Jadis and Her Sleigh, Part 2

Laura B. Hallett, artist

Artwork by Laura B. Hallett

Let’s look at some more depictions of the White Witch — Jadis — riding in her sleigh.

This one, by Laura B. Hallett, is a doozy of bizarreness. The runners seem to be made of mammoth tusks, which seems appropriate for Narnia in its frozen state, and there’s two bald dwarves, a wolf in a doggie coat, and a bat (where’d that come from?) while the witch simpers sweetly as she offers Edmund the Turkish Delight. Altogether a unique vision.

Artwork by illustrator Alice Ink

A professional children’s book illustrator made this version, in watercolor, and it’s polished and delightful, especially in the art nouveau design of the sleigh. Here the witch’s hair serves as her crown, moussed upward in a style resembling the legs of on octopus. Edmund cradles his hot drink and is barely seen amongst the furs. But the real surprise is the dwarf, who is sulking off to the side as if he’s jealous of all the attention Edmund is receiving.

The White Witch’s Sleigh, by James Philip

I like this one even though the sleigh is too boxlike, like a stage prop. The witch has what I consider the correct color hair — black as night — plus a bouffant which highlights her crown. Edmond, dressed in his usual garb of short pants, sweater vest, button-down shirt, and knee socks, is surprised and a little puzzled, while the reindeer, with their backward glances, are all too knowing of the outcome.

Artwork by Ali Yildiz

Here’s another unique stylized vision. Both Edmund and the witch look to be sitting within a cloud of fluffy, fleecy fur. Jadis sports a heavy gold bracelet and her dreadlocks, inspired by the Walden film, take on the aspect of coiled snakes. Note the stain on Edmund’s mouth, indicative of his greed and lapse in moral character.  A++ !

Also based on the film, this one is too happy-happy joy-joy for my taste.

This artist took Baynes’ original illustration and pushed it further. The sleigh is a frothy, lacy confection — surely that elaborate backpiece is translucent — and the witch simple yet majestic — while edmund stands in front, in his bathrobe, alone and vulnerable. Here he’s in his bathrobe, which is from the Walden movie. In the text of the book, he’s wearing everyday clothing, though not for wintry weather.

Worldbuilding Wednesday 6/25/25: Narnia Big Cat Names (Narnia LXIV)

Though C. S. Lewis apparently had a hatred for small cats (look at Ginger’s fate in The Last Battle) he admired the larger species. Aslan was a lion, after all, and his attendants were leopards, panthers, and other (unnamed) species of big cats; a cat-a-mount is mentioned as being one of the statues in the witch’s courtyard, which might be a puma or cougar or some other wild cat like a lynx. But it was the leopards who were mentioned most, which makes sense, as they were featured on European royal crests and sigils almost as much as lions were.

They also took on some human characteristics, as in the above picture from The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.

Next to Aslan stood two leopards of whom one carried his crown and the other his standard.

— The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardobe

Now, “stood” could just mean standing on legs, whether they were two or four. But the leopards couldn’t have carried the objects if they didn’t have the use of forelimbs.

So it does appear the big cats had prehensile paws and the choice of a bipedal posture, at least in this book. That includes Aslan. In one of Pauline Baynes’ original illustrations he walks alongside the White Witch on two legs with his paws folded behind his back. He also claps his paws — which wouldn’t have made much noise, having pads — and touches Peter on the shoulder with a paw to direct his attention; a few paragraphs later he waves a paw to indicate Peter should respond to Susan’s horn. Then, after Susan is saved from the wolf:

“Hand it [the sword] to me and kneel, Son of Adam,” said Aslan. And when Peter had done so he struck him with the flat of the blade and said, “Rise up, Sir Peter Fenris-Bane. And, whatever happens, never forget to wipe your sword.”

— The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardobe

Well, hmmm. There’s more in this section I could analyze, such as Aslan’s priggish harping on cleaning the sword, but that is for another post.

Later, there’s this:

“Wow!” roared Aslan half rising from his throne

— The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardobe

Sitting on a throne and half-rising from it is what humans do. If Aslan was sitting on the throne as a cat would, he couldn’t half-rise, because he’s already half-risen with his haunches on the ground and his front paws supporting his upper body.

In Prince Caspian though, Aslan doesn’t evince any of this anthropomorphic behavior save, in one part, where he shakes hands with Peter (!) Of course Aslan was not present for a good chunk of the book, at least until Lucy spots him in the woods for which she is jeered at. But when he is present, he is more cat than human.

By The Voyage of the Dawn Treader Lewis is rethinking entirely his earlier conceptions of what Aslan can and can’t do. When Eustace is de-dragoned he tells Edmond:

“After a bit the lion took me out and dressed me—”

“Dressed you. With his paws?”

“Well, I don’t exactly remember that bit. But he did somehow or other: in new clothes—the same I’ve got on now, as a matter of fact.”

— The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardobe

The implication is Aslan doesn’t do that kind of mundane physical stuff. In fact, as the books progress, he grows more distant, more mysterious, more iconic, and more static. By The Silver Chair, he doesn’t even pierce his own paw with a thorn — he has Eustace do it. This is actually a pretty neat trick of author, going from the fairy-tale hands-on character of the first book, meant for young children, to the almost-forgotten myth he was in the last, which was meant for young adolescents. The idea of Aslan changed as the reader did, with the object of deepening their faith  and interiorising it.

Back to the leopards and other big cats. If they can carry standards and crowns, it’s possible they had names like these.

 

Narnian Names for Big Cats

Duskpad

Frecklebreast

Graypard

Lygerion

Moongrace

Nightwind

Oscellan

Servaline

Sunchase

Tyrannus

Yellowbrow

 Dappleshade

Embercoat

Felimare

Flare

Flint

Goldmellow

Moongaunt

Myrelot

Streak

Sundrift

Tangletail

Narnia French Editions, 1973

Last year I posted these two interesting French editions of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe and Prince Caspian from the early 1950s. Back then foreign publishers, once they acquired the rights, usually had their own artists create the covers, likely because it was too much bother to ship over the original artwork and recreate the whole thing all over again, wasting time and money. Remember, there was no internet or overnight delivery back then. Things weren’t as easy as sending some graphics files as an email attachment and altering the text or size.

When the books were re-released in France in 1973, the same was true.

The French translation of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe remains the same: The Lion and the White Sorceress, which, admittedly, still sounds more elegant than the original title. Both pictures retain a juvenality, but this time it’s less charming and more like a comic book. I see a little Jack Davis, even, in the Prince Caspian cover. It’s busy and energetic, but also veers on parody with the googly eyes on the trees and dwarves, implying a lot of goofy, good-natured fun.

Now, Prince Caspian does have its moments of playfulness, but overall it’s a downer of a book, what with the Pevensies returning to find their former home in ruins and all the magical creatures gone and Caspian’s literal flight for his life. He wouldn’t be grinning so cheerfully as he sets off into the wild. He looks even sillier in the Medieval Germanic costume the artist put him in with its puffy shorts.

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe fares better, but again, looks kind of cheap. There was no scene in the book, either, where the witch appears dramatically on a pinnacle and looks down on her foes. I can understand the artist’s decision to go for a dramatic effect, but technically it’s a bait and switch.

The Lion, the Witch, and the IKEA Wardrobe

Cartoon by Andrew Birch. It wrote itself, don’t you think?

Tolkien vs. Lewis: Allegories

Webcomic by R. E. Parrish, who also did last Spring’s Tolkien world creation one.

Jadis and Her Sleigh, Part 1

Artwork by Anastasia Nestarov

Without bells, remember.

It’s one of the most iconic images from the first book and also iconic to the Snow Queen story, which inspired Lewis to include it in the first place.

Most artists don’t stray too far from the text. There’s a dwarf, at least two reindeer, and a luxurious sleigh which includes furs on the inside. The witch’s costume and the sleigh’s design varies, though it’s usually ornate and fanciful.

The pic above is typical, highlighting the witch’s malicious nature and Edmond’s greed.

Jadis the Witch and Edmund, by Elliot Hale

Here’s one that’s different. The witch wears a beret, looking like an aging Beatnik, while Edmond is shivering with the cold. I think the artist forgot the line about the sleigh being lined with furs. The dwarf wears a hunting cap with flaps which is different also. Most artists put the dwarf in a stocking cap.

Edmund and the White Witch, by The Hxverling

At least here Edmond is bundled up in furs. But the witch’s expression is oddly impassive as she offers him his doom — and he reaches for it tentatively. Her icicle crown is inspired by the Walden movie, though it looks more like fangs.

Edmund and the Witch, by Rogue Eidolon

In this decorative depiction the witch has small, round, dangerous, beady eyes, like the Predator creature from the movie franchise. Edmond is far from comfortable with her.

Artwork by Mahta Hedayat

All the character look way too innocent in this stylized “South Park” version. The dwarf especially seems to be having second thoughts about his employer.

Turkish Delight, by Melodie Stacey

The dwarf doesn’t get a seat in this version — he has to stand as he drives the sleigh, which has realistic high runners. The witch is determined, the bespectacled Edmond unsure. The childlike style works well with a good sense of speed and urgency.

Turkish Delight, by Patricia Pessoa

Another childlike version which is a lot sweeter. We don’t see a sleigh, but it’s inferred they’re in one. The witch seems to be saying “I’ll love and protect you for ever and ever schnookiekins” while Edmund has his doubts.

 

Worldbuilding Wednesday 6/18/25: Narnian Star Magic (Narnia LXIII)

Ramandu is one of those Narnian characters who plays a significant role in the book but not in artists’ depictions. Pauline Baynes’ original illustration remains the best one I’ve seen: a grave, elderly man in a robe of silver fleece, with a white beard that falls to his feet… which are bare, in the manner of the humble and the ascetic. He opens his mouth to accept a fire-berry from the beak of a White Bird of the Sun who has flown all the way there to shuttle it to him. The berry erases a little of his age, and when he becomes “as young as the child who was born yesterday” he will rise once again to Narnia’s night sky.

(As Narnia would be destroyed a mere 500 years later, let’s hope he got to sufficiently de-age himself before the final apocalypse.)

This was such an iconic image that when I googled it, I found dozens of similar pics… but they were of the Prophet Elijah, from the Old Testament, and he was being fed by a raven! I wonder if either the artist or Lewis himself had been inspired by this episode or the classical depictions of it.

In both stories, the elder received his food from God (or Aslan, in Ramandu’s case) and both received a benefit: a deepening of faith for Elijah, and a rejuvenation for Ramandu.

It’s not clear in the text if Ramandu is a magician like Coriakin, whom Caspian & Co. had met earlier on another island. But surely he must have a few magic powers. In that vein, here’s some spells for him or other characters to use.

 

Star Spells of Narnia

Banquet of Bonding: When cast on an empty table, a feast fit for royalty appears, with fine cuts of meat, pies, exotic produce, rare wines, and heavenly desserts. All the beings eating this feast unite together in camaraderie and forget their differences and petty grievances. The opposite of this spell is Banquet of Breaking, wherein the beings eating the food explode in feuds and arguments, sundering them.

Commune with Stars: Allows the caster to call upon the collective wisdom of the Narnian stars to solve problems. Note: the stars can refuse to help if they don’t like the caster or request.

Glorious Feast: Convinces creatures they are imbibing in a king’s feast complete with golden plates, a velvet-clad table, and sumptuous dishes, when in reality they are eating mundane food.

Moonblade: Changes a shaft of moonlight into a magical +1 silver sword for the spell’s duration.

Mystic Mead: This magic drink temporarily increases all imbiber’s Wisdom scores by +5.

Reverse Eclipse: A very powerful spell, used only by the elder stars, used to stop or reverse a solar eclipse.

Ring of Selene: This ring is made of silver set with a band of gray gems. It makes the wearer’s intelligence and wisdom go up by one point as long as moonlight is shining on them.

Shield of Starlight: With a two-armed gesture, thousands of tiny sparkling points of light form a +10 shield in front of the caster’s body that physical weapons and evil magic will not affect.

Solar Avian Whistle: This slim golden pipe whistle summons the Narnian Birds of the Sun when blown during daylight hours. The single note is ear-piercingly shrill.

Starburn Command: Briefly intensifies the light of a star, rendering it bright enough to read by.

C. S. Lewis Keycard

Graduate Hotels specializes in lodgings near universities and college campuses — Princeton, Annapolis, New Haven, and the like. Its rooms use keycards shaped like facsimilies of student IDs of notable graduates or professors. This Graduate Hotel, near Oxford, includes one of C. S. Lewis, even though student IDs didn’t exist in his time. Pretty neat huh?