Bism gnomes' enchantment

Bism gnomes' enchantment is the Witch’s magical coercion of gnomes from Bism, imposed to make them work in the Shallow Lands while forgetting who they are and where they belong. Its breaking restores their memories, customary joy, and desire to return home, revealing that the apparently gloomy workers were captives rather than willing servants.

Enchantment and Captivity

The gnome Golg explains that the Witch had called the gnomes up from Bism by magic to work for her. Their current country, the Shallow Lands, lies too close to the surface for their liking; before the spell breaks, however, they have forgotten both their origin and their proper home. They can neither act nor think independently, but only as the Witch puts thoughts into their heads.

The enchantment has lasted for years. Its emotional effect is not merely obedience: the Witch fills the gnomes’ thoughts with sadness and gloom, and Golg says he has nearly forgotten how to tell a joke or dance a jig. Their silence and labor are therefore outward signs of a deeper deprivation—the spell has obscured their identity and the pleasures associated with their own people and country.

The Spell Breaks

The change begins with a great crash and bang. Golg recounts that the sound prompts each gnome to wonder why they have gone so long without a song, dance, or firework, and to recognize that they must have been enchanted. They then question why they are carrying loads and decide to put down their sacks, bundles, and tools rather than continue the Witch’s work.

The gnomes also see a great red glow and understand that a crack has opened, bringing warmth from the Really Deep Land, a thousand fathoms below them. Golg identifies that deeper country as Bism, their own home. When the crash breaks the spell and the sea begins rising, their memories return; the gnomes hurry toward the chasm to descend homeward. Their rockets and exuberant celebrations make visible the contrast between their recovered life and the imposed gloom of captivity.

Misread Escape and Recovered Allegiance

Jill rejoices that cutting off the Witch’s head has freed the gnomes as well as the travelers. Puddleglum, watching their movements, is less sure: they appear to be arranging themselves in military formations rather than simply fleeing. Golg confirms that they had been preparing for battle, but explains that they did not know the Witch was dead and believed she might still be watching from the castle.

When they saw four armed travelers emerge with swords and horses, the gnomes assumed that a fight had begun. They were ready to fight rather than surrender their hope of returning to Bism, not because they remained loyal to the Witch, but because they feared that the newcomers might prevent their escape. The Prince recognizes Golg as honest and identifies with him: he too has been enchanted and has only recently remembered himself.

Meaning and Limits of the Release

The spell’s end restores more than freedom from labor. The gnomes recover their names as a people, their knowledge of Bism, and the capacity to choose a destination and resist those they think threaten it. Their sudden change recasts their former gloom as an imposed condition, not their essential character; Jill makes the same distinction when she compares them with the Prince, who had also seemed unlike himself under enchantment.

Freedom does not erase fear or guarantee that the gnomes will join the travelers. Although Golg knows the road to the new diggings through which the sorceress intended to lead an army against the Overworld, he agrees only to show where it begins and refuses to travel it with them, saying he would rather die. Their release culminates not in renewed service to another cause, but in their urgent attempt to go home.