At the beginning of the two thousandths, the Polish series “The Witcher” appeared on TV screens with Michal Zhebrowski in the title role. The plot basis for him was the first two books of Andrzej Sapkowski (“Last Wish” and “Sword of Destiny”) from the saga about the adventures of the witcher Geralt. Both in books and in the series, the main woman in the fate of the witch was a sorceress named Jennifer from Wengerberg.
Universe of Andrzej Sapkowski
In his saga, the author created a world very reminiscent of the Middle Ages. There are sorcerers, elves, dragons, werewolves, and other fabulous creatures. At the same time, mores in the Sapkowski universe do not differ from modern ones. Despite the fabulousness surrounding them, the characters are subject to ordinary human flaws.
The protagonist of the saga is the witcher Geralt of Rivia. He was specially raised for hunting monsters. This character composed his own code, which he is guided in life. For example, Geralt does not kill magical creatures that live peacefully and do not attack people. In addition, he tries not to interfere in politics and inter-human disassembly. However, by the will of fate, the hero is drawn into the war of the kingdoms of the North with a powerful empire called Nilfgaard.
Being a pretty charming man, Geralt is popular with women. Despite numerous novels, the main love of his life is the sorceress Yennifer from Wengerberg. Throughout the saga, they sometimes meet, then diverge, but even after many years the feelings of the sorceress and the witcher do not fade.
Enchantress Jennifer of Wengerberg
This heroine first appears in the first book of the saga - “Last Wish” - and later takes an active part in all the important events of the series.
The sorceress looks a little over twenty years old, although in reality she is much older than Jennifer from Wengerberg. The age of this sorceress is about 94 years.
The sorceress has resin-colored wavy hair below the shoulder blades, purple eyes and a chiseled figure. She is not tall, and in her movements something catlike slips. The sorceress prefers to dress in black and purple tones. But no matter what outfit she chooses, this woman always wears an obsidian star on her neck, which serves her not only as a decoration, but also as a talisman.
Despite her good looks, Ian (as Geralt often calls her) has a rather nasty character that does not prevent her from being liked by men. Also, the heroine is quite wise, prudent and vindictive. She rarely shows her best side and only to those closest to her.
Yennifer's main dream is motherhood. However, like most sorcerers, she is barren. Throughout the saga, the enchantress tries to get pregnant in various ways, but she does not succeed. Ultimately, her maternal instinct finds expression in caring for Princess Tsiri of Tsyntra. Interestingly, at first, Ian treated the baby as a rival, but later began to perceive her as a daughter.
The biography of the heroine in the books of Sapkovsky
Ian was born a hunchback. With such ugliness, she had no chance to marry, so her parents sent her to study at the enchantress in Aretuzu. The girl was taken under her wing by the enchantress Tissay de Vrieux. She not only taught Yennifer magic, but also turned the ugly hunchback into a stunning beauty.
The sorceress met Geralt in Rinda, when he accidentally released the ancient genie. Yennifer pretended to want to help the witcher, but she actually used it for her own purposes. Despite this meanness, Geralt saved her from death by asking the genie to tie their fates.
After a short romance, they broke up.
The next meeting of the lovers occurred during the hunt for the dragon and its treasures. Ian wanted to use her dragon to make a medicine that could give her the chance to become pregnant. The sorceress did not manage to achieve her goal, but they reconciled with the witcher.
That's just a long time to be together in love failed. Soon Geralt found out that his beloved had another man - also a sorcerer. Not finding the strength in herself to choose between them, Yennifer hid from both. The witcher reconciled with the choice of the sorceress and did not begin to look for her.
Yennifer later took part in the battle on Sodden Hill. The woman managed to survive, however, she lost her sight for a long time.
Starting with the book "Blood of the Elves," the sorceress teaches Ciri witchcraft.
In subsequent books, driven by a desire to save Tsiri, Ian constantly gets into all sorts of trouble. So, she escapes from a meeting of the Lodge of sorceresses, having learned that the witch Wilgeforts is hunting her ward. Trying to catch him, the enchantress herself is in his hands, and the villain tortures Ian. Later, Geralt and Ciri save her.
After defeating Wilgeforz, Ciri's father (who turned out to be the ruler of Nilfgaard - Emgyr var Emreis) ordered to kill the sorceress and the witcher who stood in his way. But the lovers manage to escape.
A little later, during the pogrom of the houses of red people in Rivia, Geralt was seriously injured, and to save him, Ian used all her life force. The enchantress and the witcher were supposed to die, but Tsiri with the help of a magical unicorn sends the dying to another dimension, where they remain to live.
The fate of the sorceress according to the games of the witcher
After the release of Sapkovsky ’s latest book, many fans of this story dreamed of knowing what would happen next with the lovers. For such, the computer game "The Witcher" was released.
According to her, Yennifer from Wengerberg was abducted by Eredin - the king of the Wild Hunt - right during the wedding with Geralt. This was done to lure Ciri and take her power.
The princess appears on time and manages to teleport the witcher to a safe place, but Ian remains in the hands of Eredin, who erases her memory. Later, the sorceress manages to escape, but she falls into the hands of Tsiri's father, Emgyr.
In the second game of the series, the character of the charmer from Wengerberg is not involved. The next “encounter” with the heroine takes place in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.
According to the plot, Emgyr instructs the enchantress to find Tsiri. But for this, she has to meet with the witcher. Trying to find his pupil, Jennifer and Geralt are experiencing a lot of adventures. At the end of the game, they team up with Ciri and fight Wild Hunt. After the victory, the player can choose different options for developing the relationship of Geralt and Jennifer from Wengerberg. “The Witcher 3” (game) can end as follows: the heroes either stay together or part.
Jennifer from Wengerberg - actress Grazhina Volshchak
In the television series "The Witcher" and in the film of the same name, the role of the sorceress was played by the Polish actress Grazhina Volshchak.
She was born in Gdansk in 1958. At first, the girl dreamed of becoming a psychologist, but on the advice of her friend went to Warsaw to study acting.
In 1982, Grazhina made her debut in the production of "Opera for 3 Pennies" in the role of Betty. Having proved herself well, she often began to play in performances. Among her works in the theater are the roles of Irina in The Three Sisters by Chekhov and Leni in Kafka's The Process.
In the movie Volshchak made her debut in 1986 in "Masquerade".
During her long career, this actress starred in television series, led various television shows and even wrote the book "How to Be Always Young, Beautiful, and Rich."
As for his personal life, Grazhina married at the age of 29 for actor Marek Sikoru. From this union was born the son of Philip. Unfortunately, Grazhina and Marek lived together for only 10 years, since in 1996 the actress’s husband died.
In 2002, Volshchak began dating the famous Polish screenwriter Cesari Kharasimovich.
Entertaining facts
- Ian constantly used perfumes with the aroma of gooseberries and lilacs.
- Yennifer and Geralt took fifth place among the most beloved fans of couples of lovers, according to the magazine World of Fantasy and Fantasy.
- Like the witcher, the enchantress was not particularly loyal. When the lovers once again parted, she often started novels.
- After the release of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, in which the character Jennifer from Wengerberg played an important role, the heroine's cosplay became very popular among girls.
- The Russian group ESSE from Rostov-on-Don composed the rock opera Road Without a Return based on Sapkovsky’s novels. She was later filmed. The role of Yen in it was played by Lyudmila Dymkova.
- Actress Volshchak is 13 years older than Michal Zhebrowski, despite this, in The Witcher the age difference was not noticeable.
- During the filming of the television series, some fans of the Sapkowski saga organized a collection of signatures against the performance of the main roles in The Witcher by Grazhina Volshchak and Michal Zhebrowski. 650 people signed up for the electronic petition, but this did not affect the filming process.
At first, the saga of Geralt was popular only in Poland. With the advent of the television series and video games of the same name, the witchers, Yennifer and Tsiri became cult characters for many in the CIS and beyond. Some fans of the saga would prefer to see Triss the sorceress in the place of the beloved witch, which was taken into account when creating The Witcher 3, in which there is a love line with this sorceress. However, fans of the Geralt-Yennifer tandem have nothing to fear: despite the “production” novels of the witcher, the purple-eyed sorceress from Wengerberg still belongs to his heart.