Jadis the White Witch

"If it's a war Aslan wants, it's a war he shall get."

- Jadis the White Witch, seeking to destroy Aslan.

Jadis, the White Witch is the main antagonist of "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" and the main antagonist in "The Magician's Nephew". She is the evil self-proclaimed queen of Narnia who places a spell on the land so that it is forever winter and never Christmas. This spell lasts for 100 years. She wields a wand that turns creatures and people to ice. She also has other magical powers, such as the ablility to produce the Turkish Delights that she uses to trick Edmund into listening to and obeying her. The Witch kills Aslan, Narnia's true king on the Stone Table as a sacrifice, and then goes to war with Peter, Edmund and the rest of the Narnian army.

It is only by the timely intervention of Aslan, Lucy, Susan and the Narnian reinforcements from the White Witch's own castle (who were formerly ice statues until Aslan breathed them back to life) that she does not destroy the Narnian "rebellion". The White Witch is killed by Aslan.

Jadis used to be queen of Charn until she got into a war with her sister and was "forced" to utter the Deplorable Word, which killed every living thing in Charn except her. When her sister managed to defeat Jadis' army, Jadis spoke the word and destroyed all life in her world rather than let her sister rule it instead of her. She then put herself into an enchanted sleep, only to awake when someone came and tapped a bell in the room she resided in. That unsuspecting person was young Digory Kirke. Digory and his friend, Polly, accidentally bring Jadis to our world (more specificly to Digory's Uncle Andrew) and she wreaks havoc on England for about a day. There is a fight then, outside of Digory's house, in which Jadis takes a lamppost bar and begins to hit people with it.

Using magical rings that Uncle Andrew had given them (which took them to Charn in the first place) Digory and Polly manage to get Jadis (as well as a good lot of other people) out of England and into Narnia. Narnia is then a void world with nothing but darkness in it. When the Lion (Aslan) starts singing Narnia into creation Jadis flees. She is next seen in a Garden far up in the mountains of the young world where she had eaten an apple from one of the trees there, giving her eternal life and youth. Digory though takes another apple from the same tree back to Aslan and plants it. This becomes the Tree of Protection and guards Narnia from the Witch for many years (as whoever had taken and eaten the fruit from the tree without permission would be repelled by it). It is hinted at the end of The Magician's Nephew that many years afterward a storm destroyed this tree. Presumably this is when Jadis was able to take over Narnia.

In Prince Caspian, Nikabrik- a black dwarf- tries to get Caspian to call back the spirit of the White Witch with the help of a hag and werewolf. However, Peter and Edmund enter the scene in time to stop them.

Magic
The White Witch is able to use magic that protrudes from her wand, she can turn people into ice at will. She also can duplicate items with her magic; being able to make a lot of Turkish Delights to persuade Edmund. In her original world of Charn she has the power to turn objects and people to dust by speaking certain words, but when she is taken out of Charn her magic no longer has power. She still possesses above average strength, however, and some limited control over animals.

Persuasive Speech
Jadis attemtps to persuade the protagonists several times throughout the story, even so to persuade Aslan to make him think that if he is killed, the people will be saved.

Dark Dagger
Jadis carries a ceremonial dagger in which she uses to kill Aslan on the Stone Table as a sacrifice.

Trivia

 * Tilda Swinton portrayed Jadis in the movie versions of The Chronicles of Narnia.
 * The witch never appeared in the book versions of Prince Caspian and The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. However, she did appear in the movie versions. Still, the book version of Prince Caspian mentions that people were trying to bring her back, so this does fit a bit with the movie version.