The Gnomes of Bism

Prince Rilian is not the only one bewitched by the Lady of the Green Kirtle. The gnomes of Bism were also under her spell. Our first encounter with these gnomes is after our heroes, Eustace, Jill, and Puddleglum, fall down deep into the earth. The gnomes arrive to bring them to the Lady of the Green Kirtle and appear before our heroes, sad and gloomy. They appear so sad, in fact, that, rather than being afraid, Jill’s first reaction is to want to cheer them up. 

Of course, it turns out that the gnomes are not like that at all. Their true nature reawakens when they are freed from the witch’s enchantment, “leaping, turning cart-wheels, standing on their heads, playing leap-frog, and letting off huge crackers,” clearly a playful lot.

The story of the gnomes’ enchanting is not told by Lewis. Perhaps the Lady of the Green Kirtle entered Bism and overpowered the gnomes with her magic. Or perhaps, similar to her enchantment of Rilian, she enticed the gnomes of Bism with power and riches and then was able to seize control of them. Either way, Golg, the gnome who relates the gnomes' story to our heroes, succinctly summarizes the nature of the enchantment:

We didn't know who we were or where we belonged. We couldn't do anything, or think anything, except what she put into our heads.

His description teaches us something about becoming enchanted, and maybe even about becoming enamored or entranced.

The first symptom, or perhaps the first step, to being enchanted is not knowing oneself and one’s purpose. The spiritual danger of loss of self was already commented on by Screwtape (remember Screwtape is a devil, so everything is backwards), “As a preliminary to detaching him from the Enemy [God], you wanted to detach him from himself…” The midrash similarly states, “Just as their faces are unlike each other, so are they unlike in disposition. Rather each and every individual has his own individual disposition.” Loss of individuality dampens the “image of God” which imbues every human. Losing hold of oneself causes confusion in the knowledge of to Whom one truly belongs.

Each gnome looked different and unique, “some had tails and others not, some wore great beards and others had very round, smooth faces, big as pumpkins. There were long, pointed noses, and long, soft noses like small trunks, and great blobby noses. Several had single horns in the middle of their foreheads.” This diversity in appearance could have reflected a vibrance of thoughts and ideas, a multitude of strengths and talents with each individual using their uniqueness (and banding together to reflect a grand panoply) in the service of God. But it didn’t.

The gnomes’ lost identity and purpose allowed the Lady of the Green Kirtle to put into their heads whatever she wanted. She was not concerned with individuality and uniqueness and certainly not interested in the service of God, “But in one respect they [the gnomes] were all alike: every face in the whole hundred was as sad as a face could be.”  

Not surprisingly, the powerful and controlling prefer that the masses be the same and easy to control. To all fall to the lowest common denominator, to be sad and gloomy. Unlike God, Who wants individuals to be sons and serve Him from a sense of love, duty, and responsibility, human tyrants want slaves, with no individuality and no concept of God. Thus, she puts only "glum and gloomy things" there. 

We do not see that the gnomes of Bism recognize Aslan. But once freed and returned to themselves they have, once again, achieved the capacity to realize God.