Lady of the Green Kirtle
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The Lady of the Green Kirtle, a.k.a. the Queen of Underland, is a character in The Silver Chair by C.S. Lewis, appearing as the main villain. She is an evil witch who has enslaved Prince Rilian of Narnia and a horde of Earthmen (gnomes) and plans to use them in a plot to take over Narnia. Her plans are foiled by three friends of Aslan (Puddleglum, Eustace, and Jill). She is given very little backstory and it is never made clear who she really is, or where she came from. She is compared several times to the White Witch and some readers believe the two characters to be related, or perhaps even the same person. Some say that this seems unlikely since The Magician's Nephew reveals that Jadis is from a different world and said to be the last of her race, while others note that Jadis also eats from the Tree of Life, and a Hag in Prince Caspian comments, "You cannot kill a witch." In Prince Caspian, a dwarf tells Caspian of a plan to resurrect the White Witch to win the war being fought. While Caspian is appalled at the suggestion, the dwarf is eager to go through with it. This could mean that the Queen of Underland is a ressurected White Witch. When the three heros meet the enchanted Prince Rilian, he tells them that the Lady is of an ancient race that knows neither age nor death. The fact that she has knowledge of events that happened hundreds of years ago proves that this is correct.
She seems to prefer acting indirectly to achieve her ends, as demonstrated when she sends Eustace, Jill and Puddleglum to the giants' castle for the Autumn Feast, and bids them explain that she salutes the giants by them. She knows full well that "man-pies" are a traditional dish for this feast and this is an easy way to get rid of her adversaries. She also plans to attack Narnia from underground, using the enslaved prince as her general, and then rule Narnia perhaps through him as a puppet king.
If she can't kill them, then she will try to co-opt her foes and bring them under her control. To do this, she uses a magical powder that, along with the lulling thrum of a stringed mandolin-like instrument, makes it difficult for people to think. She used this to her advantage by hypnotizing Puddleglum, Eustace, Jill, and Prince Rilian. She very nearly convinces them that not only Narnia but Earth do not exist.
She has the ability to shapeshift into a gigantic green serpent. She used this power to try to kill Prince Rilian and his friends, but was instead killed by the Prince who recognized her serpent form as the one that killed his mother.The White Witch is said to have died in the Lion The Witch and The Wardrobe but many think that since she had eaten from the tree of life she never died, and that she returned to Charn.
Preceded by Unknown |
Queen of Underland Unknown–2356 (Narnian time) |
Succeeded by King Rilian the Disenchanted |