Chapter 3: The Wood Between the Worlds
After Digory has put on the yellow ring, he finds himself in what seems to be water, with darkness below him and green light above him; he then feels himself rushing to the surface of a small pool, and coming into the air. Digory crawls out of the pool and is surprised to find that he is not wet. He is in a peaceful wooded area filled with soft green light filtering down through trees. He sees that the wood he is in is filled with lots of little pools like the one from which he came. He cannot immediately recall where he came from, nor why. Digory feels as if he has been in these woods for a long time, and feels completely peaceful and calm.
Digory then notices Polly sleeping by a tree. She too feels very peaceful and calm. They greet each other, but one of them can remember how they know each other until they see a guinea pig with a yellow ring taped on its back. They are immediately reminded of Uncle Andrew and his experimentation with the strange rings.
Once the two children have oriented themselves to the situation, and have remembered that they have travelled to this other world as a result of Uncle Andrew's magic, Digory realizes that perhaps it is possible to find other interesting worlds by using the same magic rings. Digory tells Polly that he believes other worlds might be accessible through the other pools in the woods, and that this woods serves as a Wood Between the Worlds. However, Polly would prefer to test the green rings first to make sure they work to bring them back. After some disagreement, Digory agrees to test the rings with Polly. They decide that they will put on the green rings and jump into the same pool from which they originally entered; then, if it appears that the green rings are functioning properly to bring them back to London, before they have fully arrived in London they will yell "Switch." At that point, they will both remove their green rings and put on their yellow rings, thus bringing them back to the wood. They try this experiment and it works perfectly; as London starts to come into view, they switch their rings back to yellow and reverse their journey, ending up back in the wood.
Digory is now ready to embark on journeys to new worlds, via the other pools in the woods. However, as he is excitedly walking towards other pools, Polly points out that they must first mark their home pool, i.e. the pool that they know brings them back to London. If they don't mark it they could lose it, and then they will never get home—Digory realizes he almost made a grave mistake! After they mark their home pool, they choose another pool that they are going to use as a way of traveling to a different world. First, they attempt to jump into that pool using their yellow rings, because they believe that those are the rings that bring you to another world. However, they discover that the yellow rings do nothing, and they just get their feet wet in a shallow pool. The narrator explains that the yellow rings contain an element of the Wood Between the Worlds and thus are only used to bring the wearer to the woods. The children must use the green rings in order to enter any of the pools as means of transporting them to another world. The children figure this out, and, putting on the green rings, they jump into one of the pools.
Chapter 4: The Bell and the Hammer
Polly and Digory find themselves in a stone courtyard, surrounded by high stone walls that are bathed in a strange reddish light. Although the place is creepy and seemingly empty, they want to explore. They remind themselves that if anything goes wrong, they can go back to the Wood using their yellow rings. They decide to both put the yellow rings in their left-hand pocket, and the green rings in the right-hand pocket. They then start off to the explore the strange stone complex. They wander through empty halls and courtyards of the stone buildings. Everything appears to be in ruins and hasn't been used for many years. In addition, there do not seem to be any living creatures: neither insects, nor plants, nor birds.
Finally, they come upon a seemingly magical room filled with wax figures dressed in magnificent clothing. Polly is dazzled by the beauty of the clothing. The figures are all seated lining a big grand hall; they appear to be figures made in the image of the people who once lived in this land, organized in chronological order with the most ancient figure near the door, and the most recent descendants farthest away from the door. Polly notes that the figures near the door have kind faces, but as they walk down the hallway the figures have faces that look increasingly cruel.
At the end of the hall is the tall beautiful figure of a queen. Digory finds the Queen mesmerizingly beautiful, while Polly finds her to look very cruel. Polly and Digory then notice a small bell and a hammer. Next to the bell is an inscription which is first undecipherable; magically, the inscription transforms so they can read it. The inscription dares them to ring the bell or to always wonder what would happen if they had. Digory wants to ring the bell, and Polly does not. They argue over whether they should do it, and Polly angrily threatens to put on her yellow ring, which would bring her back to the forest and thus leave Digory there alone. Digory grabs Polly to prevent her from putting on her ring, and, while restraining her, he hits the bell with the hammer. The sound of the bell starts off small and then grows louder and louder, shaking the walls.
Analysis: Chapters 3 - 4
Digory and Polly have now entered into other worlds beyond their own through magic, thus further developing the theme of magic in the novel. Not only is the magic that Uncle Andrew practices real, it also has the ability to transport the two children to another world completely, aside from just the Wood Between the World. Thus, magic is a means of furthering the plot. The existence of other worlds is also a motif in the novel directly related to magic; in order to believe in the existence and access to these other worlds, magic is required.
As Digory approaches and enters the Wood Between the Worlds, the imagery of the woods evokes many of the senses: sight, feeling/touch, sound. The wood is described as green, bright, warm, quiet, alive, growing. This imagery invokes a sense of calm and tranquility. In addition, Digory notes that the trees seemed to be soaking up the water of the pools: “you could almost feel the trees growing” (33). Thus, the theme of growth and nature as goodness furthered here; Digory’s feeling and the imagery of this place give the reader a sense of goodness.
We see more of Digory and Polly’s characters in their reaction to these strange circumstances. Digory’s curiosity is immediately piqued, but he lacks a sense of caution; in contrast, Polly, while open to adventure, thinks more practically, and wants to test the homeward bound rings before they do any more exploring. This disagreement is resolved through compromise, in their agreement to travel halfway back to London before coming back to the woods. Compromise is an important element of the friendship theme in the novel.
When the children enter the new world, they at first think the empty stone structure seems to have nothing to offer them. Yet once they find the room of wax figures the theme of magic is invoked. They feel the magic of the room as soon as they enter it; magic here foreshadows that more adventure is sure to come for Polly and Digory. The magical room is also our first introduction to the Queen, who we later learn is Queen Jadis, before she is awakened. Polly sees Queen Jadis immediately as an evil and cruel character; Digory sees her only as beautiful. Here, Lewis expands on the gender roles that characterize both children: Digory, as a boy/man, sees only the woman’s beauty, while Polly sees more deeply into her personality of cruelty. Seeing the beautiful figure of the Queen has ignited Digory's curiosity, which then leads him into temptation to evil: the ringing of the bell.
When the children see the bell, two themes are employed: the inscription magically transforms so they can read it, and the text of the inscription has language that is purposefully tempting the reader of the inscription on the bell. This incident alludes to the theme of temptation in the bible, in that the description is meant to tempt the reader into evil-doing (Wilson 359). Here, temptation also serves as another test of the friendship of Polly and Digory. Unlike the situation in the woods, the two characters do not agree to a compromise. Instead, they begin to argue, Polly sticking to her practical nature, and Digory to his impulsive curious nature.
