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Chapter 9
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Silver Chair, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Deception and Illusion
Freedom and Imprisonment
Temptation
Courage
Summary
Analysis
The mysterious voice, who introduces himself as the Warden of the Marches, asks Puddleglum and the children who they are and why they have come to the Underland. He warns them that 100 Earthmen stand behind him, ready to fight if necessary. Puddleglum truthfully tells the Warden that they fell to the Underland by accident. The Warden tells Puddleglum that he will have to take him to the Queen of the Deep Realm.
At this point, Jill, Scrubb, and Puddleglum have made their way into a world that could not be more different from Narnia. The names Overland and Underland suggest there is a duality between the two realms, though the nature of their relationship to each other is still obscure, at least for the children and Puddleglum.
Themes
As the Warden speaks, the children and Puddleglum hear a small but violent noise, and the cavern fills up with a dull light. They immediately see that the warden was telling the truth; behind him, dozens of stone-faced gnomes of varying heights stand quietly. Jill looks at their statue-like appearances and feels bad for them.
Once again, Jill, Scrubb, and Puddleglum find themselves at the mercy of a group of creatures they are not sure they can trust. However, much like with the giants at Harfang, their circumstances have left them with no choice; the Warden orders rather than asks, and without him they would be left in the dark.
Themes
The Warden orders the Earthmen, the children, and Puddleglum to march, and they obey his orders. Jill gets increasingly perturbed the further they march into the cave because she is scared of dark and tight spaces. Eventually, they reach a small opening that everyone has to crawl through, and Jill refuses to go any further. Puddleglum and Scrubb comfort her and offer to help. Puddleglum tells Jill to hold on to his ankles while he goes through the opening, while Scrubb holds on to hers. That way, they will all be together, with Jill in the middle. Still frightened, Jill agrees to Puddleglum’s plan and makes it through the hole.
The Earthmen do not care about Jill’s fear and will make her go through the hole whether she wants to or not. Realizing Jill’s outburst will only make the situation worse for her, Puddleglum and Scrubb provide her with emotional support and a practice path forward. It is only with their help that Jill manages to make it through the tight space without raising the ire of the Earthmen. Much like in Harfang, Jill, Scrubb, and Puddleglum only succeed by working as a team.
Themes
On the other side of the tight opening, the group enters a large and elaborate space that barely feels like a cave at all. There are strange flora and fauna littered throughout the cavern—many of them rather dead-looking—that not even Puddleglum recognizes. Puddleglum asks the Warden if the creatures are native to the Underland. The Warden replies that the creatures came from the Overworld and, like the majority of those that come to the Underland, they never made their way back.
The Warden’s reply—that things from the Overworld don’t return from the Underland—is ominous and does not bode well for Puddleglum, Scrubb, and Jill’s adventure moving forward. Additionally, the unrecognizable features of the animals and plants in the Underland implies that the region transforms those from the Overworld into something else entirely.
Themes
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The group continues to march and eventually comes to another small opening, though not nearly as tight as the previous one. Jill ducks under it and finds herself in a long room where an enormous man—far bigger than any of the giants—sleeps with a silver light emanating from him. Puddleglum asks the Warden about the sleeping man. The Warden responds that the man is Father Time, who used to rule the Overworld. Now, he sleeps and dreams of what happens in the Overworld in his absence. Ominously, the Warden adds that Father Time will wake up when the world comes to an end.
Father Time only appears during this scene in The Silver Chair, though he becomes an important figure in The Last Battle, the final book in The Chronicles of Narnia. Here, as well as in The Last Battle, the description of Father Time recalls the Book of Revelation, the final book of the Christian Bible. The Book of Revelation describes the second coming of Jesus Christ, which coincides with the destruction of the Earth.
Themes
After a lot more marching, the Warden orders Puddleglum and the children to get into a boat, which sits mysteriously on a body of water that stretches farther than they can see. Puddleglum, Jill, and Scrubb do as they are asked. Behind them, the Earthmen get into the boat and start rowing. On the journey, Jill sleeps and eats some dull-tasting food that the Earthmen give her.
Although much of The Silver Chair is indebted to Christian iconography, it also contains elements of Greek mythology. Here, for instance, the description of the Underland and the mysterious body of water recalls the Greek Underworld and the river Acheron (the river that the dead must cross to enter the Underworld).
Themes
Finally, they reach an impressive-looking city, and the Warden takes them to the Queen of the Deep Realm’s quarters. When they arrive, one of the Earthmen tells the Warden that the Queen is away. Although the Warden wants to put Puddleglum and the children in jail until the Queen gets back, a handsome young man suddenly emerges and asks that they come with him instead. Jill, Scrubb, and Puddleglum approach the man, who is standing at the top of a flight of stairs. As they approach him, they notice that the light surrounding him is akin to the light seen in the Overworld rather than the gray, dull light that exists in the Underland.
The light surrounding the handsome young man suggests that—not only does he have access to Overworld technology—but that he himself is from the Overworld. After all, the young man is a human, and the only familiar person or thing that Jill, Scrubb, and Puddleglum have seen since entering the Underland. However, looks have proved deceiving previously and could very well be deceiving once again. At this point, Jill and Scrubb have learned from their experience and Puddleglum’s cynicism to proceed with caution.
Themes
When the handsome man sees the children up close, he realizes he has seen them before. He tells them that he was the knight in black they saw when they passed over the bridge in Ettinsmoor. He also explains that the woman with him was the Queen of the Underland. Jill blurts out that they are looking for Prince Rilian and asks if they can find him in the Underland. The knight assures Jill that there is no one by that name in the Underland. Then, he tells the children about the greatness of the Queen of the Underland, who is eternal. He also claims that the Queen will make him a King of the Overworld when one day they return above ground. However, before saying anything more, the knight asks the children and Puddleglum to sit down for a meal.
Like the giants at Harfang, the handsome young man appears to be a gracious host, but perhaps with an ulterior motive. Again, Jill is overeager to share the purpose of their journey, even though she knows the young man might not be on their side. She may even think that the young man might be Rilian, though the knight genuinely appears not to recognize the name. Regardless, Jill, Scrubb, and Puddleglum have found themselves at an impasse because they know the Queen of the Underland is an enemy, and they are seated at the table of someone who worships her.
Themes
