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Chapter 7
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
Unsure of himself, Scrubb repeats the line about the Autumn feast to the King of the giants and the Queen of the giants. In response, the King and the Queen give each other a strange smile that makes Jill uneasy. The Queen marks that Scrubb and Jill are “good children,” and the King reaches out and shakes their arms with his hand. A moment later, Puddleglum utters a nonsensical word, which frightens the Queen, who did not seem to realize he was alive. The children assure her that she will like Puddleglum better once she gets to know him.
The strange smile shared between the King and the Queen suggests that the message from the beautiful woman carries some sort of double message that Jill, Scrubb, and Puddleglum have yet to comprehend. There is something about the children, in particular, that interests the King and the Queen. Meanwhile, Puddleglum seems to annoy them, suggesting that being altruistic hosts is not their sole motive.
Active
Themes
Overwhelmed, Jill suddenly breaks down crying. At the sight of Jill’s tears, the Queen of the giants orders her servants to take the guests and make sure they are well taken care of. Then, the Queen’s Nurse picks up Jill and brings her to a warm bedroom. Jill wonders if the giants will have food and utensils that are appropriate for someone her size. Luckily, the Queen’s Nurse has clothes to fit Jill and excellent food, which Jill enjoys. The only thing Jill does not like about the Queen’s Nurse is that she keeps bringing Jill oversized children’s toys. Jill repeatedly tells the nurse that she does not want the toys, but the Nurse says she thinks Jill will want them tomorrow once she has rested.
Jill’s crying is the result of pent-up fear, frustration, and exhaustion. She has done her best to put on a brave face, but now that she considers herself relatively safe, she can no longer hold in her emotions. The clothes the Queen’s Nurse gives to Jill implies that humans have stayed at Harfang before, though there is no trace of them now. Indeed, something fishy seems to be going on at Harfang, though Jill is too overwhelmed to figure out what at the moment.
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That night, Jill has a strange dream. An oversized toy horse in her bedroom transforms into Aslan, who tells Jill to repeat the signs to herself. Terrified, Jill feels as though she has forgotten them all. Then, Aslan picks up Jill in his mouth and carries her to the window. In the sky, Jill sees the words “UNDER ME.” Jill wakes up late the following morning having forgotten about the dream.
Soon after Jill wakes up, Scrubb and Puddleglum enter her room, the latter nursing a headache. Scrubb and Jill look out Jill’s window to see a clear view of the terrain they climbed the previous day. It rained the night before, so all the snow is gone, and the children can clearly see what looks like the remains of a giant city. Additionally, they spot the words “UNDER ME” carved into the ground.
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Themes
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Jill expresses disappointment in herself for missing yet another of Aslan’s signs. Puddleglum suggests he is just as much to blame because he should have made them all stop and explore the day before. Scrubb points out that the trench he and Jill explored was actually the E in “ME.” Puddleglum suggests that the message means they must find a way beneath the ruined city in order to find Prince Rilian. Together, Puddleglum, Jill, and Scrubb make a plan to escape Harfang. Puddleglum does not want to tell the giants why they have actually come, and everyone worries that the giants will not let them leave. As such, they plan to escape sometime while it is still light outside, as the giants lock up the castle at night.
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As they settle on their plan, the giant Nurse comes in and asks the group if they would like to witness the King of the giants leaving to go hunting. Outside, the King and a number of other giants walk with a group of regular sized hunting dogs. Behind him, a group of giants carrying the Queen of the giants on a litter. Jill yells to the Queen eagerly to let her know they are excited for the feast.
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