Where did the evil creatures come from?

[Lily of Archenland]

What I'm wondering, is how many creatures actually are inherently "evil," and how many are more... effectively bent? Like Jadis offering comfort and security to creatures who didn't get along easily with others and saw themselves as outcasts, or meeting physical needs of needier creatures, or selling herself and her claims to the throne more effectively to some groups than to others, and then the groups that got in good with her early on have stories among themselves of "well she wasn't so bad to us, was she really evil" and the other creatures around them are like "most of them sided with the Witch willingly, can we trust them now."

As for whether all the species were created at the same point in time or not, that's a good question. We know that there are omissions in the narrative because, for example, Marshwiggles weren't mentioned at creation either.

[marmota-b]

I've always perceived Black Dwarfs to be more on the effectively bent side - seeing as, if I remember correctly, there's actually nothing in LWW to indicate which kind of dwarf the dwarf that serves Jadis the most is.

[hansgeorg]

Or did the White Witch take what was good, the creatures that Aslan had already created and bend them to her will which in turn made them as hideous on the outside as they were on the inside? This theory is possibly the most reasonable because Satan does work like that, taking what is good and changing it.

But how much power has he to change them physically, biologically?

For hags, human or tree nymphs won over to black magic might do. But Minotaurs would involve some kind of transhumanism. Maybe a Tisroc had some brilliant evil idea from Tash and carried it out, after which he sent the results to the White Witch as a present?

Of course, transfaunism might do as well.

And if there were fauns in the real world, I don't know exactly where they came from, but Rob Skiba would vote demonic inspired transhumanism.

I think there were by the way.

"I am such a bad faun" has a precedent in Patristics. When St Anthony wanted to visit St Paul the First Hermit he passed by a faun who was crying because idolatry was menacing him with damnation, if God should punish him for being idolised by Pagans, and also a Centaur, where he wasn't sure if it was real or not. See St Jerome's Vita Sancti Anthonii. That is, he wasn't sure if it was a creature of God or an image provoked by the devil to scare him - but the Centaur when asked shouted out sth incomprehensible but pointed the right way.

I've always perceived Black Dwarfs to be more on the effectively bent side

Black and red dwarfs are from the time when CSL wrote an allegory.

Near the utter North of the World where Pilgrim's Regress is set, there is a giant barbarian who is served by dwarven supporters - both red and black dwarfs.

Since all of the other characters, or nearly, and all of the adversaires (all), are in that allegory very easily identified either states of mind or ideologies, obviously CSL was referring to Communist and Fascist workers parties.

And yes, I think CSL was a bit swayed in the antifascist prejudice, like about the Spanish War - which his friend Tolkien regretted.

In Trumpkin and Nikabrik you see a bit of atheism in the former and occultism in the latter - which was CSL's view of Communists and Nazis. Not that all other Fascists were into that, but it seems Nazis were.

Hair colour racism has probably occurred on Ireland. Gaels being suspicious of blondes, generally English or earlier Viking, English being suspicious of redheads who was often Gaels.

So, Nikabrik and Trumpkin were not two kinds of creature, they were simply dwarfs engaged in hair colour racism. But one of them an atheist, one of them an occultist on top of that.

We know that there are omissions in the narrative because, for example, Marshwiggles weren't mentioned at creation either.

Never thought about that one.

True.

CSL threw the imaginative fireworks off as they came, so to speak, he was not incessantly revising, like Tolkien did.

[marmota-b]

I think the Evil One changing creatures' appearances is something Tolkien played with?

And speaking of Minotaurs, I think they're also on the bent side? I seem to recall one being mentioned somewhere else on the good side - I can't recall which of the books it was.

[Ariel.of.Narnia]

Lewis mentioned something that sounds like a Minotaur in Aslan's army in LWW, when Peter, Suan, Lucy, and the Beavers get there.

[marmota-b]

Ah, yes, that was it! Thanks, Ariel.

[Ariel.of.Narnia]

Welcome.

[Lil]

I've always perceived Black Dwarfs to be more on the effectively bent side - seeing as, if I remember correctly, there's actually nothing in LWW to indicate which kind of dwarf the dwarf that serves Jadis the most is.

Though I always thought that, that it was some of the black dwarfs regarding Nikabrik's comments. I thought there was a comment or jab in there somewhere about his people being the ones that served the witch but I can't seem to find it.

I think that some of the creatures probably chose (for fear, comfort, or for evil reasons) and some creatures were probably corrupted by the witch

Another interesting theme/concept/idea about evil I have heard is "Evil cannot create anything new, they can only corrupt and ruin what good forces have invented or made. " (source TV Tropes. TV Tropes is not affiliated with TLC.) and is discussed by Tolkien in the Return of the King. ( I want to say I think Lewis might have addressed it in some of his works but I can't find a source.)

[marmota-b]

I thought he did address it, too. Huh. It must have been Tolkien. (I think Lewis does address it, but indirectly or in the opposite order, more like referring to the corruption of good things by evil than starting the statement with the fact evil cannot create; so it's more like an implication.)

[Ariel.of.Narnia]

I don't recall anything about Black Dwarfs specifically being on the Witch's side. (Reep says in the PC movie, "Ha! That's rich coming from you, dwarf, or do you forget that it was your people who fought alongside the White Witch?", so he doesn't discriminate necessarily. The LWW film, though, showed Red Dwarfs in Aslan's side and Black Dwarfs on Jadis'.)
As for Lewis addressing evil corrupting but not creating, there are a few places in Screwtape where he says the like.