The Magician's Nephew

“‘All right, I have then,’ said Digory in a much louder voice, like a boy who was so miserable that he didn’t care who knew he had been crying. ‘And so would you,’ he went on, ‘if you’d lived all your life in the country and had a pony, and a river at the bottom of the garden, and then been brought to live in a beastly Hole like this […] And if your father was away in India—and you had to come and live with an Aunt and an Uncle who’s mad (who would like that?)—and if the reason was that they were looking after your Mother—and if your Mother was ill and was going to—going to—die.’ Then his face went the wrong sort of shape as it does if you’re trying to keep back your tears.”

Polly and Digory’s first meeting set the stage for multiple underlying tensions throughout the story. Polly learns that Digory’s mother is sick and dying, which informs many of Digory’s later actions, and that Uncle Andrew is unusual and potentially dangerous. This passage also hints at the Loss of Innocence theme, as Digory has had to endure grief and hardship that she has not.

“And immediately, without a flash or a noise or a warning of any sort, there was no Polly. Digory and his Uncle were alone in the room.”

This quote captures the novel’s inciting incident, the event that sets all the other events in motion. At this point, Uncle Andrew has manipulated Polly into touching a yellow ring that sent her into another world. Digory knew Uncle Andrew was up to something, but he had no idea what it was. Now, whether he likes it or not, Digory is entangled in Uncle Andrew’s schemes and experiments.

“But of course you must understand that rules of that sort, however excellent they may be for little boys—and servants—and women—and even people in general, can’t possibly be expected to apply to profound students and great thinkers and sages. No, Digory. Men like me, who possess hidden wisdom, are freed from common rules just as we are cut off from common pleasures. Ours, my boy, is a high and lonely destiny.”

Uncle Andrew explains to Digory why he has no remorse about lying to his godmother when he promised to bury the box she gave him, or killing multiple guinea pigs in his experiments, or sending Polly to another world. Pride is a recurring motif linked to the use of destructive magic. Uncle Andrew uses his magic to further his own agenda in an example of