Grande figure de Narnia
Digory Kirke
The curious boy who witnesses the creation of Narnia becomes the old professor, one of the "Friends of Narnia."
Repères
- Espèce
- Human
- Nom original
- Digory Kirke
- Autre traduction
- The Professor Digory Kirke
- Autres noms
- The Professor · Professor Kirke
- Titres
- professor
- Origine
- Home (London)
- Nationalité
- Home · In brief · Did you know · On screen · Going further · The story · In the book · In the books · Trivia
- Allégeance
- Narnia, Aslan
- Famille
- Mabel Kirke (mother) · Mr. Kirke (father, in India) · Uncle Andrew Ketterley · Aunt Letitia Ketterley
- Première apparition
- The Magician's Nephew, ch. 1
- Âge
- The Magician's Nephew: 12 years; The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe: 52; The Last Battle: 61
En bref
Digory has two faces in the Chronicles. In The Magician’s Nephew, he is a twelve-year-old boy, unhappy and curious, sent to London to live with his uncle and aunt while his mother is dying. In The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, he is the eccentric old professor who welcomes the Pevensie children into his country house. He is the only adult to take Lucy’s story seriously. Reading both books helps to understand why.
« But what do they teach them in those schools ? Logic, of course ! »
Home Did you know On screen Going further The story In the books Trivia
— Professor Kirke, *The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe*, ch. 5
Personnalité
As a child, Digory is impulsive, curious, quick to argue, and tormented by anxiety for his mother. As an adult, he is gruff, absent-minded, but fundamentally good and open to the wonderful. Between the two, he has learned to no longer confuse the thirst for knowledge with the right to do everything.
Regard et analyse
Digory is the most autobiographical character in the Chronicles. Like Lewis, he lost his mother in childhood : his, Flora, died of cancer in 1908, when Jack was nine years old. The apple that heals Mabel Kirke is a kind of imaginary reparation for this loss. The professor also recalls Lewis’s tutor, William Kirkpatrick, known as "The Great Knock," a master of relentless logic.
Relations
- Polly Plummer : his friend and neighbor, companion of his first adventure and his last.
- Uncle Andrew : his uncle, a shoddy magician, who forces him to leave.
- Mabel Kirke : his sick mother, whom he wants to heal.
- Aslan : who entrusts him with the silver apple, then gives him one to heal his mother.
- The Pevensie children : whom he welcomes into his country house.
Name and translations
Digory is an old Cornish name. Professor Kirke pays homage to William T. Kirkpatrick, Lewis’s tutor, nicknamed "The Great Knock," whose relentless logic he shares.
Notable quotes (paraphrased)
- In The Lion, he reasons with Peter and Susan : either Lucy is lying, or she is mad, or she is telling the truth. Since she is neither lying nor mad…
- In The Last Battle, he sighs that all this is in Plato, and wonders what one learns in school, then.
Symbolique et biographie
Lewis gave Digory part of his own childhood. He too had lost his mother to cancer, in 1908, at nine years old. But Digory’s mother is healed : the book grants the character what the author never received.
Anecdotes
- The professor’s wardrobe is made from the wood of the apple tree planted with the core of the Narnia apple.
- Jim Broadbent played the old professor in the 2005 film.
Dans les livres
Son histoire dans les livres (révèle l’intrigue)
Son histoire
The Magician’s Nephew
With his friend and neighbor Polly, Digory becomes the unwilling guinea pig of his uncle Andrew, an amateur magician. Using magic rings, they reach the Wood Between the Worlds, then Charn. Out of curiosity and pride, Digory rings the bell that awakens Jadis, even though Polly begged him not to. He then witnesses the creation of Narnia. Aslan asks him to atone for his mistake by bringing back a silver apple from a distant garden. Jadis offers to steal it to save his mother : he refuses. Aslan then gives him an apple that heals his mother. The seeds planted in London grow into an apple tree, whose wood will later be used to make the wardrobe.
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
As an adult, Digory listens to the children. He reasons with them, humorously : either Lucy is lying, or she is mad, or she is telling the truth. Since she is neither a liar nor mad, she must be believed. At the end, he advises them not to try to return to Narnia the same way.
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
Ruined, he lives in a small cottage and prepares Peter for his exams.
The Last Battle
He gathers Narnia’s "friends" in London and dies with them in a train accident. In Aslan’s country, he is young again. He is the one who comments on the discovery of true Narnia with a smile : "Everything is in Plato."
Lieux liés
- Sur la carte
Objets liés
Galerie
Le vieux professeur debout dans sa bibliothèque 
Digory et Polly rampent dans le grenier à la bougie 
Digory découvre les bagues sur un plateau 
Digory se réveille dans un bois calme parsemé de mares 
Digory s'apprête à frapper une cloche d'or avec un marteau 
Digory écoute la création dans le noir 
Digory et Polly volent sur un cheval ailé 
Digory devant le portail d'or d'un jardin clos 
La Sorcière tente Digory dans le jardin 
Digory donne la pomme à sa mère malade 
Digory plante les pépins dans un jardin de Londres 
Le professeur écoute sérieusement quatre enfants 
Le professeur pose la main sur l'armoire sculptée 
Digory, garçon, marche dans Londres sous la pluie
Dans le même groupe
Archives de l’ancien site
Professor Digory Kirke
Ce jeune garçon living in London was born in 1888, he lives with his seriously ill mother as well as his mad uncle and his old aunt. Living a monotonous existence since he was forced to live in the city, he met one day Polly Plummer, his little neighbor. A meeting that was the beginning of great and perilous adventures through a spectacular world called Narnia. It was thanks to magical rings made by his uncle that they entered there. Digory is a brave, honest little man, who has a good sense of right and wrong, but sometimes stubborn. He is an exceptional friend to have when difficulties arise. His mother was healed and his father returned from his trip to the Indies and they went back to live in the countryside.
Later, he became the famous Professor Kirke, who appears, among others, in *The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe*. C.S Lewis was inspired by William Kirkpatrick, his tutor, and himself to create this character. He died in a train accident and thus reached the New Narnia.
Presentation in the book
*"The face of the little boy was very dirty, as if he had cried and then dried his tears by rubbing them with his hands full of dirt. The fact is that this is more or less what he had just done."* (*The Magician’s Nephew*, p.8)
Quote
*"The magic, Digory whispered, don’t you feel it ? I bet this room has been frozen in place by spells. I felt it the moment we entered."* Page 57
Appearance in the books
*The Magician’s Nephew* *The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe* *The Voyage of the Dawn Treader* *The Last Battle*
Professor Digory Kirke
Ce jeune garçon living in London was born in 1888, he lives with his seriously ill mother as well as his mad uncle and his old aunt. Living a monotonous existence since he was forced to live in the city, he one day met Polly Plummer, his little neighbor. A meeting that was the beginning of great and perilous adventures through a spectacular world called Narnia. It was thanks to magical rings made by his uncle that they entered there. Digory is a small, courageous man, honest, who has a good sense of right and wrong, but is sometimes stubborn. He is an exceptional friend to have when difficulties arise. His mother was healed and his father returned from his trip to India, and they went back to live in the countryside.
Later, he became the famous Professor Kirke, who appears, among others, in *The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe*. C.S Lewis was inspired by William Kirkpatrick, his tutor, and himself to create this character. He died in a train accident and thus reached the New Narnia.
Presentation in the book
*"The face of the little boy was very dirty, as if he had cried and then dried his tears by rubbing them with his earth-covered hands. The fact is that this was more or less what he had just done." (The Magician’s Nephew, p.8)*
Appearance in the books
*The Magician’s Nephew* *The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe* *The Voyage of the Dawn Treader* *The Last Battle*
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