@lindsaydoering He actually did know. He was just coming up with all kinds of an excuses. As he was walking to the White Witch's house, he was kind of talking to himself.

It wasn't a very good excuse, however, for deep down inside him he really knew that the White Witch was bad and cruel.

He had the opportunity to turn back when he saw the house. It was that he couldn't resist the Turkish Delight. That was what he wanted and to be ruler of Narnia. I think it was mainly because he was jealous of Peter's leadership, being the younger brother.

Posted by: @lindsaydoering

Remember - Edmund was separated from his mom when they left London - he misses his mom.  The WW is probably the closest thing to her he can find.

Not sure if that's coming from the film, but there's absolutely nothing in the book about Edmund, or the others, missing their mother or indeed their father. We can speculate that they are, but Lewis says nothing about it and doesn't tend to go into those kinds of psychological motivation themes to any great extent. "The war" itself gets mentioned once in the second sentence of the opening chapter and that's the last we hear of anything to do with it, or with the children's parents.

(By the way, British kids have mums, not moms. Except those who speak Birmingham dialect, I gather.)

Posted by: @lindsaydoering

Also - if Edmund had not known the WW - he would not have known that her magic wand turns people into stone -

Apart from Mr Tumnus telling Lucy about that in the second chapter, Mr Beaver tells all four children, during their dinner at the Beavers' house, that the White Witch's castle is "'All full of statues... People she's turned' — (he paused and shuddered) — 'turned into stone." Edmund himself makes the snide comment about Aslan, "She won't turn him into stone too?", which is how the others later remember that Edmund was still with them when the Beavers started talking about Aslan.

Posted by: @lindsaydoering

I am not sure Edmund really knows he is doing the wrong thing when he goes to the WW's house. 

That's one thing Lewis DOES tell us very clearly as Edmund is on his way from the Beavers' house to the Witch's house:

You mustn't think that even now Edmund was quite so bad that he actually wanted his brother and sisters to be turned into stone. He did want Turkish Delight and to be a Prince (and later a King) and to pay Peter out for calling him a beast. As for what the Witch would do with the others, he didn't want her to be particularly nice to them — certainly not to put them on the same level as himself; but he managed to believe, or pretend he believed, that she wouldn't do anything very bad to them, "Because," he said to himself, "all these people who say nasty things about her are her enemies and probably half of it isn't true. She was jolly nice to me, anyway, much nicer than they are. I expect she is the rightful Queen really. Anyway, she'll be better than that awful Aslan!" At least, that was the excuse he made in his own mind for what he was doing. It wasn't a very good excuse, however, for deep down inside him he really knew that the White Witch was bad and cruel. (Chapter 9, emphasis added)

Posted by: @courtenay

Not sure if that's coming from the film....

I've read other posts of Lindsay's and I know she's a fan of the books, not just the movies. (In fact, I don't remember that she's a fan of the movies at all. She might very well not be.)

I agree with the rest of your post though.

@courtenay These area all great points - I am glad I posted.

The first words Edmund speaks are to rebuke Susan for talking like mother - so obviously mother is on Edmund's mind. Given this and Edmund's age - I think basic human compassion or understanding of children would allow us to assume Edmund misses his mother. These are not superheros - they are children.

Correct - the beaver does tell them she turns people into stone - but does he tells them the mechanism - i.e., the wand.

Completely correct - he knows he is doing the wrong thing - I forgot that. Even so - he does save the day - without his knowledge of the wand - Peter says - they would not have won the battle with the WW. 

So - I do not think this is simply a time bomb waiting to go off on a bad person.  

@col-klink Thanks- I've never seen the movies - they may be great!

@lindsaydoering They are good movies. Though the books are better. There are changes in the movies that worked and some that didn't. Some even argue that they are a bit of a Lord of the Rings knock-off.

@jasmine_tarkheena Thanks - I have such respect for the books that I almost don't want to see the movies.  And I think I would spend most of the time watching them thinking what CSL would have to say about them!

Yes. Ticking time bomb makes you want to go, "Stop! Stop!"

It almost makes me think of a show that I watch, re-runs of Diagnosis Murder (if you haven't seen it, I would recommend checking it out). There is an episode about a vampire who is an attractive lady. She invites eligible bachelors to a party. Two of them are killed off by her in her home. Okay, they don't show it, but you still know what happened because you hear screaming for life in the background while showing full moon. One of the main doctors becomes the next target, and another doctor advises him to stay out. It's the ticking time bomb when the young doctor goes to the house where the vampire lives. It's like you want to tell him, "Don't go there! Stop! Stop!"

So I'm sure Netflix will create opportunity to add tension for a ticking time bomb in Narnia. It might be tempting to have Shift send out his flying monkey buddies (no pun-intended) while Tirian, the kids, Jewel, Puzzle, and Poggin are heading to Cair Paravel or even have Rishda sent out his Calormene soldiers after them. They should not do either though. I'm sure they'll be plenty of materials for trailers without giving too much away.

I think a ticking time bomb is something we don't really think about. We often get so focus on the good characters doing the good stuff. But they actually do have their flaws.

In The Silver Chair, the whole thing is about Jill remembering the signs. Then there was a point where all she and Eustace could think about was getting comfortable in Harfang, she forgot all about the signs. You know then that they're making a wrong choice, that they should be following the signs.

You know, Jasmine, I've always had a different definition of a ticking clock in a story than you have. (I'm not saying I'm right and you're wrong BTW. Your definition is probably right. ) I've always thought it meant something like a deadline for the main characters, like something bad is going to happen and they need to accomplish their goal before then. 

Ironically, by my definition, The Horse and his Boy is one of the few Narnia books that does have such a device. The heroes have to warn King Lune about Rabadash's planned attack before he reaches Archenland. The other one is The Silver Chair which has a ticking clock the characters and the readers know about and one they don't learn about until the end. The first is finding Rilian and getting him back to Narnia before his father dies.

@col-klink 

Oh, not at all! Maybe we're both right in a way!

I don't think I would have thought of that in The Horse And His Boy, where the main characters have to warn King Lune about Rabadash's plot to attack before he reaches Archenland. Well, at least we had Aravis overhearing the conversation between the Tisroc and Rabadash. If she had not listen in and told Shasta, I don't think there would be a story.

Without going back to read the whole thread, could I just distinguish between "ticking clock" (@col-klink) and "ticking time bomb" (as per the title)?

A ticking clock has the jeopardy of running out of time to do something.  A ticking time bomb has the jeopardy of destruction and death. Someone dealing with the clock only has to keep up to time, to achieve their goal. Someone dealing with a time bomb has to prevent the goal of the bomb.

@coracle 

Right. As readers, we know that Eustace and Jill are making a wrong choice as they are heading towards Harfang in The Silver Chair. We know they should be following the signs! We would like to think it would have been better if they kept on track and followed the signs!

Well, at least things turned out when Puddleglum reminds them that Aslan's instructions always work! So it was like he was taking them back on track!