Digory Kirke vs. Edmund Pevensie
By: Leah Smartt
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 Magician’s Nephew, Chap. 4)
The first line of the alluring poem reads “Make your choice adventurous Stranger.” Both of the boys, Digory Kirke and Edmund Pevensie, had made the conscious decision to give into their individual temptations. Digory wanted knowledge and Edmund wanted recognition. Both got what they wanted, only to find that what they wanted turned out to be a huge mistake. These two characters are inseparably connected. The poem, their mistakes, the Witch, a strange land called Narnia and their redemption bind them together. Though Edmund and Digory come from different times and had different experiences, they are very much alike.
Reading that poem was Digory Kirke’s first mistake. Digory was tempted; he was tempted by an innocent curiosity. There was no doubt in his mind; he had to ring the bell. “We shall always be wondering what else would had happened if we had struck the bell” (The Magician’s Nephew, Chap. 4), he says to Polly Plummer, his fellow journeyer to the strange, magical, destroyed land the children had happened into. Polly advised him not to ring it, saying what would have happened doesn’t matter, but the disguised, dark magic of the room bore down upon him and enticed him further. He lifted the hammer, and against Polly’s pleas, struck the golden bell. Digory had made his choice.
Trusting the Witch was Edmund Pevensie’s first mistake. Edmund was tempted; he was tempted by the Witch’s carefully fabricated words, tempted by the delicious Turkish Delight dessert she gave him. The Witch was promising Edmund things that he could not refuse: the deepest desires of his heart. She promised him power, recognition, and more Turkish Delight. Edmund was a mere boy, oblivious to the magical powers and all the evils of the Witch. He was going to give her what she asked for in return; he had to. She was going to give him all that he wanted. Edmund would bring his brothers and sisters to her house like she asked. Edmund made his choice.
The poem is the initial connection between the two boys. For both the boys the poem has a figurative meaning. For Digory the poem has a literal meaning as well. “Make your choice adventurous Stranger” reads the first line of the poem. Both the boys had to make a choice, a choice between right and wrong. Neither Edmund nor Digory could discern the “right” choice though. They were blinded by what they desired and dark magic was working its way into their hearts. Even though both boys were deceived, they were still given a conscience. Digory’s “conscience” came in the form of his companion, Polly Plummer. Polly told him the dangers of ringing the bell and told him the possible chance of danger was not worth the risk. Digory ignored Polly, wanting to prove her theories on the bell were wrong. The “conscience” that Edmund was given was his own. His initial impression of the Witch was terrifying; he saw her in her sled and she gave him a terrible look. “Edmund felt sure that [the Witch] was going to do something dreadful but he seemed unable to move.” (Chapter 4, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe) Edmund ignored his conscience because the Witch quickly changed her demeanor. The Witch was taking advantage of him without his knowledge. Edmund and Digory were only children, boys, who in the real world knew right from wrong. They were confused and choosing what they wanted in the different universes may have seemed like the “right” choice at the time.
“Strike the bell and bide the danger,” reads the second line of the poem. The boys were unaware of the danger that they would face after the initial strike of the bell. When Digory literally struck the bell, he awakened a terrible enchantress from her sleep, Queen Jadis of Charn. Queen Jadis, the Enchantress, had destroyed her own world; she was purely evil. Jadis is the same enchantress who later, in a different world, would tempt Edmund. Like Edmund, Digory trusted the Witch. Digory accidently let the Witch into his world and into another world, Narnia. Narnia is a land in another universe, and at the time that Digory, Polly, and the Witch came into it, Narnia was being created by Aslan, the enemy of evil. The Witch would later control the land of Narnia. The Witch’s control of Narnia was a result of the mistake that Digory made. The Witch herself was the danger that the poem prophesied.
The bell that Edmund rang was different, but the danger was the same as Digory’s; the Witch was still the danger. The bell he rang was the Witch’s temptation. He allowed the Witch to tempt him with the thoughts that he would be better than his siblings. Jadis promised him that he would be made a prince. Jadis, the danger he was warned about, took horrible advantage of Edmund. The Witch told him that she wanted him to bring his siblings, Peter, Susan, and Lucy to her house to be his servants. She really was going to kill all of the children to stop an important prophesy from being fulfilled. Edmund succeeded in bringing his siblings into Narnia, and he betrayed them.
Both boys had made terrible mistakes, and their one way of redemption and forgiveness was through Aslan, the Great Lion. Digory had to complete a task for Aslan; he had to retrieve an apple from a garden. The apple that Digory was sent to retrieve was an apple of immortality. Digory almost completed the task when he was tempted by the Witch again. Digory’s mother was very ill and the Witch tempted him to bring the apple back to his mother. Digory did not give in to the Witch and returned to Aslan with the apple.
Edmund’s path to redemption was stickier. He had completely betrayed his siblings, and he had to denounce his wrongdoings. He realized what he had done wrong, but could not return to his siblings and Aslan because he was the Witche’s prisoner. Aslan surrendered his life to the Witch for Edmund. Edmund then changed his ways after Aslan sacrificed himself. Both boys found a way to be forgiven through Aslan. If both boys had realized from the beginning what a danger the Witch was, they would not have been in their dire situations.
“Or wonder till it drives you mad” is the next line of the poem. I believe that both boys probably would have been driven mad if they had not rung their bells. They needed to experience trials to better differentiate between right and wrong—meaning that Edmund and Digory made wrong choices and fell, but Edmund and Digory were able to get back up again and forevermore see that the right choice was clearer after they fell. Digory would have become obsessed with the bell and the thought of what would have happened if he had not rung it. Edmund would be driven mad with the thoughts of not being recognized for who he was. He was tired of living in the shadow of Peter, his brother. Edmund would have always wished that he had listened to the Witch. The boys would each become consumed in their own minds, and quite literally, driven mad.
“What would have followed if you had” is the next line of the poem. Since each did “ring the bell,” they knew what happened, and they both knew their consequences. Edmund knew that there was a possibility of losing relationships with his family and Digory knew that ringing the bell could be either positive or negative. What would not have happened is essential too. Digory and Edmund would have lived completely different lives that the ones that they led as a result of ringing the bell. Digory would never have woken the Witch, nor found the land of Narnia. Edmund would not have found the land of Narnia either. Edmund would not have had the experiences he had while living in Narnia and he would not have ad as good of a relationship with his siblings. Most importantly, Edmund and Digory would not have learned from their mistakes.
Edmund and Digory are inseparably connected. They were brought together through their mistakes, through their triumphs, and through the words of a simple poem. Both characters grew dramatically in the books. Edmund and Digory realized that making mistakes is normal and learning from them is essential. If I were to be placed in either Digory’s or Edmund’s place, I think I would ring the bell. I believe that it is better to make a mistake and learn from it than to never learn at all.
