Before I had turned the first page in The Silver Chair and begun reading it to my five- and six-year-old sons, they were asking me all sorts of questions about the story. They wanted to know if Lucy and Edmund would be in it after all. (No.) They wanted to know how much time would have passed between this story and The Voyage of the “Dawn Treader.” (Only a little.) And, curiously, they wanted to know what it meant that the “chair” was “silver.” (Wait and see!)

Having read all the books in the series with them up to that point, they already knew to look for C.S. Lewis’s hidden messages, and they were onto something with their line of questioning. Read on to find out what we decided was at the heart of The Silver Chair.

THE STORY

This story begins in the place children dread most—school. Of course as a teacher, I say this with a bit of irony, which is what I think C.S. Lewis was after. Our heroine, Jill Pole, has had so much difficulty at school that even recess is a tragic experience. She finds herself bullied by the other kids, and a classmate who turns out to be none other than Eustace Scrubb comes to her rescue. In a way that is part fanciful and part desperate, he tells Jill they can escape all their hardships at school by going to Narnia. Hand-in-hand, the two classmates beg Aslan to save them.

Soon thereafter they discover one of the school entrances mysteriously unlocked. They walk through it and find themselves on top of a mountain. Jill, in utter disbelief, makes a silly show of standing too close to the edge. Eustace, whom she refers to in a jocular way as simply “Scrubb,” tries to pull her away from the edge because it’s so dangerously steep. Disgruntled, Jill pushes him, and he falls over! But rather than fall down to his doom, Eustace gets blown into the distance by Aslan, who has seen everything.

Jill is terrified of Aslan, partly because He’s a Lion, and partly because she senses He is unhappy with her. She eventually musters up the courage to talk to Aslan, and He sends her (and Eustace, though not present for his commissioning) on a quest to save Caspian’s son. Aslan explains to Jill that Narnia’s Prince Rilian has been missing for a number of years, ever since he sought vengeance on a serpent that killed his mother. Without the prince, King Caspian will die heirless, and Narnia will be in a very bad way.

In order to find the prince, Jill must memorize four signs and be prepared to follow them with Eustace when they are reunited: First, Eustace will meet an old friend as soon as he sets foot in Narnia. He should greet that friend, and good fortune will accompany them on their quest. Second, they should journey out of Narnia to the North into the ruined city of the ancient giants. Third, they must look for writing on an old stone in that city, and do what it says. Finally, they will know they have found Prince Rilian because he will ask them something in Aslan’s Name. 

Aslan warns Jill that she must recite the signs over and over again and make sure that she is vigilant in always looking for them. And hurry! Thanks to Jill’s antics on the hill, they have already lost critical time. Then, Aslan blows Jill off the cliff and after Eustace.

She meets him at a port in Narnia. Together, they see an old king depart on a voyage, not realizing the king is none other than Caspian. He was the old friend they were supposed to greet! Not having done so, their quest is now bound to be more difficult. Luckily, they gain the acquaintance of an owl named Glimfeather. He links them up with a strange Narnian creature known as a Marshwiggle named Puddleglum. He’s tall and skinny and bears an uncanny resemblance to a toad when he sits down and spreads his webbed feet. He also tends to see the bad side of things, which the children find irritating. Nevertheless, Puddleglum readily agrees to accompany them on their dangerous mission and makes a noble guide.

The three companions travel across difficult country and through wintry weather into the North of Narnia, believing the second sign will become clear when they arrive in the ruined city of the ancient giants. Along the way, they meet a beautiful maiden and mysterious knight clad in black armor whose face is covered by his visor. The maiden beckons Eustace, Jill, and Puddleglum to seek the gentle giants in the city of Harfang and tell them the Lady of the Green Kirtle bids them welcome during the Autumn Feast.

The idea of the Autumn Feast entices the children, and they eagerly set forth. But a strange thing happens to the children; they begin to bicker with each other and complain to Puddleglum. Puddleglum keeps making a point of this change in their attitude and blames it on the Green Maiden, but the children chalk up his remarks as more of his pessimism. Despite his reservations, Puddleglum escorts the children to the giants’ home.

When they get there, the giants are a little too happy to see them. They lick their lips and make many references to having them at the feast, but Eustace, Jill, and Puddleglum don’t understand that means the giants want to eat them until they stumble across recipes for Human and Marshwiggle. By that time, they also realize that they flubbed the second sign. In their haste to get to the city of Harfang, they had walked right past a sign from the ruined city that said: “Under Me.”

They make a hurried escape out a kitchen side door, and the giants chase after them. The Narnian crew’s only chance is to climb down into a dark cave, which at least leads them in the right direction of the sign they had missed. They make their way through a long tunnel, eventually running into a scary group of creatures who apprehend them in the name of the Queen of the Deep Realm.

The prisoners are brought to the Queen’s chamber. She is not there, but a friendly knight meets them in her stead. He calls the Queen “his lady” and gaily explains that she is away making final preparations for an invasion of Narnia, which they refer to as the Overworld because they are buried so deep below it. The knight will be made king. As he talks about his plot, he is utterly unaware of how dastardly it is, and Jill thinks him terrible. Nevertheless, the knight enjoys the company of the trio and asks them to stay with him a little longer.

Then a strange thing happens: he tells them to tie him up in his silver chair because a fit of madness is about to come over him, just as it does every night. Eustace, Jill, and Puddleglum do as the knight asks and soon hear him raving about Narnia. But his raving is different than what they had expected. He makes an appeal in Aslan’s Name, asking over and over again for them to untie him so he can get vengeance on the wicked woman who killed his mother.

The last sign is revealed! Eustace, Jill, and Puddleglum now realize that the knight is Prince Rilian. He has been enchanted by the queen into believing lies during the daytime.

They untie him, but their chance of escape closes suddenly because the Queen of the Deep Realm returns. She sees what has happened and begins enchanting Prince Rilian once more. Her magic works her way through the entire party, and each of them begins to forget Narnia. As they sink deeper into the queen’s false reality, Puddleglum manages to wake himself up by stepping in a fire. His webbed foot hurts so much, he snaps back to his senses and makes a climactic speech about believing in Narnia.

He says, “Suppose we have only dreamed, or made up, all those things—trees and grass and sun and moon and stars and Aslan himself. Suppose we have. Then all I can say is that, in that case, the made-up things seem a good deal more important than the real ones. Suppose this black pit of a kingdom of yours is the only world. Well, it is strikes me as a pretty poor one. And that’s a funny thing, when you come to think of it. We’re just babies making up a game, if you’re right. But four babies playing a game can make a play-world which licks your real world hollow. That’s why I’m going to stand by the play-world. I’m on Aslan’s side even if there isn’t any Aslan to lead it. I’m going to live as like a Narnian as I can even if there isn’t any Narnia.”

Feeling her hold on the Narnians weaken, the Queen flares up into a green serpent and strikes, but Prince Rilian kills her, avenging his mother at last. The Underworld begins to crumble, and the group hurries away. As they leave, they learn the strange creatures who had taken them prisoners were also under a spell. They are escaping, too, but not to the Overworld. They belong in a deeper part of the earth and go back there.

Rilian and his crew manage to climb out of the earth and happen upon a friendly party of Narnians. When Rilian’s identity is revealed, they celebrate with a splendid meal in a little cave. Meanwhile, word is sent to King Caspian with all haste. He comes home just in time to see his son before he dies in peace.

Then a magical thing happens. Eustace and Jill find themselves once more on Aslan’s Mountain. But this time, they are there with Aslan and Caspian. They watch as Aslan breathes on Caspian and see him grow youthful and awaken back to life. Eustace and Caspian are overjoyed to see one another. Caspian, who had always been curious about Eustace’s world, asks permission to see it just once. Aslan grants permission and sends them all back to the school yard at the same moment when the bullies had been chasing Eustace and Jill. Now armed and accompanied by Caspian and Aslan, they mount a terrifying counterassault and send the bullies running.

Better still, the principal who had allowed the bullying and all the other terrible things at Experiment House to happen gets removed from her job because no one believes she really saw a Lion on campus trying to eat her. And so the story ends with order restored in Narnia as well as at Experiment House.

REFLECTION

Now, let’s take a look at some of the hidden messages C.S. Lewis had in mind in writing The Silver Chair, much of which revolves around the motif of Truth versus Falsehood. This came out most clearly in his opposing images of the Underworld and the Overworld.

The Underworld

Buried deep below the earth, the Underworld is shrouded in darkness. All those who dwell there are strangers to the Sun. They know neither its golden light nor its steadfast Truth. They see things only dimly, if it can be called “seeing,” and what they see is a kingdom based on lies—only they don’t know it. The Underlings are not merely “under” the earth; they are “under” an enchantment much like Prince Caspian. As such, the Underworld represents Falsehood.

Although the Queen of the Deep Realm desires to move her kingdom above ground, it is not to embrace the light of the Sun, which symbolizes Truth. Rather, it is to falsely place herself on the throne of Narnia and thereby cast a figurative shadow upon the land.

That is why Prince Rilian sits in a silver chair, as opposed to a gold one. In this case, silver does not simply mean “second” as in a medal one might win for running a race. It more aptly means “not first” or “not the true one.” Nevertheless, the silver is very beautiful, and that is what makes it attractive. C.S. Lewis seems to be saying that Falsehood lures us in because it is dressed up in finery. If you look closely, however, you will be able to see through its lies.

Puddleglum does, and it’s not because he’s the smartest character in the book, which he isn’t. Nor is it because he’s got some special quality as a Marshwiggle, which he doesn’t. It’s because he’s so genuinely devoted to the Truth. All his cynicism throughout the book is his way of being honest. Maybe he is honest to a fault sometimes, but he is nothing if not sincere.

Interestingly, Experiment House is another kind of Underworld. It, too, tries to hide the Truth from its students. Perhaps the headmistress is not as evil as the Queen of the Deep Realm, but the effects of her leadership are equally disastrous. The students in her care have been taught lies, making them no better than the Underlings in their blind obedience to nonsense, which is not really obedience at all. It’s a tyranny of misrule, a state of utter chaos.

The Overworld

The Overworld, which is really Narnia, is opposite the Underworld in every way. It basks in the light of the Sun and the Truth it symbolizes as a kingdom dedicated to Aslan. Like all earthly places, however, it is still vulnerable to lies. That is how Prince Rilian was stolen away in the first place, and that is how the evil Queen of the Deep Realm is able to tunnel so near to the earth’s surface.

Therein lies a warning: the Truth is never fully safe; those who wish to abuse it and distort it are always lurking in the shadows.

Bright and beautiful though it is, Narnia is not the place of Absolute Truth that Aslan intends for His people. In fact, Narnia rests in the shadow of another “Overworld”—Aslan’s Mountain (referred to in other books as Aslan’s Country). There alone does the Truth reign supreme. To get there, one has to die like King Caspian. Through his death in Narnia and his resurrection on Aslan’s Mountain, we are reminded that Truth begets Eternal Life.

FINAL THOUGHTS

My sons were bouncing in their beds when Caspian came back to life. Second to Puddleglum’s speech, it was the highlight of the book for us. That was not only because it was an exciting moment in the story, but because it spoke to the nature of the immortal soul and the gifts that await us in Heaven.

We spent some time imagining what Caspian’s new life would be like on Aslan’s Mountain. My sons were quick to say that he would have a golden throne. There alone would his kingship be complete. There alone would he be able to take his True place, working fully in accordance with Aslan’s will.

With only one book to go in The Chronicles of Narnia, we were eager for our other beloved characters to find their true places as well.