Digory Kirke
Encyclopedia
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 of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
, he is played as an adult by Jim Broadbent
.
, the sixth book to be published but the first in the chronology of Narnia, Digory is a young boy. He lives in London
with his Uncle Andrew, due to his father being away in India, as well as his sick mother and her unmarried sister. Andrew, a magician, has made magic ring
s that allow whoever wears them to travel to other worlds by passing through the Wood between the Worlds
. Uncle Andrew first tricks Digory's friend Polly Plummer
into trying the ring; when she disappears, he then blackmail
s his nephew into following her with another ring in order to bring her back. Digory has a sometimes misguided sense of adventure that causes him to go into another world before trying to get home and to ring a bell just to see what happens thus breaking the enchantment that held Jadis, the future White Witch
, in an enchanted sleep in her dead world Charn
, and accidentally brings her back to London, and soon after, into the newly-created Narnia. While there, however, Aslan
sends him on a mission, which allows a magical tree to grow in Narnia which will keep the Witch at bay for nine hundred Narnian years. He took an apple from this tree, with Aslan's permission and blessing, back to the normal world, and used it to save his sick mother's life; he then buried the core, which grew into a peculiar, and possibly magical, tree in his world. The tree blew down in a storm at the end of the book; not having the heart to turn it into firewood, he had it crafted into the wardrobe which is the portal to Narnia in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
.
, Peter
, Susan, Edmund
, and Lucy
stay with the now 52-year-old Professor Kirke during The Blitz
of London. The four children discover Narnia via the wardrobe, and in part, tell Digory.
, it is mentioned in passing that he has lost his fortune and has had to downsize to a cottage with only one spare bedroom. In The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, this explains why Edmund and Lucy are forced to stay with their cousin Eustace Scrubb
when their parents and Susan go abroad, with only Peter being able to stay with the professor so as to be tutored for Peter's upcoming university examinations.
, Digory dies in a train accident and is pulled into Narnia, with other listed major characters. He and Polly (age 60 and 61) both become young again. They are thus allowed to take up lives in New Narnia. The Last Battle also notes that, prior to the events of the book, Digory, Polly, the Pevensie siblings (with the exception of Susan, who comes to believe that Narnia was a youthful fantasy), Eustace, and Jill Pole
had been gathering on occasion as "friends of Narnia", to reminisce about their various adventures.
Michael Aldridge
played Digory in the 1988 BBC miniseries adaptation.
Jim Broadbent
played the character in the 2005 film.
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...
fantasy
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
series The Chronicles of Narnia
The Chronicles of Narnia
The Chronicles of Narnia is a series of seven fantasy novels for children by C. S. Lewis. It is considered a classic of children's literature and is the author's best-known work, having sold over 100 million copies in 47 languages...
. He is in three of the seven books: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is a fantasy novel for children by C. S. Lewis. Published in 1950 and set circa 1940, it is the first-published book of The Chronicles of Narnia and is the best known book of the series. Although it was written and published first, it is second in the series'...
, The Magician's Nephew
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...
, and The Last Battle
The Last Battle
The Last Battle is the seventh and final novel in The Chronicles of Narnia series by C. S. Lewis. It won the prestigious Carnegie Medal in Literature in 1956.-Plot summary:In The Last Battle, Lewis brings The Chronicles of Narnia to an end...
, and is mentioned in The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader is a fantasy novel for children by C. S. Lewis. Written in 1950, it was published in 1952 as the third book of The Chronicles of Narnia...
.
In the 2005 film The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is a 2005 epic fantasy adventure film directed by Andrew Adamson and based on The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, the first published and second chronological novel in C. S. Lewis's children's epic fantasy series, The Chronicles of...
, he is played as an adult by Jim Broadbent
Jim Broadbent
James "Jim" Broadbent is an English theatre, film, and television actor. He is known for his roles in Iris, Moulin Rouge!, Topsy-Turvy, Hot Fuzz, and Bridget Jones' Diary...
.
The Magician's Nephew
In The Magician's NephewThe 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...
, the sixth book to be published but the first in the chronology of Narnia, Digory is a young boy. He lives in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
with his Uncle Andrew, due to his father being away in India, as well as his sick mother and her unmarried sister. Andrew, a magician, has made magic ring
Magic ring
A magic ring is a ring, usually a finger ring, that has magical properties. It appears frequently in fantasy and fairy tales. Magic rings are found in the folklore of every country where rings are worn, and they endow the wearer with a variety of abilities, including invisibility, the granting of...
s that allow whoever wears them to travel to other worlds by passing through the Wood between the Worlds
Wood between the Worlds
The Wood between the Worlds is a linking room location in The Magician's Nephew, part of The Chronicles of Narnia series by C. S. Lewis.-The Magician's Nephew:...
. Uncle Andrew first tricks Digory's friend 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:...
into trying the ring; when she disappears, he then blackmail
Blackmail
In common usage, blackmail is a crime involving threats to reveal substantially true or false information about a person to the public, a family member, or associates unless a demand is met. It may be defined as coercion involving threats of physical harm, threat of criminal prosecution, or threats...
s his nephew into following her with another ring in order to bring her back. Digory has a sometimes misguided sense of adventure that causes him to go into another world before trying to get home and to ring a bell just to see what happens thus breaking the enchantment that held Jadis, the future White Witch
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...
, in an enchanted sleep in her dead world 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....
, and accidentally brings her back to London, and soon after, into the newly-created Narnia. While there, however, 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...
sends him on a mission, which allows a magical tree to grow in Narnia which will keep the Witch at bay for nine hundred Narnian years. He took an apple from this tree, with Aslan's permission and blessing, back to the normal world, and used it to save his sick mother's life; he then buried the core, which grew into a peculiar, and possibly magical, tree in his world. The tree blew down in a storm at the end of the book; not having the heart to turn it into firewood, he had it crafted into the wardrobe which is the portal to Narnia in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is a fantasy novel for children by C. S. Lewis. Published in 1950 and set circa 1940, it is the first-published book of The Chronicles of Narnia and is the best known book of the series. Although it was written and published first, it is second in the series'...
.
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
40 years later, in The Lion, the Witch and the WardrobeThe Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is a fantasy novel for children by C. S. Lewis. Published in 1950 and set circa 1940, it is the first-published book of The Chronicles of Narnia and is the best known book of the series. Although it was written and published first, it is second in the series'...
, Peter
Peter
- Given name :In religion:* Saint Peter , Jesus' disciple * Peter the Deacon , a confidant of Pope Gregory I and rector of Sicily* Peter , saint and Bishop of Pavia...
, Susan, Edmund
Edmund
-People known only as Edmund:*Edmund I , King of England from 939 to 946*Edmund Ironside , also known as Edmund II, King of England in 1016*St. Edmund the Martyr , king of East Anglia*St...
, and Lucy
Lucy
Lucy is an English and French feminine given name derived from Latin masculine given name Lucius with the meaning as of light . Alternative spellings are Luci, Luce, Lucie...
stay with the now 52-year-old Professor Kirke during The Blitz
The Blitz
The Blitz was the sustained strategic bombing of Britain by Nazi Germany between 7 September 1940 and 10 May 1941, during the Second World War. The city of London was bombed by the Luftwaffe for 76 consecutive nights and many towns and cities across the country followed...
of London. The four children discover Narnia via the wardrobe, and in part, tell Digory.
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
In The Voyage of the Dawn TreaderThe Voyage of the Dawn Treader
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader is a fantasy novel for children by C. S. Lewis. Written in 1950, it was published in 1952 as the third book of The Chronicles of Narnia...
, it is mentioned in passing that he has lost his fortune and has had to downsize to a cottage with only one spare bedroom. In The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, this explains why Edmund and Lucy are forced to stay with their cousin Eustace Scrubb
Eustace Scrubb
Eustace Clarence Scrubb is a fictional character in C. S. Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia. He appears in The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, The Silver Chair, and The Last Battle. In The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, he is accompanied by Edmund and Lucy Pevensie, his cousins...
when their parents and Susan go abroad, with only Peter being able to stay with the professor so as to be tutored for Peter's upcoming university examinations.
The Last Battle
In The Last BattleThe Last Battle
The Last Battle is the seventh and final novel in The Chronicles of Narnia series by C. S. Lewis. It won the prestigious Carnegie Medal in Literature in 1956.-Plot summary:In The Last Battle, Lewis brings The Chronicles of Narnia to an end...
, Digory dies in a train accident and is pulled into Narnia, with other listed major characters. He and Polly (age 60 and 61) both become young again. They are thus allowed to take up lives in New Narnia. The Last Battle also notes that, prior to the events of the book, Digory, Polly, the Pevensie siblings (with the exception of Susan, who comes to believe that Narnia was a youthful fantasy), Eustace, and Jill Pole
Jill Pole
Jill Pole is a major character from C. S. Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia series. She appears in The Silver Chair and The Last Battle.-Prior story:Very little is known about Jill's family or her life before she becomes friends with Eustace...
had been gathering on occasion as "friends of Narnia", to reminisce about their various adventures.
Portrayals
Michael Aldridge
Michael William ffolliott Aldridge was an English actor. While it was his role as Seymour in the television series Last of the Summer Wine which made him widely recognised, his long career as a successful character actor on stage and screen dated back to the 1930s.-Early life:The son of Dr...
played Digory in the 1988 BBC miniseries adaptation.
Jim Broadbent
Jim Broadbent
James "Jim" Broadbent is an English theatre, film, and television actor. He is known for his roles in Iris, Moulin Rouge!, Topsy-Turvy, Hot Fuzz, and Bridget Jones' Diary...
played the character in the 2005 film.