Previous
Chapter 9
Themes
and Colors
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.
Active
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.
Active
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.
Active
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.
Get the entire The Silver Chair LitChart as a printable PDF.
"My students can't get enough of your charts and their results have gone through the roof." -Graham S.
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.
Active
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.
Active
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.
Active
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.
