Narniathon: THE SILVER CHAIR

 

Unlike last month when we read The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (#3 Chronicles of Narnia) and I practically had to drag myself through it, this month my reading of the fourth book in the series, The Silver Chair, simply flew by. What was the difference? Well, for one thing, though I've read The Silver Chair four or five other times in my life, I could only remember a skeletal outline of the story. I remembered the Marsh-Wiggle, Puddleglum, and the friendly giants who wanted to eat the children. I recalled a chair (Duh! The title) and the beautiful woman being evil. What I didn't remember was how funny the book was. 

Compared to the other books in the series I'd say this one is clearly the funniest, with Puddleglum delivering most of the comedic lines. Comedy often saves us from the most dreadful of circumstances.  Think of the popularity of comedians on Netflix since the pandemic began. My husband and I made our way though their standup routines as if grabbing for a lifeline every night during the worst of the lcokdowns. At a funeral we attended last week for a beloved Sheriff's Deputy who was killed in the line of duty, the preacher started his remarks with a funny comment. It broke the tension in the room, allowing us all a moment to catch our breath, to laugh, and to regroup in our collective grief. C.S. Lewis knew this, I believe, and purposely used humor to lighten what was an otherwise very serious, deadly serious quest. Here is just one example. When Eustace, Jill, and Puddleglum are seemingly trapped in the Underworld and are wondering if they have read the signs correctly but doubting themselves, Puddleglum puts a bright light on the situation, “And you must always remember there's one good thing about being trapped down here: it'll save funeral expenses.”Ah, the tension is broken by this quip and the characters can move forward.

Now on with the discussion questions for Narniathon --

1. The Silver Chair is a quest story, its progress determined by four signs which, Aslan says, will confirm that Jill Pole and Eustace Scrubb are on the right track. The children believe they have failed in recognizing three of the signs: have they really failed or do you think the signs, like many oracular sayings, were too obscure or ambiguous to be of practical use?

If we accept that The Chronicles of Narnia are really a Christian allegory, then it makes sense that the signs aren't completely obvious. The disciples once asked Jesus why he spoke in parables instead of using direct examples and he replied that to many understanding the mysteries of the kingdom has not been granted. In Matthew 13:10-17 Jesus answers them and also quotes Isaiah: "Therefore I speak to them in parables; because while seeing they do not see, and while hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. And in their case the prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled, which says,

‘You shall keep on listening, but shall not understand;
And you shall keep on looking, but shall not perceive;
For the heart of this people has become dull,
With their ears they scarcely hear,
And they have closed their eyes,
Otherwise they might see with their eyes,
Hear with their ears,
Understand with their heart, and return,
And I would heal them.’

Now, I am not even going to attempt to explain this but I accept a partial explanation that there is a mystery and only actual seekers will understand the signs. Jill and Eustace had a preconceived idea of what each sign meant. Did they really flub the first three? I'd say not. They just thought they did since the signs didn't fill their preconceived ideas exactly. They finished their quest and saved the Prince, after all.

2. The narrative brings in so many themes and motifs from folklore, myth, medieval epic and children’s literature. What are your favorite moments in the novel, and why do you think that may be so?

I already talked about my favorite moments -- those involving humor. There were the kindly giants who planned on eating the children, but cried about it and moaned, "Poor poppets" even as they plotted their demise.  Puddleglum and his deadpan/gloomy disposition which gave off a negative vibes but he was really brave and smart:

“Puddleglum!" said Jill. "You're a regular old humbug. You sound as doleful as a funeral and I believe you're perfectly happy. And you talk as if you were afraid of everything, when you're really as brave as - as a lion.”

My favorite Puddleglum quote, which makes me laugh every time I read it:

Even the ending is funny. When Eustace and Jill return to their terrible school at the end of the book their tormentors are thwarted by Caspian and Eustace brandishing swords and the awful Head teacher, who was thought of as a lunatic after reporting the instance to the police, was not sacked but promoted up: "And they then found she wasn't much good even at that, they got her into Parliament where she lived happily ever after."

3. There’ll be a winged horse in The Magician’s Nephew and a talking horse in The Horse and His Boy, Eustace as a dragon gives rides to the crew of the Dawn Treader, and of course Lucy and Susan are privileged to ride on Aslan’s back in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. In The Silver Chair the children are also very privileged: “To ride on a Centaur is, no doubt, a great honour (and except Jill and Eustace there is probably no one alive in the world today who has had it)” we’re told, “but it is very uncomfortable.” Uncomfy or not, is there any Narnian or other creature you would like to travel on the back of — with their permission of course?

In The Silver Chair, Jill and Eustace are not only conveyed forward on centaurs but earlier they are ferried out of the castle and eventually to the marshes to meet up with Puddleglum on the backs of owls. Now that would be quite a trip. Of course one has to hang on for dear life and not fall asleep even though one is very sleepy, or else one might fall off. Personally, I had the thought that it would be quite scary to ride on a centaur and obviously quite dangerous to ride on an owl. My vote goes for riding on a talking horse, like the boy does in A Horse and His Boy. I don't know how to ride and that way the horse could teach me and essentially do all the hard work.

Planet Narnia website reveals that Lewis designed The Silver Chair to be ruled by the goddess Luna or the moon. It seems to fit. Luna rules the night and much of this story takes place at night or in darkness. Luna was thought to be responsible for inconstancy and doubt. It also has an influence on sanity, "which is why people who have lost their wits are called 'lunatics.'" Matthew 4:24 considers lunatics among the sick people who are healed by Jesus. Luna's metal is silver. "C.S. Lewis designed The Silver Chair so that it would embody and express Luna's qualities. "

-Anne