The Magician's Nephew: Notable Moment

For me, a notable moment in The Magician’s Nephew was when Digory grabbed hold of Polly’s wrists and held her back so he could strike the bell. This is a significant moment because it perhaps reveals C.S. Lewis’s views of females and children. In class we discussed that Lewis was thought by some people to favor men in his books. In this novel, I do see a few instances where women might be shown in a negative way, one being the moment before Queen Jadis was awoken by the bell. Digory is tempted so badly to ring the bell he turns against Polly saying “Girls never want to know anything but gossip and rot about people getting engaged.” It bothers me that Digory acts this way towards Polly. Until this part in the book, the two young characters have seemed to have an equal relationship, but now Digory holds the fact that Polly is a girl against her. Right after this he uses physical force over her to get his way. Although this is out of character for Digory, he uses he strength against Polly to have power over the situation. Another negative depiction of women is Queen Jadis. Unlike Aslan, Jadis is an evil ruler. The good ruler is male while the evil ruler is female.

Before Digory strikes the bell, he also calls Polly a kid. “I should never dream of calling a kid like you a woman.” This could also show how Lewis idolizes youth. The negative things Digory said about women are perhaps not true for young girls. I think Lewis was trying to suggest that children are not the gossiping and rotting adults they will someday become.