:"But we don't think she killed the Prince," said Glimfeather, "because no bones—"
"We know she didn't," said Scrubb. "Aslan told Pole he was still alive somwhere."
"That almost makes it worse," said the oldest owl. "It means she has some use for him, and some deep scheme against Narnia. Long, long ago, at the very beginning, a White Witch came out of the North and bound our land in snow an dice for a hundred years. And we think this may be some of the same crew."
Chapter 10, "Travels Without the Sun" wrote:"And it seems to me, Sir," answered Puddleglum, "that this Lady of yours must be a long liver, too, if she remembers the verse as it was when they first cut it."
"Very shrewd, Frog-face," said the Knight, clapping Puddleglum on the shoulder and laughing again. "And you have hit the truth. She is of divine race, and knows neither age nor death. (...)
Chapter 15, "The Disappearance of Jill" wrote:And while they slept Prince Rilian was talking over the whole adventure with the older and wiser Beasts and Dwarfs. And now they all saw what it meant; how a wicked Witch (doubtless the same kind as that White Witch who had brought the Great Winter on Narnia long ago) had contrived the whole thing, first killing Rilian's mother and enchanting Rilian himself. And they saw how she had dug right under Narnia and was going to break out and rule it through Rilian: and how he had never dreamed that the country of which she would make him king (king in name, but really her slave) was his own country. And from the children's part of the story they saw how she was in league and friendship with the dangerous giants of Harfang. "And the lesson of it all is, your Highness," said the oldest Dwarf, "that those Northern Witches always mean the same thing, but in every age they have a different plan for getting it."
I think that a lot of Narnia fans (myself included) have a tendency to discount what the characters are saying here, given what we know about The Magician's Nephew. Jadis was the last of her race, and not a native of the Narnian universe at all. If there's other individuals belonging to the same group, then it would seem to indicate that she was the progenitor of another race in Narnia, and that seems a bit weird. It may also be perpetuating the idea that Jadis and the LotGK are the same person. (Something I strongly disagree with, but I'll get into that on another thread.)
Anyway, we often question the reliability of these quotes, but aside from what Rilian says in the tenth chapter (the enchantment casts doubt on his credibility), Lewis seems to make a point of indicating that these characters are wise. (The oldest owl, the older and wiser Beasts and Dwarfs, the oldest Dwarf.) I'm inclined to believe that these passages were intended as exposition regarding the origins of the Lady of the Green Kirtle, not just merely their best guesses or opinions.
The reason I've come to this conclusion is because Lewis didn't really plan out the Chronicles of Narnia beforehand. When responding to a letter from a fan who asked about the proper reading order, Lewis wrote, "When I wrote The Lion I did not know I was going to write any more. Then I wrote P. Caspian as a sequel and still didn't think there would be any more, and when I had done The Voyage I felt quite sure it would be the last, but I found I was wrong."
Prompted by a question from Roger Lancelyn Green, Lewis had been attempting to write the book that would become The Magician's Nephew since fairly soon after LWW's publication, but had significant trouble with the book and did not finish it until after he had completed The Last Battle. We have no idea when Lewis came up with the idea that Jadis was the last of her race and from another world, but based on the way Lewis wrote about "those Northern Witches" in The Silver Chair, it seems to me that it probably wasn't until later.
For these reasons, and also because they share attributes such as beauty and height, I've come to view the Lady of the Green Kirtle as someone who probably belonged to the same race as Jadis, at least at the time when Lewis wrote The Silver Chair. It's possible that she was originally meant to be a sister, also born of Lilith and a giant. (I'm guessing the giant was one of the original inhabitants of the ruined city.) We do see in The Magician's Nephew that Jadis warred with a bloodthirsty sister over control of Charn before Jadis killed her and everyone else, so it's possible the original idea was reworked for that book. Like the Lady of the Green Kirtle, Jadis's late sister desired to become ruler of a kingdom by conquest.
Anyway, enough with my speculation; let's cut to the chase...
How do you think the Lady of the Green Kirtle's backstory should be presented in the film adaptation of The Silver Chair? Should the filmmakers try to explain who she is and where she came from? If they do, should they keep an eye towards the eventual adaptation of The Magician's Nephew and try to sidestep possible contradictions or confusions between the two films? Or should they just focus on the backstory that the characters offered in the The Silver Chair and leave it at that, without trying to "solve" the mystery? Would it be better to just keep her origins obscure, and would it be reasonable to expect the filmmakers to go along with that?