Death of the Lady of the Green Kirtle

The Death of the Lady of the Green Kirtle ends her enchantment over Rilian and exposes the identity of the serpent that killed his mother. When she changes into a serpent and attacks him, Rilian, Puddleglum, and Eustace join forces to kill her; afterward, Rilian recognizes her as his mother's slayer and describes himself as having been her slave for years.

The Witch's Transformation and Attack

As the companions turn their attention to the Lady of the Green Kirtle, she changes into a serpent. Her musical instrument falls from her hands, and her human shape gives way to a green, serpentine form. The transformation is presented as startlingly swift: there is barely time to take in what is happening before the serpent attacks Rilian.

The serpent wraps itself around Rilian's legs and chest and makes a further attempt to trap his sword arm. He keeps that arm free, but the coils threaten to crush him. The attack turns the struggle from the Witch's attempt to dominate the group through enchantment into an immediate fight for Rilian's life.

The Fight and Her Death

Rilian catches the serpent by the neck with one hand and draws his sword with the other. Eustace and Puddleglum rush to help. Eustace's blow does not pierce the scales, while Rilian and Puddleglum strike the serpent's neck. Their first blows loosen its hold without killing it, so the three continue striking until they cut off its head. It continues to move after its death, but the struggle is over.

The killing depends on their combined action: Rilian holds the serpent at bay, and Puddleglum and Eustace come to his aid. It also reverses their immediate positions. The Witch had been the captor and Rilian her victim; now the once-captive Prince fights back, and the companions help end her power over him.

Recognition and Consequences

After catching his breath, Rilian identifies the serpent as the creature he pursued in vain at a fountain in the forest of Narnia many years earlier. He explains that it was his mother's slayer and that he had been its slave ever since. The recognition links the Witch's attack in the present to the loss that began Rilian's captivity, and gives the killing the meaning of vengeance as well as escape.

Rilian also says he is glad that the Witch assumed serpent form at the last: killing her as a woman would not have accorded with his heart or honour. His words make the form of the final confrontation significant to him, even as he identifies the serpent with the woman who had enslaved him. He thanks his rescuers, and, once the group has recovered, proposes that they drink what wine remains and turn to their plans.