“Evil is evil, Stregobor," said the witcher seriously as he got up. "Lesser, greater, middling, it’s all the same. Proportions are negotiated, boundaries blurred. I’m not a pious hermit. I haven’t done only good in my life. But if I’m to choose between one evil and another, then I prefer not to choose at all.”

This quotation is from “The Lesser Evil” and encapsulates Geralt’s beliefs about the nature of evil. During his conversation with Stregobor, in which the wizard asks for his help killing Renfri, Stregobor tells him that siding with him will be the lesser evil. Here, Geralt argues that all evil is essentially the same and that he does not prescribe to a hierarchical system in which some evils are better or worse than other evils. Geralt expresses that, given a choice between two evils, he would rather not choose, and instead avoids both. He will not willingly participate in any evil when he has a choice not to. This, of course, helps precipitate the crisis that he experiences when he eventually does choose what he perceives to be the lesser evil between Renfri and Stregobor.

“Only Evil and Greater Evil exist and beyond them, in the shadows, lurks True Evil. True Evil, Geralt, is something you can barely imagine, even if you believe nothing can still surprise you. And sometimes True Evil seizes you by the throat and demands that you choose between it and another, slightly lesser, Evil.”

This quotation is part of what Renfri tells Geralt in the chapter “The Lesser Evil,” where she makes an important philosophical distinction about the nature of evil. Renfri’s description adds two significant aspects to how she defines evil. It establishes a philosophical baseline for what she means when speaking of evil while also agreeing with Geralt’s position that all evil is essentially the same. Renfri effectively reframes their conversation into one about the absolute truth of evil, taking their conversation from the subject of more mundane forms of evil to the nature of an absolute Evil. The capitalization of the world Evil is crucial because it signals the kind of transcendent evil that is a fundamental part of the novel’s world. In this quote, Renfri shifts their conversation from evil actions or intentions to a force of Evil that underlies all evil thoughts and actions. At its core, Renfri’s argument is that there is a driving, absolute Evil that forces people into evil behaviors.

“It had taken a long time… to reach the underlayers of concentrated will which permeated the striga. The evil, twisted will from which the striga was born. The witcher shivered at the memory of taking on that evil to redirect it, as if in a mirror, against the monster. Never before had he come across such a concentration of hatred…”

This quotation comes from “The Witcher,” in which Geralt experiences the feeling of taking the striga’s evil intent into himself. Through this piece of narration, the book explains the kind of evil that is inherent in the monsters in the world. Shortly after this, the story compares the evil will of the striga against other kinds of monsters that Geralt has encountered in the field. The exact scale of the monsters doesn’t matter when it comes to understanding the nature of evil, but monsters’ desire for evil does. This evil is different in kind than the other concepts of evil that are discussed in the book and much more straightforward. The striga is driven by an internal desire for evil as are the other monsters in the world. For the striga, the kikimora, the troll, and every other kind of true monster that Geralt encounters, evil is not a choice or a philosophical concept, but a basic drive on the same level as instinct.

“I took you for a blind, bloodthirsty tool, for someone who kills coldly and without question, who wipes his blade clean of blood and counts the cash. But I’ve become convinced that the witcher’s profession is worthy of respect. You protect us not only from the evil lurking in the darkness, but also from that which lies within ourselves.”

Urcheon says this to Geralt in “A Question of Price.” It reveals another perspective on the nature of evil and discusses the role of witchers. Urcheon has a different view of evil than is seen elsewhere in the book. He describes an external force of evil and the presence of evil within people. This adds new dimensions to the book’s conversation of the nature of evil by acknowledging that the witcher is capable of preventing people from acting on their evil intentions, in addition to destroying evil creatures “lurking in the darkness.” More specifically, Urcheon’s version of evil involves the kinds of violent impulses that the people at the banquet were harboring before Geralt stepped in to help and diffuse the fight that was brewing. While the banquet itself ultimately did devolve into a brawl, Geralt’s attempts to reason with the group helped to alleviate some of the tension early on enough that the bloodshed wasn’t much more catastrophic.