The Magician’s Nephew: Chapter 4 Summary & Analysis

The children whirl through darkness and indistinct shapes until they’re standing on solid ground once again. Polly shudders as she gets her bearings: they are surrounded by a steady, dull, red light, in a courtyard with a blue-black sky overhead. There are many cracked, pillared arches, and the air is cold. The place appears to be in ruins. It couldn’t be more different from the Wood between the Worlds, which is full of life.

Polly is reluctant to linger in this world, but Digory persuades her to explore, pointing out that their rings will allow them to get away in an instant. They go inside the crumbling building, crossing one vast courtyard after another. Just when they feel they’ve seen enough, they enter a pair of golden doors and find themselves in a hall filled with hundreds of people who are sitting perfectly still. The people are all wearing richly colored, magnificent robes and crowns bedecked with precious stones.

Digory examines the people’s faces. Many of them look kind, others solemn. Halfway down the room, they encounter unsettling faces—people who look happy yet cruel, and some simply despairing. The last of the hundreds of figures is a fierce-looking, beautiful woman. Digory also examines a table in the middle of the room. On it, there’s a small, golden arch with a little bell attached. Beside it is a little golden hammer with which to strike the bell.

Polly notices that there’s something engraved in the pillar. Although the letters appear strange, the children find that they’re able to read them—some sort of enchantment at work. The engraving reads: “Make your choice, adventurous Stranger; / Strike the bell and bide the danger, / Or wonder, till it drives you mad, / What would have followed if you had.”

Polly quickly points out that they don’t want any danger. But Digory says that if they don’t strike the bell, they’ll spend the rest of their lives wondering what would have happened if they had. Digory even claims that the magic is already working on him, beginning to “send him dotty” with curiosity. Polly is sure he’s pretending, but Digory retorts that it’s only because she’s a girl and so doesn’t care about anything interesting. Polly says he’s being “exactly like a man.”

The children’s argument intensifies as Digory sees Polly’s hand inching toward her yellow ring. Before it can reach her pocket, Digory suddenly seizes her wrist and, while continuing to block Polly, leans over and taps the bell with the hammer. Polly begins to cry from anger.

The bell emits a soft, sweet note that grows steadily louder. Eventually, the room throbs with the noise, and the building begins to shake. The roof begins to collapse, either from magic or from the bell’s volume. The children, shaken, assume that the worst is over; “but they had never been more mistaken in their lives.”