Devotees of the Andrzej Sapkowski novels have consistently criticized Lauren Hissrich for altering the storyline of the fantasy series in The Witcher. Every time a popular book took the form of a screen adaptation, it made fans anxious. While some look forward to the retelling of their favorite stories in a new way, others get fixated on finding the same essence and originality, leading to disappointment. The British Academy Television award-winning show faced a similar issue. 

As per the showrunner, the biggest deviation she brought to the show is making the characters of Ciri and Yennefer well-represented. Hisscrish explored the character of Anya Chalotra more deeply as compared to the book, making significant changes to her storyline. 

Lauren Hissrich’s twist on Yennefer’s fertility in The Witcher series

Throughout the first season, Yennefer’s inability to give birth tormented her, and she tried to find a cure for her infertility. As per the adaptation, she sacrificed her genitalia to rectify her hunchback and other deformities. Yennefer, who was in a state of depression owing to her traumatic past, saw it as a necessity. However, in the original source, it is not a must for mages to be infertile in order to acquire power and magic. There are many sorceresses in the magical world of Sapkowski, who chose not to adhere to the conventions, including Triss Merigold. 

In the original books, Yennefer felt a strong sense of envy towards Merigold, as the latter was lucky enough to be born with natural beauty. In the Netflix series, fans see Tissia giving Yennefer the freedom to choose what to change and what to keep. However, as per the books, sterilization is a by-product of the procedure mages undergo to acquire their artificial beauty, at the cost of their motherhood. Contrary to the adaptation, they did not have any such alternative for selecting what they wanted to give up.

However, there was one character in The Witcher, who did not fall in line with the sorceress’ norms in both the adaptation and books.

The sorceress who retained her fertility

Apart from Triss Merigold, there was also one character who got a very minor backstory in the series. Despite being a sorceress, Visenna gave birth to Geralt. This raised too many questions and also hinted at the possibility of Yennefer gaining her motherhood back. However, owing to the lack of information about Visenna in the series, one can not tell for sure if she underwent the same ritualistic procedure. There are two possibilities in this scenario.

Visenna could have undergone the procedure and found a cure for the curse of sterility, or she could have just been lucky and retained her fertility despite performing the ritual. Seeing the makers attempt to bring the series closer to the original source, fans might even expect them to follow the firsthand storyline. As per the books, Visenna was a druid and not a part of an order like the Lodge of Sorcerers. Therefore, she did not feel the need to alter her appearance, as the druids followed their own procedure to bring vitality to their skin and muscles.

What do you think about this change in Yennefer’s storyline? Let us know in the comments.