White Witch facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Jadis, the White Witch |
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| Narnia character | |
Jadis, the White Witch with Maugrim and a black dwarf. Art by Leo and Diane Dillon.
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| Information | |
| Race | Humanoid (Northern Witch)– (rumoured by rivals to be half-Jinn, half Giant) |
| Title | Her Imperial Majesty, Jadis, Queen of Narnia, Chatelaine of Cair Paravel, Empress of the Lone Islands (Former: Her Imperial Majesty Jadis, Empress of Charn) |
| Family | Unnamed sister (deceased; killed by Jadis) |
| Nationality | Charn |
Jadis is the main bad character in two books from C. S. Lewis's series, The Chronicles of Narnia. She appears in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and The Magician's Nephew. In The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, she is usually called the White Witch. This is because she used her magic to make Narnia freeze in a very long winter that lasted for 100 years.
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Who is Jadis?
Jadis is a very beautiful and tall woman. She is seven feet tall, which was common for her royal family from a place called Charn. When people first meet her, like Digory Kirke and Edmund Pevensie, she often charms them. After she ate a special fruit, her skin turned as white as paper.
What are Jadis's Powers and Personality?
Jadis is a powerful sorceress and a very clever planner. She is also very proud and mean. She thinks she is better than everyone else. She sees other people as tools to use or problems to get rid of.
A good example of her cruelty is when she used the Deplorable Word in Charn. This magic word destroyed all life in her home world except for her. She did this to defeat her sister, showing she would rather destroy everything than let her sister be in charge. She was even proud of doing it.
When Jadis first came to Narnia, she lost her magic from Charn. But she was able to get her powers back in Narnia. She became a very strong sorceress again, though she was still not as powerful as Aslan. She took over Narnia and used her magic to make it always winter.
Her most scary weapon is her magic wand. With it, she can turn people into stone. The stone statues of her enemies decorate her castle. When Jadis was briefly on Earth, she didn't have magic. But she was still super strong. She even fought police in London using a metal bar she pulled from a lamp post. This same bar later grew into the lamp post that Lucy Pevensie finds in Narnia.
How Jadis is Shown in Movies and Shows
Jadis has been played by different actors in radio, TV, and movies.
Radio Appearances
- In the radio dramas by Focus on the Family, Elizabeth Counsell was the voice of Jadis.
- For the BBC Radio shows, Rosemary Martin played Jadis.
Television Appearances
- In a 1967 British TV series, Elizabeth Wallace played the White Witch.
- In a funny TV show called The Young Ones, an actress named Justine Lord played the White Witch when a character found Narnia in a wardrobe.
- Beth Porter was the voice of the White Witch in a 1979 animated TV movie. In this cartoon, Aslan defeats her by making her disappear in smoke.
- The English actress Barbara Kellerman played the White Witch in the 1988 BBC TV series The Chronicles of Narnia. In this version, after her wand breaks, Aslan arrives and roars. The ground shakes, and the White Witch falls to her death.
Theatrical Film Series Appearances
- In the 2005 movie The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Tilda Swinton played Jadis. Many fans and critics praised her acting. She was seen as very evil and uncaring about others' lives.
- Tilda Swinton was nominated for an MTV Movie Award for Best Villain for this role.
- Swinton played the White Witch again in the 2008 movie The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian. In this film, some characters try to bring her back to life using her wand. She appears as a ghost in a wall of ice. She tries to trick Caspian and Peter into giving her blood to become real again. But Edmund breaks the ice, and she vanishes.
- Swinton also appeared as the White Witch in the 2010 movie The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. Here, she was a scary vision created by the Dark Island. She tried to make Edmund afraid, but he overcame his fear.
- Tilda Swinton has said she would like to play the White Witch again if they make a movie of The Magician's Nephew.
Literature Appearances
- Jadis also appears in a short story by Neil Gaiman called "The Problem of Susan". This story was in his 2006 book Fragile Things.
Images for kids
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Jadis, the White Witch with Maugrim and a black dwarf. Art by Leo and Diane Dillon.
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Jadis, the White Witch, portrayed by Barbara Kellerman in the BBC miniseries The Chronicles of Narnia (1988, season 1).
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Tilda Swinton as Jadis, the White Witch. Her collar is made from Aslan's mane, taken during his sacrifice.
See also
In Spanish: Jadis para niños
