Polly Plummer
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Polly Plummer is a major fictional character from C. S. Lewis's fantasy series ''
The Chronicles of Narnia ''The Chronicles of Narnia'' is a series of seven portal fantasy novels by British author C. S. Lewis. Illustrated by Pauline Baynes and originally published between 1950 and 1956, the series is set in the fictional realm of Narnia (wor ...
''. She appears in two of the seven books: ''
The Magician's Nephew ''The Magician's Nephew'' is a portal fantasy novel by British author C. S. Lewis, published in 1955 by The Bodley Head. It is the sixth published of seven novels in ''The Chronicles of Narnia'' (1950–1956). In recent editions, which sequence ...
'' and ''
The Last Battle ''The Last Battle'' is a portal fantasy novel written by British author C. S. Lewis, published by The Bodley Head in 1956. It was the seventh and final novel in ''The Chronicles of Narnia'' (1950–1956). Like the other novels in the series, ...
''.


Biography


In ''The Magician's Nephew''

Polly is introduced in ''The Magician's Nephew''—which is the sixth book in the series to be published, but is the first in the internal chronology of Narnia. In 1900, she is an 11-year-old girl who lives in London, England. She is the neighbor of
Digory Kirke Professor Digory Kirke is a fictional character from C. S. Lewis' fantasy series ''The Chronicles of Narnia.'' He appears in three of the seven books: ''The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe'', ''The Magician's Nephew'', and ''The Last Battle''. ...
's aunt, with whom Digory and his gravely ill mother are staying. Polly befriends Digory, and one of the places they play together is her house's attic room, which leads into an inner-roof space that connects to the attic rooms in ''all'' the houses in their row of terrace houses. Polly uses the attic as a hide-out where she drinks ginger beer and is gradually writing a private story that she does not share with Digory. One day, while exploring the inner roof space in the row of terrace houses, the children accidentally enter the study of Digory's
Uncle Andrew This is a list of characters in the series of fantasy novels by C. S. Lewis called ''The Chronicles of Narnia''. See also a list of Narnia Character Portrayals, portrayals. A *Ahoshta: a 60-year-old Tarkaan of Calormen who later becomes the Gran ...
. He is initially an alarming person in his own domain, but he successfully ingratiates himself with Polly and offers her a yellow ring as a gift which causes her to vanish as soon as she touches it. Uncle Andrew believes Polly has now been sent to another world and blackmails Digory into following her with another ring in order to bring her back. He wants to hear about what is occurring in the 'other place.' Digory is forced to comply, resulting in him finding himself (with Polly) in the other place. However, this is not a place as Uncle Andrew had imagined, and between Digory's sharp mind and inquisitiveness and Polly's practical caution and concern for safety, they realize that if they are careful, they can use this
Wood between the Worlds Wood is a structural tissue/material found as xylem in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulosic fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin tha ...
in the same way as the inner roof space in the terrace houses; linking to all the worlds. The Wood is scattered with large pools as far as they can see, and they have emerged from just one. Polly and Digory come to realize that Digory's Uncle Andrew has no inkling of this reality as he is just an ignorant dabbler in arcane arts, with only pretensions to be a magician, and is not prepared to take his own risks. After working this out, Polly and Digory decided to try a nearby pool and travel to the ruined city of Charn on a dead world that has a dying sun. There, against Polly's advice, Digory breaks an enchantment that releases Jadis, the future
White Witch Jadis is a fictional character and the main antagonist of '' The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe'' (1950) and '' The Magician's Nephew'' (1955) in C. S. Lewis's series, ''The Chronicles of Narnia''. She is commonly referred to as the White Witc ...
. Jadis follows the children back through the Wood to London. After returning home and being confined to her room for missing dinner and having wet shoes and stockings from jumping in puddles, Polly helps Digory return Jadis to the Wood, and they attempt to return her to Charn. Instead, the pool they choose takes them to the new world of Narnia, where they witness its first dawning and the creation of life by
Aslan Aslan () is a major character in C. S. Lewis's ''The Chronicles of Narnia'' series. Unlike any other character in the Narnian series, Aslan appears in all seven chronicles. Aslan is depicted as a Talking animals in fiction, talking lion and is ...
. Polly, Digory, and a cabby and his horse (who were brought along by mistake) are the only ones not alarmed by Aslan or his singing. Jadis and Uncle Andrew are both terrified; Jadis because she knows what he is and Andrew because he has no idea. After the world is created, the children and the flying talking horse Fledge (Strawberry, the Cabby's roan horse who has been transformed) fly to a walled garden in the Western Wild to retrieve a magical apple. This apple, when planted, grows into a tree that serves to protect the young land of Narnia. Aslan gave Digory an apple from the newly planted tree to heal his sick mother. Polly and Digory then return to England, where he heals his mother and buries the apple core and the rings around it. Digory later moves away to a great house that his parents inherited from a great uncle. Polly spends nearly every holiday at their house in the country, and she and Digory remain close friends all their lives. Polly's stolidity, friendship, morality, and sense of caution counterbalance Digory's drive, aggression, and grief.  Polly's role is one of emotional and moral support (and challenge) to Digory, who is written as the protagonist. Her own sense of adventure, discovery, and wonder are no less than Digory's, however, and her experience of Narnia and the spiritual enlightenment and security that their encounter with Aslan provides give both her and Digory the basis for a significant platonic friendship throughout their lives.


In ''The Last Battle''

In ''The Last Battle'', the final book in the series (both chronologically and in order of publication), Polly is an adult of 60. She remains in contact with the other British "friends of Narnia" and is present with them when the apparition of Narnia's King Tirian appears to request their help. She seems like a very cheery, friendly, and wise adult; the children refer to her as "Aunt Polly". She is later killed in a railway accident and is transported to Aslan's country along with the other friends of Narnia. Once she arrives in Narnia, she and Digory become young again, and they are both dressed as royalty (and referred to as ''Lady Polly'' and ''Lord Digory'').


References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Plummer, Polly The Chronicles of Narnia characters Child characters in literature Fictional people from London Literary characters introduced in 1955