The Silver Chair

by

C. S. Lewis

Puddleglum is a Marsh-wiggle, a humanoid species native to Narnia with long limbs and webbed fingers and toes. Puddleglum always speaks pessimistically, which he views as a form of preparedness, though no one else finds his words comforting. Despite his pessimism, Puddleglum is quite brave and intelligent. He immediately recognizes the snowy trenches outside of Harfang as a possible entrance for the ruined giant city, and later he saves everyone by stomping out of the Queen of the Underland’s fire, burning himself in the process.

Puddleglum Quotes in The Silver Chair

The The Silver Chair quotes below are all either spoken by Puddleglum or refer to Puddleglum. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Deception and Illusion Theme Icon
).
Chapter 5 Quotes

He quite expected the Marsh-wiggle to give him an angry reply, but he only said, “That’s the spirit, Scrubb. That’s the way to talk. Put a good face on it. But we all need to be very careful about our tempers, seeing all the hard times we shall have to go through together. Won’t do to quarrel, you know. At any rate, don’t begin it too soon. I know these expeditions usually end that way: knifing one another, I shouldn’t wonder, before all’s done. But the longer we can keep off it—”

Related Characters: Puddleglum (speaker), Jill Pole, Eustace Scrubb
Page Number: 75-76
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 6 Quotes

By the time they had stepped off the end of the bridge onto the grass, the two strangers were quite close. One was a knight in complete armor with his visor down. His armor and his horse were black; there was no device on his shield and no banneret on his spear. The other was a lady on a white horse, a horse so lovely that you wanted to kiss its nose and give it a lump of sugar at once. But the lady, who rode side-saddle and wore a long, fluttering dress of dazzling green, was lovelier still.

Related Characters: Jill Pole, Eustace Scrubb, Prince Rilian, The Queen of the Underland, Puddleglum, The Queen of Narnia
Related Symbols: The Serpent
Page Number: 88-89
Explanation and Analysis:

“Only tell them,” answered the Lady, “that She of the Green Kirtle salutes them by you, and has sent them two fair Southern children for the Autumn Feast.”

Related Characters: The Queen of the Underland (speaker), Jill Pole, Eustace Scrubb, Puddleglum
Page Number: 91
Explanation and Analysis:

In the second place, whatever the Lady had intended by telling them about Harfang, the actual effect on the children was a bad one. They could think about nothing but beds and baths and hot meals and how lovely it would be to get indoors. They never talked about Aslan, or even about the lost prince, now. And Jill gave up her habit of repeating the signs over to herself every night and morning. She said to herself, at first, that she was too tired, but she soon forgot all about it. And though you might have expected that the idea of having a good time at Harfang would have made them more cheerful, it really made them more sorry for themselves and more grumpy and snappy with each other and with Puddleglum.

Related Characters: Jill Pole, Eustace Scrubb, Prince Rilian, Puddleglum, Aslan
Page Number: 94-95
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 9 Quotes

Suddenly Puddleglum turned to them, and his face had gone so pale that you could see the paleness under the natural muddiness of his complexion. He said:

“Don’t eat another bite.”

“What’s wrong?” asked the other two in a whisper. “Didn’t you hear what those giants were saying? ‘That’s a nice tender haunch of venison,’ said one of them. ‘Then that stag was a liar,’ said another. ‘Why?’ said the first one. ‘Oh,’ said the other. ‘They say that when he was caught he said, Don’t kill me, I’m tough. You won’t like me.’” For a moment Jill did not realize the full meaning of this. But she did when Scrubb’s eyes opened wide with horror and he said:

“So we’ve been eating a Talking stag.”

Related Characters: Jill Pole (speaker), Eustace Scrubb (speaker), Puddleglum (speaker), The Queen of the Underland
Page Number: 132-133
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 10 Quotes

“Many fall down, and few return to the sunlit lands,” said the voice. “Make ready now to come with me to the Queen of the Deep Realm.”

“What does she want with us?” asked Scrubb cautiously.

“I do not know,” said the voice. “Her will is not to be questioned but obeyed.”

Related Characters: Eustace Scrubb (speaker), Warden of the Marches (speaker), Jill Pole, Prince Rilian, The Queen of the Underland, Puddleglum
Page Number: 145-146
Explanation and Analysis:

Here they passed dozens of strange animals lying on the turf, either dead or asleep, Jill could not tell which. These were mostly of a dragonish or bat-like sort; Puddleglum did not know what any of them were.

“Do they grow here?” Scrubb asked the Warden. He seemed very surprised at being spoken to, but replied, “No. They are all beasts that have found their way down by chasms and caves, out of Overland into the Deep Realm. Many come down, and few return to the sunlit lands. It is said that they will all wake at the end of the world.”

Related Characters: Eustace Scrubb (speaker), Jill Pole, Prince Rilian, Puddleglum, Warden of the Marches
Page Number: 149-150
Explanation and Analysis:

“If you were not so young a warrior, Boy, you and I must have fought to the death on this quarrel. I can hear no words against my Lady’s honor. But of this you may be assured, that whatever she said to you, she said of a good intent. You do not know her. She is a nosegay of all virtues, as truth, mercy, constancy, gentleness, courage, and the rest. I say what I know. Her kindness to me alone, who can in no way reward her, would make an admirable history. But you shall know and love her hereafter.”

Related Characters: Prince Rilian (speaker), Jill Pole, Eustace Scrubb, The Queen of the Underland, Puddleglum
Page Number: 158-159
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 11 Quotes

“It is well thought of,” said the Knight. “By custom none but the Queen herself remains with me in my evil hour. Such is her tender care for my honor that she would not willingly suffer any ears but her own to hear the words I utter in that frenzy. But I could not easily persuade my attendant gnomes that you should be left with me. And I think I hear their soft feet even now upon the stairs. Go through yonder door: it leads into my other apartments. And there, either await my coming when they have unbound me; or, if you will, return and sit with me in my ravings.”

Related Characters: Prince Rilian (speaker), Jill Pole, Eustace Scrubb, The Queen of the Underland, Puddleglum
Related Symbols: The Silver Chair
Page Number: 168
Explanation and Analysis:

“Once and for all,” said the prisoner, “I adjure you to set me free. By all fears and all loves, by the bright skies of Overland, by the great Lion, by Aslan himself, I charge you—”

“Oh!” said the three travelers as though they had been hurt. “It’s the sign,” said Puddleglum. “It was the words of the sign,” said Scrubb more cautiously. “Oh, what are we to do?” said Jill.

Related Characters: Jill Pole (speaker), Eustace Scrubb (speaker), Prince Rilian (speaker), Puddleglum, Aslan
Related Symbols: The Silver Chair
Page Number: 174
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 12 Quotes

“One word. All you’ve been saying is quite right, I shouldn’t wonder. I’m a chap who always liked to know the worst and then put the best face I can on it. So I won’t deny any of what you said. But there’s one thing more to be said, even so. 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 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.”

Related Characters: Puddleglum (speaker), Jill Pole, Eustace Scrubb, Prince Rilian, The Queen of the Underland
Page Number: 190-191
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 14 Quotes

“My father went to the world’s end,” said Rilian thoughtfully. “It would be a marvelous thing if his son went to the bottom of the world.”

“If your Highness wants to see your father while he’s still alive, which I think he’d prefer,” said Puddleglum, “it’s about time we were getting onto that road to the diggings.”

Related Characters: Prince Rilian (speaker), Puddleglum (speaker), Jill Pole, Eustace Scrubb, Golg
Page Number: 218
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 16 Quotes

When they started to come down the gangway you could see what they were carrying: it was the old King on a bed, very pale and still. They set him down. The Prince knelt beside him and embraced him. They could see King Caspian raising his hand to bless his son. And everyone cheered, but it was a half-hearted cheer, for they all felt that something was going wrong. Then suddenly the King’s head fell back upon his pillows, the musicians stopped and there was a dead silence. The Prince, kneeling by the King’s bed, laid down his head upon it and wept.

Related Characters: Jill Pole, Eustace Scrubb, Prince Rilian, Puddleglum, King Caspian
Page Number: 249
Explanation and Analysis:
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The Silver Chair PDF

Puddleglum Quotes in The Silver Chair

The The Silver Chair quotes below are all either spoken by Puddleglum or refer to Puddleglum. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Deception and Illusion Theme Icon
).
Chapter 5 Quotes

He quite expected the Marsh-wiggle to give him an angry reply, but he only said, “That’s the spirit, Scrubb. That’s the way to talk. Put a good face on it. But we all need to be very careful about our tempers, seeing all the hard times we shall have to go through together. Won’t do to quarrel, you know. At any rate, don’t begin it too soon. I know these expeditions usually end that way: knifing one another, I shouldn’t wonder, before all’s done. But the longer we can keep off it—”

Related Characters: Puddleglum (speaker), Jill Pole, Eustace Scrubb
Page Number: 75-76
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 6 Quotes

By the time they had stepped off the end of the bridge onto the grass, the two strangers were quite close. One was a knight in complete armor with his visor down. His armor and his horse were black; there was no device on his shield and no banneret on his spear. The other was a lady on a white horse, a horse so lovely that you wanted to kiss its nose and give it a lump of sugar at once. But the lady, who rode side-saddle and wore a long, fluttering dress of dazzling green, was lovelier still.

Related Characters: Jill Pole, Eustace Scrubb, Prince Rilian, The Queen of the Underland, Puddleglum, The Queen of Narnia
Related Symbols: The Serpent
Page Number: 88-89
Explanation and Analysis:

“Only tell them,” answered the Lady, “that She of the Green Kirtle salutes them by you, and has sent them two fair Southern children for the Autumn Feast.”

Related Characters: The Queen of the Underland (speaker), Jill Pole, Eustace Scrubb, Puddleglum
Page Number: 91
Explanation and Analysis:

In the second place, whatever the Lady had intended by telling them about Harfang, the actual effect on the children was a bad one. They could think about nothing but beds and baths and hot meals and how lovely it would be to get indoors. They never talked about Aslan, or even about the lost prince, now. And Jill gave up her habit of repeating the signs over to herself every night and morning. She said to herself, at first, that she was too tired, but she soon forgot all about it. And though you might have expected that the idea of having a good time at Harfang would have made them more cheerful, it really made them more sorry for themselves and more grumpy and snappy with each other and with Puddleglum.

Related Characters: Jill Pole, Eustace Scrubb, Prince Rilian, Puddleglum, Aslan
Page Number: 94-95
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 9 Quotes

Suddenly Puddleglum turned to them, and his face had gone so pale that you could see the paleness under the natural muddiness of his complexion. He said:

“Don’t eat another bite.”

“What’s wrong?” asked the other two in a whisper. “Didn’t you hear what those giants were saying? ‘That’s a nice tender haunch of venison,’ said one of them. ‘Then that stag was a liar,’ said another. ‘Why?’ said the first one. ‘Oh,’ said the other. ‘They say that when he was caught he said, Don’t kill me, I’m tough. You won’t like me.’” For a moment Jill did not realize the full meaning of this. But she did when Scrubb’s eyes opened wide with horror and he said:

“So we’ve been eating a Talking stag.”

Related Characters: Jill Pole (speaker), Eustace Scrubb (speaker), Puddleglum (speaker), The Queen of the Underland
Page Number: 132-133
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 10 Quotes

“Many fall down, and few return to the sunlit lands,” said the voice. “Make ready now to come with me to the Queen of the Deep Realm.”

“What does she want with us?” asked Scrubb cautiously.

“I do not know,” said the voice. “Her will is not to be questioned but obeyed.”

Related Characters: Eustace Scrubb (speaker), Warden of the Marches (speaker), Jill Pole, Prince Rilian, The Queen of the Underland, Puddleglum
Page Number: 145-146
Explanation and Analysis:

Here they passed dozens of strange animals lying on the turf, either dead or asleep, Jill could not tell which. These were mostly of a dragonish or bat-like sort; Puddleglum did not know what any of them were.

“Do they grow here?” Scrubb asked the Warden. He seemed very surprised at being spoken to, but replied, “No. They are all beasts that have found their way down by chasms and caves, out of Overland into the Deep Realm. Many come down, and few return to the sunlit lands. It is said that they will all wake at the end of the world.”

Related Characters: Eustace Scrubb (speaker), Jill Pole, Prince Rilian, Puddleglum, Warden of the Marches
Page Number: 149-150
Explanation and Analysis:

“If you were not so young a warrior, Boy, you and I must have fought to the death on this quarrel. I can hear no words against my Lady’s honor. But of this you may be assured, that whatever she said to you, she said of a good intent. You do not know her. She is a nosegay of all virtues, as truth, mercy, constancy, gentleness, courage, and the rest. I say what I know. Her kindness to me alone, who can in no way reward her, would make an admirable history. But you shall know and love her hereafter.”

Related Characters: Prince Rilian (speaker), Jill Pole, Eustace Scrubb, The Queen of the Underland, Puddleglum
Page Number: 158-159
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 11 Quotes

“It is well thought of,” said the Knight. “By custom none but the Queen herself remains with me in my evil hour. Such is her tender care for my honor that she would not willingly suffer any ears but her own to hear the words I utter in that frenzy. But I could not easily persuade my attendant gnomes that you should be left with me. And I think I hear their soft feet even now upon the stairs. Go through yonder door: it leads into my other apartments. And there, either await my coming when they have unbound me; or, if you will, return and sit with me in my ravings.”

Related Characters: Prince Rilian (speaker), Jill Pole, Eustace Scrubb, The Queen of the Underland, Puddleglum
Related Symbols: The Silver Chair
Page Number: 168
Explanation and Analysis:

“Once and for all,” said the prisoner, “I adjure you to set me free. By all fears and all loves, by the bright skies of Overland, by the great Lion, by Aslan himself, I charge you—”

“Oh!” said the three travelers as though they had been hurt. “It’s the sign,” said Puddleglum. “It was the words of the sign,” said Scrubb more cautiously. “Oh, what are we to do?” said Jill.

Related Characters: Jill Pole (speaker), Eustace Scrubb (speaker), Prince Rilian (speaker), Puddleglum, Aslan
Related Symbols: The Silver Chair
Page Number: 174
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 12 Quotes

“One word. All you’ve been saying is quite right, I shouldn’t wonder. I’m a chap who always liked to know the worst and then put the best face I can on it. So I won’t deny any of what you said. But there’s one thing more to be said, even so. 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 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.”

Related Characters: Puddleglum (speaker), Jill Pole, Eustace Scrubb, Prince Rilian, The Queen of the Underland
Page Number: 190-191
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 14 Quotes

“My father went to the world’s end,” said Rilian thoughtfully. “It would be a marvelous thing if his son went to the bottom of the world.”

“If your Highness wants to see your father while he’s still alive, which I think he’d prefer,” said Puddleglum, “it’s about time we were getting onto that road to the diggings.”

Related Characters: Prince Rilian (speaker), Puddleglum (speaker), Jill Pole, Eustace Scrubb, Golg
Page Number: 218
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 16 Quotes

When they started to come down the gangway you could see what they were carrying: it was the old King on a bed, very pale and still. They set him down. The Prince knelt beside him and embraced him. They could see King Caspian raising his hand to bless his son. And everyone cheered, but it was a half-hearted cheer, for they all felt that something was going wrong. Then suddenly the King’s head fell back upon his pillows, the musicians stopped and there was a dead silence. The Prince, kneeling by the King’s bed, laid down his head upon it and wept.

Related Characters: Jill Pole, Eustace Scrubb, Prince Rilian, Puddleglum, King Caspian
Page Number: 249
Explanation and Analysis: