Deplorable Word
Encyclopedia
The Deplorable Word, as used in The Magician's Nephew
, by author C. S. Lewis
, is a magical
curse
which ends all life in the fictional world of Charn
except that of the one who speaks it. Lewis does not explicitly link the Deplorable Word to nuclear weapon
s, but he certainly makes allusions to the power of humanity to destroy itself. Writing in 1955 in the midst of the Cold War
, Lewis has the lion Aslan
say to the central characters, who are children:
The children, Digory Kirke
and Polly Plummer
, come to a lifeless world called Charn
. In an ancient, ruined building they awaken a queen
, Jadis
. She tells them of a worldwide civil war
she fought with her sister. All of Jadis' armies were defeated, having been made to fight to the death of the last soldier, and her sister claimed victory. Then Jadis spoke the horrible curse which her sister knew she had discovered but did not think she would use. In speaking the Deplorable Word, Jadis killed every living thing in her world, except herself, to force her sister from the throne
. She describes this as "a matter of state".
The children are shocked by this account, but Jadis has no remorse or pity for all the ordinary people whom she killed; in her eyes, they only existed for her to use. The past rulers of her race, who evidently had not always been evil, knew of the Deplorable Word's existence but not the word itself, and had vowed that none of them, nor their descendants, would seek to discover it. Jadis said she had "learned it in a secret place and paid a terrible price to learn it". The book does not say what that price was, or give more specifics on the Deplorable Word.
In the world of "The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant", the "Ritual of Desecration" plays a similar role to the Deplorable Word, destroying almost all life in The Land when it was used. It differs notably from the Deplorable Word, however, in how it was used. While the Deplorable Word was used without remorse by Jadis to obliterate her enemies in an act of pure evil, the Ritual of Desecration enacted out of utter desperation in hopes of ridding The Land of evil once and for all so that future generations could live out their lives in peace; a purpose which ultimately failed.
The Magician's Nephew
The Magician's Nephew is a fantasy novel for children written by C. S. Lewis. It was the sixth book published in his The Chronicles of Narnia series, but is the first in the chronology of the Narnia novels' fictional universe. Thus it is an early example of a prequel.The novel is initially set in...
, by author C. S. Lewis
C. S. Lewis
Clive Staples Lewis , commonly referred to as C. S. Lewis and known to his friends and family as "Jack", was a novelist, academic, medievalist, literary critic, essayist, lay theologian and Christian apologist from Belfast, Ireland...
, is a magical
Magic (paranormal)
Magic is the claimed art of manipulating aspects of reality either by supernatural means or through knowledge of occult laws unknown to science. It is in contrast to science, in that science does not accept anything not subject to either direct or indirect observation, and subject to logical...
curse
Curse
A curse is any expressed wish that some form of adversity or misfortune will befall or attach to some other entity—one or more persons, a place, or an object...
which ends all life in the fictional world of Charn
Charn
Charn is a fictional city appearing in the 1955 book The Magician's Nephew, book six in C. S. Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia, written as a prequel to The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. In the book, Charn is described as a very large and completely deserted city that is in a semi-ruined state....
except that of the one who speaks it. Lewis does not explicitly link the Deplorable Word to nuclear weapon
Nuclear weapon
A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission or a combination of fission and fusion. Both reactions release vast quantities of energy from relatively small amounts of matter. The first fission bomb test released the same amount...
s, but he certainly makes allusions to the power of humanity to destroy itself. Writing in 1955 in the midst of the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
, Lewis has the lion Aslan
Aslan
Aslan, the "Great Lion," is the central character in The Chronicles of Narnia, a series of seven fantasy novels for children written by C. S. Lewis. He is the eponymous lion of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, and his role in Narnia is developed throughout the remaining books...
say to the central characters, who are children:
The children, Digory Kirke
Digory Kirke
Digory Kirke is a fictional character from C. S. Lewis' fantasy series The Chronicles of Narnia. He is in three of the seven books: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, The Magician's Nephew, and The Last Battle, and is mentioned in The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.In the 2005 film The Chronicles...
and Polly Plummer
Polly Plummer
Polly Plummer is a major fictional character from C. S. Lewis's fantasy series The Chronicles of Narnia. She appears in two of the seven books: The Magician's Nephew and The Last Battle.-The Magician's Nephew:...
, come to a lifeless world called Charn
Charn
Charn is a fictional city appearing in the 1955 book The Magician's Nephew, book six in C. S. Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia, written as a prequel to The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. In the book, Charn is described as a very large and completely deserted city that is in a semi-ruined state....
. In an ancient, ruined building they awaken a queen
Queen regnant
A queen regnant is a female monarch who reigns in her own right, in contrast to a queen consort, who is the wife of a reigning king. An empress regnant is a female monarch who reigns in her own right over an empire....
, Jadis
White Witch
Jadis is the main antagonist of The Magician's Nephew and of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe in C.S. Lewis' series, The Chronicles of Narnia...
. She tells them of a worldwide civil war
Civil war
A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same nation state or republic, or, less commonly, between two countries created from a formerly-united nation state....
she fought with her sister. All of Jadis' armies were defeated, having been made to fight to the death of the last soldier, and her sister claimed victory. Then Jadis spoke the horrible curse which her sister knew she had discovered but did not think she would use. In speaking the Deplorable Word, Jadis killed every living thing in her world, except herself, to force her sister from the throne
Throne
A throne is the official chair or seat upon which a monarch is seated on state or ceremonial occasions. "Throne" in an abstract sense can also refer to the monarchy or the Crown itself, an instance of metonymy, and is also used in many expressions such as "the power behind the...
. She describes this as "a matter of state".
The children are shocked by this account, but Jadis has no remorse or pity for all the ordinary people whom she killed; in her eyes, they only existed for her to use. The past rulers of her race, who evidently had not always been evil, knew of the Deplorable Word's existence but not the word itself, and had vowed that none of them, nor their descendants, would seek to discover it. Jadis said she had "learned it in a secret place and paid a terrible price to learn it". The book does not say what that price was, or give more specifics on the Deplorable Word.
In the world of "The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant", the "Ritual of Desecration" plays a similar role to the Deplorable Word, destroying almost all life in The Land when it was used. It differs notably from the Deplorable Word, however, in how it was used. While the Deplorable Word was used without remorse by Jadis to obliterate her enemies in an act of pure evil, the Ritual of Desecration enacted out of utter desperation in hopes of ridding The Land of evil once and for all so that future generations could live out their lives in peace; a purpose which ultimately failed.