Edmund is captured by the White Witch

Edmund Pevensie's capture by the White Witch is the pivotal act of betrayal that drives the central conflict of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, transforming him from a spiteful brother into a hostage whose life becomes the legal stake in a cosmic struggle between the Deep Magic and a deeper, older law. His imprisonment is not a single event but a process that begins with his voluntary desertion of his siblings and ends with his rescue by Aslan's forces, only to be followed by the Witch's reassertion of her claim, which ultimately leads to Aslan's substitutionary sacrifice.

Betrayal and Voluntary Surrender

Edmund's capture begins as a self-willed act. After hearing Mr. Beaver's prophecy about Aslan and the plan to meet him at the Stone Table, Edmund quietly slips out of the Beavers' house and makes his way through the snow to the White Witch's castle. He crosses the frozen river and enters the courtyard, where he is confronted by a stone lion that he defaces with a pencil, jeering at what he believes is Aslan petrified. Inside, he finds the Witch and reports that his brother and sisters are at the Beavers' house, along with the news that Aslan has come to Narnia. The Witch, enraged by the mention of Aslan, orders her sledge prepared without bells and sets out, taking Edmund with her. Though he is not physically bound at this stage, he is already in her power, having placed himself under her authority by betraying his family.

Imprisonment and Degradation

Once the sledge journey begins, Edmund's status shifts from favored guest to captive. The Witch gives him stale bread and water instead of the promised Turkish Delight, and the Dwarf mocks him with the taunt "Turkish Delight for the little Prince." As the thaw sets in and the sledge becomes useless, the Witch orders the Dwarf to tie Edmund's hands behind his back and lead him on foot, jerking the rope and flicking him with a whip whenever he stumbles. Edmund is forced to walk through slush and mud, exhausted, hungry, and cold, while the Witch constantly urges "Faster! Faster!" He is no longer a potential prince but a prisoner being driven toward his own execution.

The Attempted Execution

The Witch halts in a dark valley overshadowed by fir and yew trees. Edmund, too tired to care what happens next, lies face down on the ground. The Witch and the Dwarf discuss their options; the Dwarf suggests keeping Edmund for bargaining, but the Witch insists on killing him, lamenting that she cannot do it on the Stone Table itself. She orders the Dwarf to bind Edmund against a tree trunk. The Dwarf undoes Edmund's collar, folds back his shirt, pulls his head back by the hair, and begins sharpening a knife—the sound of which Edmund hears as a strange whizzing noise. At the very moment the Witch prepares to strike, a rescue party sent by Aslan—centaurs, unicorns, deer, and birds—charges in, knocking the knife from the Witch's hand and freeing Edmund. He faints from the ordeal.

The Witch's Legal Claim

Though physically rescued, Edmund remains legally captive under the terms of the Deep Magic. The next morning, the Witch appears before Aslan at the Stone Table and demands her right: "You have a traitor there, Aslan... every traitor belongs to me as my lawful prey and that for every treachery I have a right to a kill." Aslan does not deny the claim. He acknowledges that the Deep Magic, written on the Stone Table, on the World Ash Tree, and on the sceptre of the Emperor-Beyond-the-Sea, gives the Witch dominion over traitors. Edmund's life is forfeit by law, and unless blood is shed, all Narnia will be overturned and perish in fire and water. Aslan negotiates privately with the Witch, and afterward announces that she has renounced her claim on Edmund's blood. The children do not learn the cost until later: Aslan himself has agreed to die in Edmund's place.

The Substitution and Its Aftermath

Edmund is not present at Aslan's sacrifice. He is with the army when the Witch's forces attack, and during the battle he fights his way through three ogres to smash the Witch's wand, breaking her power to turn troops to stone. He is terribly wounded, but Lucy's cordial heals him. Aslan knights him on the field. Edmund never learns the full truth of what Aslan did for him; Susan and Lucy agree that it would be too awful for him to know. The capture and its resolution thus serve as the story's central moral and theological axis: Edmund's betrayal and imprisonment set in motion the Deep Magic's claim, which only a willing, innocent victim can satisfy, and Aslan's substitutionary death breaks the Witch's power forever. The event also marks Edmund's transformation from a spiteful, treacherous boy into a knight and, ultimately, King Edmund the Just.