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Chapter 5
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 beginning of the journey through Puddleglum’s marsh is wet but easy enough. When the party makes it out of the marsh, they come to a gorge with large boulders lined up all around. Jill remarks that the boulders almost look like giants and wonders if anyone has ever mistaken the two. Suddenly, one of the boulders moves and Jill realizes she has been looking at a giant after. Then more of the boulders start to move, and the adventurers realize that giants are surrounding them.
The journey into Ettinsmoor begins with deception, as what appears to be a boulder turns out to be the head of a giant. Jill demonstrates that she is perceptive but still not quite prepared for what awaits her in Ettinsmoor. Similarly, although Puddleglum has journeyed to Ettinsmoor before, he missed the giants hiding in plain sight as well, making him a questionable guide.
Themes
Puddleglum warns Jill and Scrubb to continue walking and pretend they have not seen the giants. If they try to run away, the giants will catch them immediately. Meanwhile, the giants pay no mind to Jill, Scrubb, and Puddleglum; in fact, they don’t even seem to have spotted them. However, as Jill, Scrubb, and Puddleglum walk along the gorge, the giants begin throwing large stones, many of which land near the travelers. Jill asks Puddleglum if the giants are aiming at them. Puddleglum explains that the giants are merely playing a game that they play every day, but they have terrible aim.
Walking through the land of the giants requires great courage from Jill, Scrubb, and Puddleglum, as they must resist their natural instincts to run away. Throughout the novel, courage is depicted not only as physical bravery but also emotional resilience. Although Jill lacks courage at the beginning of the novel, she slowly gains it throughout her adventure with Puddleglum and Scrubb, and it proves to be a vital trait.
Themes
Soon, the giants’ game turns into a fight. The giants are exceptionally stupid and regularly hurt themselves while trying to inflict pain on one another. Eventually, the giants all hurt themselves so much that they collectively sit down and cry. That evening, the travelers sleep close together for warmth, and Puddleglum warns Jill and Scrubb that the nights will only get colder the farther north they go.
Notably, although the giants are physically intimidating, they lack finesse and intelligence. To safely make it through Ettinsmoor, Jill, Scrubb, and Puddleglum will have to rely on their smarts because they are no match for the giants if things turn violent.
Themes
For the next 10 days, Puddleglum, Jill and Scrubb, make their way across the mountainous terrain of Ettinsmoor. Each day, Puddleglum and Scrubb shoot birds out of the sky with their bow to eat. On the 10th day of travel, the party comes to an impasse, which makes it look as though they might have to travel down a steep cliff. The route looks exceptionally dangerous, so they try to find a way around.
The weather, the terrain, and the lack of resources make it clear that Ettinsmoor is not a place humans regularly visit. Even for Puddleglum, who knows the area, traveling and surviving are difficult, and the group gets by on scant few resources. Still, regardless of how impossible the situation appears, the adventurers carry on.
Themes
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Soon, they spot a bridge, which Puddleglum finds peculiar. He warns Jill and Scrubb that a sorcerer may have constructed it and, therefore, that it might be dangerous. Scrubb tells Puddleglum he is just being pessimistic and decides to cross the bridge anyway. As the party approaches the end of the bridge, they see two figures: a beautiful woman wearing green on a horse and a knight in black armor.
The woman and the knight are a peculiar sight because of how inhospitable the conditions of Ettinsmoor are for humans. The description of the woman in green recalls the figure Rilian saw before permanently disappearing, and the knight in black by her side could prove similarly dangerous.
Themes
The beautiful woman greets the travelers and asks them where they are going. Jill starts to tell her that they are looking for the ruined city of the giants, though Puddleglum hushes her before she can say anymore. The woman tells the travelers that she does not know about any ruined city, but if they continue on their current path, they will find Harfang, the city of the giants. Unlike the giants they have seen in Ettinsmoor, the giants of Harfang are said to be kind, and the beautiful woman promises that they are gracious hosts. She suggests that they say to the giants “that She of the Green Kirtle salutes them by you, and has sent them two fair Southern children for the Autumn Feast.”
Jill is far too open with the beautiful woman, trusting her implicitly rather than treating her with skepticism. However, here, Puddleglum’s cynicism comes in handy, as he hushes Jill before she can reveal too many details of their journey. Despite Puddleglum’s behavior, the woman appears to want to help the adventurers. In the previous Narnia novels, giants have a mixed reputation—sometimes they are kind, other times dangerous—so it’s difficult to predict whether the woman’s advice is as helpful as it seems.
Themes
Jill and Scrubb are eager to travel to Harfang, though Puddleglum is not so sure. Once the beautiful woman and the knight are gone, Puddleglum remarks upon how strange it was to find them in the mountains. He worries the woman’s advice could lead to trouble. However, Jill and Scrubb want nothing more than a warm bed and a nice meal. Eventually, they convince Puddleglum to go to Harfang. They spend the next few days traveling through the mountains, each of which is colder than the last. By the time the party finally sees Harfang in the distance, Jill and Scrubb have all but forgotten the purpose of their journey.
Temptation is an important theme in the novel and here, Jill and Scrubb let the temptation of a warm bed prevent them from thinking rationally about what has just occurred. They desperately want a break from their grueling task, and, given that Puddleglum always prepares for the worst, they choose to ignore them. Notably, going off course means the potential to miss more of Aslan’s signs, which could result in the failure of their mission.
Themes
