The Silver Chair: Do Not Be Deceived

"Their quest had been worth all the pains it cost." Today we are looking into The Silver Chair by CS Lewis. We see how evil can disguise itself as something beautiful and how that can deceive us. Temptation is a real thing for Jill and Eustace, but they are going to need courage in order to find the lost Prince of Narnia.

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Intro

SPEAKER_00 0:10

And just like that, we are at the Silver Chair. I can't believe that Faithful Fables has been going for over a year now. And the show is continuing to adapt, and I'm still figuring out a format that works well. I appreciate you all sticking around the sh with the show for this year. Welcome back to Faithful Fables podcast where we look at the themes in fantasy stories, and today we're looking at the Silver Chair by C.S. Lewis. Now, the Silver Chair was a fun read. I remember a few years ago I saw a play on the Silver Chair, and it was directed by Richard Clausen, who I had interviewed in a previous episode, and the play got me excited for this book, and so I hope while we go through this episode you will enjoy it as well. Now, this story takes place 70 Narnian years after Voyage of the Dawn Tredder, and we are also introduced to a couple new characters, and one being Jill Pole. Now, Jill is a girl that goes to school with Eustace, and together the two of them go to Narnia on a quest to find the lost prince. And so without further ado, let's get into

Experiment House

SPEAKER_00 1:31

this. We start off the story in England at a school called Experiment House, and this is the school that Eustace and Jill go to. This was not a well-run school. It is run by a female head who is more concerned with the bullies than better behaved students. Like meaning she cares more about them. In not in like a we're gonna reform them kind of way, but yeah. So Jill and Eustace are very uncomfortable at this school and are tormented by a gang of bullies. Now this these bullies did all sorts of horrid things to Jill. It doesn't mention them specifically, just says that they were horrid. These things these were things that would normally be punished by other schools, but students at this school did not get classical or religious education, so these things went unpunished. Now, this also caused Eustace and Jill to learn more about eluding these bullies than they did about French, math, or Latin. They are also not taught to use their Christian names, so throughout the book they call each other by their last names, such as Pole and Scrub. And so we see Jill crying behind the gym because she was being bullied, and Eustace walks around the corner and sees that Jill is crying. He knows what's going on and was talking to her. But it sounded like he was about to lecture her. So Jill flew into a temper and yelled at him to leave and to mind his own business. Now, one thing I want to note is I was happy to see that Eustace is a better person than in Voyage of the Dawn Shredder. I mean, obviously there's still work to be done. He's still in that sanctification process, just like all of us, but he's on a good path now. And he had done some nice things, but Jill didn't care. Eustace was kind, and he saw Jill wasn't herself, and so he offered her a peppermint. And Jill started to see things in a clearer light and apologized to Eustace. Now it was this current school term that he had done those nice things. It was the previous term when he was in Narnia with his cousins in Voyage of the Dawn Treader. So this is a drastic change in his personality. And he even admitted that he was different back then. Imagine that, like from one term to the next, your life has completely changed. And I actually kind of wonder if the bullies that were doing these horrid things, if Eustace was maybe actually part of them, and maybe was doing horrid things himself, and maybe that's why Jill kinda hesitated at first when he came by. But it is encouraging to see Eustace grow in humility and his character improving. And so Jill asks why he was different last term, and he tells her about his visit to Narnia. Jill believes him and wonders if they can go there. Eustace has always been wondering that. He remembers that Aslan told his cousins that they couldn't come back, but he never said anything to Eustace. And so he had been thinking of how to make it happen, and Jill suggested drawing a circle on the ground, writing weird letters and standing in it. And Eustace said that doesn't he doesn't think that Aslan would like that, and that it may feel like they are trying to force it. And I think he was right about that because that sounds like something from the occult and just some weird Yeah, that doesn't uh I mean good for Eustace for saying no to that. And he figures that all they can do is ask. And so they begin to ask Aslan when they hear a voice coming from the other side of the gym. And it was the bullies, and they were looking for Jill. And so they escape the bullies by going through a high stone wall that has a door in it. So they go through the door in the wall, and the door was usually locked, but this time it opened.

In Narnia

SPEAKER_00 6:08

What they saw through the door was a blaze of sunlight. They see a smooth turf and blue sky, and things so bright darting to and fro that could have been jewels or huge butterflies. They hear the voice of the bullies coming. They're frightened, so they hold hands and Eustace leads them through the doorway. Instantly there was a quite different sound all about them. It came from those bright things overhead, which now turned out to be birds. They were making a riotous noise, but it was much more like music, rather advanced music, which you don't quite take in at the first hearing, than bird songs ever are in our world. Yet in spite of the singing, there was a sort of background noise of immense silence. That silence, combined with the freshness of the air, made Jill think they must be on top of a very high mountain. Scrub still had her by the hand, and they were walking forward, staring about them on every side. Jill saw that huge trees, rather like cedars but bigger, grew in every direction. But as they did not grow close together, and there was no undergrowth, this did not prevent one from seeing a long way into the forest, to left and right. And as far as Jill's eye could reach, it was all the same: level turf, darting birds with yellow and dragonfly blue, or rainbow plumage, blue shadows, and emptiness. There was not a breath of wind in that cool bright air. It was a very lonely forest. Right ahead there were no trees, only a blue sky. They went straight on without speaking till suddenly Jill heard Scrub say, Look out! and felt herself jerked back. They were at the very edge of a cliff. So they're up on a cliff, and this cliff is so high that when you look down the clouds look like tiny sheep. Which is quite the the imagery that we get there. And so Eustace tries to pull Jill back from the edge, and she's able to break free. But at the same time, Eustace screams in terror and falls to the depth. Now, remember how high up they were, and of course Eustace trying to protect Jill, he's trying to pull her back, he ends up falling. Suddenly a huge animal rushes to the edge of the cliff and lays down. This animal leans over the edge and blows from its mouth. Jill is so close that she can feel the breath vibrating through the animal's body. And then Jill sees a tiny speck floating away from the cliff. Now that cliff sorry, that speck is Eustace, and the animal, which Jill now sees is a lion, is blowing him away from the cliff. Now it's obvious to the reader that this lion is Aslan, but Jill doesn't know this yet. She's

The Signs

SPEAKER_00 10:27

obviously never been to Narnia before. And the Aslan tells Jill that she and Eustace have been brought to Narnia to find the lost son of the king of Narnia. Now Aslan gives her four signs that will guide them on the journey. Now the signs are one, Eustace must meet sorry, must greet an old friend as soon as he steps foot in Narnia. Two, Eustace and Jill must journey north from Narnia until they come to the ruined city of the ancient giants. Three there they will find writing on a stone and must do what that writing tells them. And four, the lost prince will be the first person they meet who asks them to do something in the name of Aslan. So Aslan tells her these signs and that she must remember them. He tells her that the signs will look different in Narnia, so she needs to memorize them and not just trust appearances. And then he blows her off the cliff. Now Jill lands next to Eustace in Narnia, and she thinks that he's been there for hours already, even though it's been like a minute. And they see a crowd of people and creatures gathering by a ship, where an old man seems to be the center of attention. And Jill desperately asks Eustace if he sees anybody that he knows and fills him in that she spoke to Aslan. Now the problem is that Eustace doesn't recognize this to even be Narnia, and there therefore doesn't know that the old man that they're seeing is his old friend, Prince Caspian. King Caspian now, I guess. The king giving a speech, uh saying that whatever, he he's giving a speech that they can't understand because they're so far away, they're so far back. But when the speech is done, he goes on the ship, and the ship casts off and the first sign has already come and gone, they didn't even realize it. Now a white owl, the size of a dwarf, is at Eustace's feet. The owl's name is Glimfeather, and he explains that he saw them arrive in the air and tells them that they're at Care Paravel. Now Jill tells the owl that they were sent to find the lost prince. This was the first time that Eustace actually heard that because Jill didn't tell him about the whole conversation with Aslan, it's just the first sign. And so Glimfeather tells them that they better talk to the king's regent, who is Trumpkin the dwarf. Now I was so happy to read that Trumpkin was still around. Now, mind you, he is very old and has to be pulled around in a donkey carriage. And this also makes it hard for them to talk to Trumpkin since he is hard of hearing. So Afon puts something in Trumpkin's ear and Glimfeather speaks into that, explaining that they were sent by Aslan. Now Trumpkin explains that Caspian sets sail for the seven isles and also orders that Eustace and Jill be accommodated well. Then that night, Jill fills Eustace in on the other signs. Now she also blames

Prince Rillian

SPEAKER_00 14:24

him for not talking to Caspian, which is a little unfair because how was Eustace supposed to know that that was even Caspian? Remember, it's been 70 years in Narnia since Voyage of the Dawn Shredder, which for them was a one school term ago. Right? How is he ever supposed to recognize Caspian? So during the night, Glimfeather wakes up and he flies them to a location where there is a parliament of owls. Now if if Trumkin knew that they were what they were doing, going to find the prince, he wouldn't let them do it. Because more than thirty champions, knights, centaurs, good giants, all sorts, have tried to find the prince, and none of them have come back. Glimfeather tells Eustace the story of the missing Prince Rillian. About ten years ago it appeared, when Rillian, the son of Caspian, was a very young knight, he rode with the queen, his mother, on a May morning in the north parts of Narnia. They had many squires and ladies with them, and all wore garlands and fresh leaves on their heads, and horns at their sides, but they had no hounds with them, for they were maying, not hunting. In the warm part of the day they came to a pleasant glade where a fountain flowed freshly out of the earth, and they dismounted, and ate and drank, and were merry. After a time the queen felt sleepy, and they spread cloaks for her on the grassy bank, and Prince Rillian, with the rest of the party, went a little way from her that their tales of laughter may not wake her. And so, presently a great serpent came out of the thick wood and stung the queen in her hand. All heard her cry out and rushed toward her, and Rillian was first at her side. He saw the worm gliding away from her and made after it with his sword drawn. It was great, shining, and as green as poison, so that he could see it well, but it glided away into the thick bushes, and he could not come at it. So he returned to his mother and found them all busy about her, but they were busy in vain, for at the first glance of her face Rillian knew that no physic in the world would do her any good. As long as the life was in her, she seemed to be trying hard to tell him something, but she could not speak clearly, and whatever her message was, she died without delivering it. It was hardly ten minutes since they had heard her cry. They carried the dead queen back to Care Paravel, and she was bitterly mourned by Rillian and by the king, and by all Narnia. She had been a great lady, wise and gracious and happy, King Caspian's bride whom he had brought home from the eastern end of the world, and men said that the blood of the stars flowed in her veins. The prince took his mother's death very hardly, as well he might. After that he was always riding on the northern marches of Narnia, hunting for that venomous worm, to kill it and be avenged. No one remarked much on this, though the prince came home from these wanderings looking tired and distraught. But about a month after the queen's death, some said they could see a change in him. There was a look in his eyes as of a man who has seen visions, and though he would be out all day, his horse did not bear the signs of hard riding. His chief friend among the older courtiers was Lord Drinian, he who had been his father's captain on that great voyage to the east parts of the world. One evening Drinian said to the prince, Your Highness must soon give up over seeking the worm. There is no true vengeance on a witless brute as there might be on a man. You weary yourself in vain. The prince answered him, My lord, I have almost forgotten the worm this seven days. Drinian asked him why, if that were so he rode so continually to the northern woods. My lord, said the prince, I have seen there the most beautiful thing that was ever made. Fair prince, said Drinian, of your courtesy let me ride with you tomorrow, that I may also see this fair thing. With a good will, said Rillian. Then in good time on the next day they saddled their horses and rode a great gallop into the northern woods, and alighted at the same fountain where the queen got her death. Drinian thought it strange that the prince should choose that place of all places to linger in. And there they rested till it came to high noon, and at noon Drinian looked up and saw the most beautiful lady he had ever seen. And she stood at the north side of the fountain and said no word, but beckoned the prince with her hand as if she bade him to come to her. And she was tall and great, shining, and wrapped in a thin garment as green as poison, and the prince stared at her like a man out of his wits, but suddenly the lady was gone. Drinian knew not where, and the two returned to Care Parabelle. It stuck in Drinian's mind that this shining green woman was evil. Drinian doubted very much whether he ought not to tell this adventure to the king, but he had little wish to be blab and tale bearer, and so he held his tongue. But afterward he wished he had spoken, for the next day Prince Rillian rode out alone. That night he came not back, and from that hour no trace of him was ever found in Narnia, nor any neighbouring land, and neither his horse, nor his hat nor his cloak, nor anything else was ever found. Then Drinian in the bitterness of his heart went to Caspian and said, Lord King, slay me speedily as a great traitor, for by my silence I have destroyed your son. And he told him the story. Then Caspian caught up a battle axe and rushed upon the Lord Drinian to kill him, and Drinian stood still as a stalk for the death blow. But when the axe was raised, Caspian suddenly threw it away and cried out I have lost my queen and my son, shall I lose my friend also? And he fell upon the Lord Drinian's neck and embraced him, and both wept, and their friendship was not broken. As I'm sure most of you are, Jill was convinced that the serpent and the woman were the same. And I think it's a good assumption. The owls believe that the woman did not kill Prince Rillian because there was never any bones found. And it gets worse because she has some sort of use for Rillian and some deep scheme against Narnia is their thoughts at least. And the owls think this woman is the same sort as the white witch who bound Narnia in snow during the Golden Age. Eustace brings up the second sign that they must go north to a ruined city of giants. They mention or sorry, the mention of this damped the owl's moods, and they mentioned that they could not come with the children because it They will want to travel by night and the children travel by day. So the owls agree that if this is where they're going to go, then they will bring them to the marshwiggles because they are the only ones that can help. So the owls take them to a marsh wiggle whose name is Puddleglum. Now, if you're wondering

Journey to Ettinsmoor

SPEAKER_00 23:18

what marsh wiggles are, they are kind of like I guess you could say they're like a kind of dwarf, but as we get into Puddleglum's description here, you'll get a better idea of what they look like. So Puddleglum had very long legs and arms, so that although his body was not much bigger than a dwarf's, he would be taller than most men when he stood up. And he also has webbed feet and hands. So he's like a a like a weird frog dwarf marsh I don't know. I don't know how really else to describe it, but that kind of paints the picture. He also comes off as very negative, very pessimistic. Some people who lean more pessimistic themselves, such as myself, and I'm working on it, but uh we might look at Puddleglum and say that he's actually being realistic throughout the story, but it does come off as very pessimistic. So the ruined city is across Etensmore, and giants live there. So Puddleglum is talking in a way that comes across negative and like they don't have a chance, like they won't survive. So Eustace loses his temper and tells him that Aslan wouldn't send them well if there wasn't a chance, which is a good point. So they spend the rest of the day preparing for an early start the next morning, and they cross the river and climb up somewhere, and as they get deeper into the moor, they start to experience loneliness. So as they go, they they encounter dozens of giants that they thought were big rocks at first. Now the giants start throwing rocks at them and they make their way for a mound of stones on the right. The giants end up having a fight with each other, and they all get hurt and sit down and cry, and this gives the children and puddleglum a chance to camp for the night. The journey takes a long time, and it they're gone for ten days at this point, and they're going through the moor and they come to another river, and Eustace sees a bridge. Puddleglum thinks it's a trap, but Jill is able to provide good reasoning why they should go over it, so they do. Now on the other side is a road, and there are two people coming towards them. One is a knight in black armor with his visor down, and the other was a beautiful lady in a green dress. The lady tells them that the road leads to the gentle giants and suggests that they stop there for refreshment. She tells them that the giant she says to them to tell the giants she of the green kirtle salutes them and she has sent them two fair southern children for the autumn feast. Puddleglom is suspicious and has doubts about this lady and her suggestions. He doesn't want to go to the giants, because Aslan's signs don't say anything about staying with giants. But he agrees to go on one condition, that they do not stay say that they're from Narnia and that they're looking for the prince. Which I think is fair. I think that's a fair condition. But and the children agree. Now, the lady telling them about the giants and the castle, like so it's it's

The Road To Harfang

SPEAKER_00 27:19

called Harfang. It's the house of Harfang is what it's called, and telling them about this had a bad effect on the children. They talked about beds and the indoors because they've been like traveling outdoors, just camping, whatever, for a long time. So they're really pumped about just, you know, the idea of a bed and being inside. But the thing is they never talked about Aslan or the prince. And Jill seemingly gave up her habit of repeating the signs every night and every morning. She just said that she was too tired and then forgot about it. The rest of the journey was a difficult one, with a really tough terrain. Jill ends up sliding into a trench, and Eustace joins her and they scout out what's down there, and when they're done scouting, Puddle Glum pulls them back up. Now it was storming when they saw the lights of the giant city of Harfang, so they pick up the pace so they don't get shut out in the storm. They get to the house and or the castle, I guess, and the door opens, and Jill tells the giant that the lady said to tell them that they were all and they were all brought inside. The giants get puddle glum drunk, and they're all brought into the courtroom, where Eustace tells the king and queen that the lady of the green curdle sent them for the autumn feast. Jill doesn't like the way the king and queen smiled at each other when Eustace told them this. And they're all brought to their rooms and they're taken care of with food, wine, baths, etc. And in the deadest of night, Aslan appears to Jill in a dream. He tells her to repeat the signs, but she had forgotten them. And then he shows her a phrase that says under me, written across the world or the sky. She later realizes that these words were written in the earth, like in the rock. And the trench that they were in was actually one of the E's. And so they realize they have to get back on track, and they they have to get back to following the signs, but they can't get out of the room because they can't reach the doorknob. Like remember, this is a a giant's castle. So that makes sense. So they decide to sneak out in the daylight, and to do this, they would pretend to be happy about the feast and ask some questions to gain information. Jill asked the queen if they could explore the whole castle. The queen says yes. Now the queen and some others were going out for a hunting party at this time, and that's what's important to know here. So Jill, she ends up making friends with the cook and learns that there's actually a door that lets you out through the outer wall. They would have to wait for the right moment. So during her investigation, Jill sees a cookbook where one of the recipes is man and the other is marshwiggle. It was now that they realized that they were sent to be the autumn feast, not just that they were sent for the autumn feast. Like they were the feast, and all the more they had to escape this place. So the cook falls asleep and they go through the door, and they're cautious. Puddleglum tells them to run, and they all make it to a crevice that was between the earth and the stone that was about three feet long and hardly looked more than a foot high, and they fill the opening with stones, and it is now pitch black. They all hold hands and make their way into the cave. There were many twists and turns, and

In The Dark

SPEAKER_00 31:44

suddenly they all slide down a slope. At the bottom, Puddle Glum points out how warm it is and suggests that they might be at least a mile down. Much later they hear a voice. They hope that it's Aslan, but they knew it wasn't. The voice said What make you hear, creatures of the overworld? This was the voice of the warden of the marches of Underland, with a hundred gnomes, known as Earthmen. Puddleglum tells them that they fell by accident. The warden tells them to come with them to the queen. They are in a cavern and end up having to crawl on their elbows, but when they got through, they were in yet another cave. And they reach yet another smaller cave that has Father Time sleeping in it. And I thought this was kind of random. And I wonder if C.S. Lewis is already foreshadowing something for the last battle. And those that have read all of the books probably know. I I that's my thought. That would be my guess, because they're told that he will wake at the end of the world. And I just know that the last battle is about the end. So I think he's foreshadowing something there. I just thought it was kind of random to throw that in there, but it's also a nice touch. I like that. But they come to a ship. This ship has no mast or sail, and they're forced on board. Now the ship is on water for what seems like eternity. Like it seems like it's just going on forever. And remember, it's like pitch black. I mean, I'm sure the Earthmen have like a torch or something here or there to help them see something, but it's pitch black. And it feels like it's an eternity. And when I read that, it reminded me of the Dark Island from Voyage of the Dawn Treader. I feel like it would have had similar results, similar feelings. But they finally see the lights of a city. There they are taken on shore and into a castle where they enter a room with a young man whose face just didn't seem quite right. Now this young man greets them, and they discover that it was the black knight that they saw earlier on the road, and they question him. The knight defends the lady of the green kirdle, and he denies ever hearing of Narnia. He also explains that the queen promised him her hand in marriage. Jill and Eustace begin to wonder if they were maybe not on the right track with the signs and maybe they were brought here by accident, but Puddleglum encourages them by saying There are no accidents. Our guide is Aslan, and he was there when the giant king caused the letters to be cut, and he knew already all things that would come of them, including this. The knight tells them that he doesn't remember how he got there, and that the queen saved him from an enchantment. He explains that every night he turns into the likeness of a serpent, and that when the hour has passed he forgets what happened. He says that he will be free when he is made king. The queen's men are already digging under her chosen land. His story makes Jill feel like this lady is a wicked tyrant. And Puddleglum is skeptical, of course, and wonders if the Queen has some other game she's playing. The hour is nearing, and the knight tells them to go to the other room and either wait until he is unbound, or join him in his ravings. So they go into the corridor while the knight gets bound, but they go back into the room and see the knight bound to a silver chair by his ankles, knees, wrists, and waist. He is sweating, and his face is filled with anguish. He invites them into the room and tells them that during the enchantment he will ask for help, but they are not supposed to help him. The enchantment starts and the night begins to spiral. He had been speaking in a low voice. Now he looked up, fixed his eyes upon them, and

Enchantment

SPEAKER_00 36:40

said loud and clear, Quick, I am sane now. Every night I am sane. If only I could get out of this enchanted chair, it would last. I should be a man again. But every night they bind me, and so every night my chance is gone. But you are not enemies, I am not your prisoner. Quick, cut these cords. Stand fast, steady, said Puddleglum to the two children. I beseech you to hear me, said the knight, forcing himself to speak calmly. Have they told you that if I am released from this chair I shall kill you and become a serpent? I see by your faces that they have. It is a lie. It is at this hour that I am in my right mind. It is all the rest of the day that I am enchanted. You are not earthmen nor witches. Why should you be on their side? Of your courtesy, cut my bounds. Steady, steady, steady, said the three travelers to one another. Oh, you have hearts of stone, said the knight. Believe me, you look upon a wretch who has suffered almost more than any mortal heart can bear. What wrong have I ever done you that you should side with my enemies to keep me in such miseries? And the minutes are slipping past. Now you can save me. When this hour has passed, I shall be witless again. The toy and lapdog, nay, more like the pawn of and tool of the most devilish sorceress that ever planned to the woe of men. And this night of all knights, when she is away, you take me from my chance that may never come again. This is dreadful. I do wish we'd stayed away till this was over, said Jill. Steady, said Puddle Gwam. The prisoner's voice was now raising into a shriek. Let me go, I say. Give me my sword, my sword. Once I am free, I shall take such revenge on the Earthmen that Underland will talk of it for a thousand years. Now the frenzy is beginning, said Scrub. I hope those knots are all tight. Yes, said Puddleglum. He'd have twice his natural strength if he got free now. And I'm not clever with my sword. He'd get us both. I shouldn't wonder, and then Pole on her own would be left to tackle the snake. The prisoner was now so straining at his bonds that they cut into his wrists and ankles. Beware, he said, Beware. One night I did break them, but the witch was there that time. You will not have her to help you tonight. Free me now, for I am your friend. I'm your mortal enemy else. Cunning, isn't he? said Puddleglum. 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 cried the three travelers, as though they had been hurt. It's the sign, said Puddleglum. It was the words of the sign, said Scrub more cautiously. Oh, what are we to do? said Jill. It was a dreadful question. What had been the use of promising one another that they would not, on any account, set the knight free if they were now to do so the first time he happened to call upon the name they really cared about? On the other hand, what had been the use of learning the signs if they weren't going to obey them? The knight asks them to do something in Aslan's name, and they right right away recognize that this is from one of the signs. Aslan said that the first person who asks them to do something in Aslan's name is the prince, and Eustace almost seems a little bit skeptical, where he's like it's the words of the sign. But this does in fact prove that this is Prince Rillian. So they're worried, like, should we untie him? Like we said we wouldn't, but now he said this. They agree to untie him. And before they do, they say goodbye to each other just in case. You know, they still don't know for sure what's gonna happen. They're kind of just acting on faith right now. And the second that he's free, Aurelian grabs his sword from the other side of the room and he breaks the chair with it. A bright flash, sound of thunder, and a loathsome smell comes from the chair. And then the queen comes in the room. She turns white in anger. And Rillian stands up to her, because now he's in his right mind. And that with the chair broken, he will stay that way. The witch throws green powder on the fire, causing a sweet and drowsy smell to come from it. The smell made it hard to think. Then she takes out a mandolin and begins to play, and the less you noticed it, the more it got into your brain and blood. She speaks in a sweet, quiet voice and gaslights them, telling them that there's no such place as Narnia. Even when Puddleglum says that he'd lived there his whole life, she doubles down and tries to convince them that it's not real. The magic is now at its full effect, and Jill and Eustace believe that Narnia was just a dream. But Puddleglum he's fighting hard, and he mentions the sky, the stars, and the sea, and his words seem to wake up the others. The witch pretends not to know who Aslan is or what a lion is and tries to convince them that they made it all up. Puddleglum gathers all the strength he has and does a very brave thing, and he stamps out the fire with his webbed feet, knowing that it's gonna hurt. And the sweet, heavy smell grows less, and everyone's brains become clearer. Now the witch in a loud voice yells at Puddleglum, and the pain made Puddleglum's head clear, and he knew exactly what he really thought. He said that if they made it up, it's still better than this. And I like this quote that he gives. He says I'm on Aslan's side, even if there isn't any Aslan to lead it, I'm going to live as like a Narniaan as I can, even if there isn't any Narnia. And the witch starts turning into a serpent, and she wraps herself around Rillian. Now Rillian, Eustace, and Puddleglum draw their weapons and they hack the head off with repeated blows, and the witch is dead. Rillian explains that this is the same snake that he pursued in vain by the fountain in the forest. Killing it now finally avenged his mother's death. Death. They set off upward out of the realm. The plan was to take the new outlet

Chaos Without The Witch

SPEAKER_00 45:01

designed for the invasion, and they may only have a few feet of digging left if it wasn't done already. The difficulty would be getting there without being stopped. Then suddenly a couple things happen, including a flood and what seems like a volcano erupting. Puddleglum explains that the flood and the fire are some sort of failsafe to destroy the kingdom if the witch were to die, and Rillian confirms that when they killed the witch, it ended her magic. And so an army of Earthmen are approaching, and Rillian says that he will get his and the witch's horse from the stable. He also grabs the shields that he had, you know, when he was the knight, but it's no longer black, but it's now bright silver with a figure of a lion redder than blood and cherries. This was a sign that Aslan was with them. And I really enjoyed reading that part of the book when it happened. Because it was kind of, I don't know, there's some sort of symbolism with that that you could easily say it's like turning from dark to light, or you know, whatever it is. I thought it was pretty cool. But this was also the first time that Jill and Eustace called each other by their first names. Because remember before I had mentioned that at school they had learned to only call each other by their last names, like Paul and Scrub. And so now Lewis does something with his writing where he switches it. And now they called each other Jill and Eustace. And that was kind of really interesting because I was wondering why, you know, Lewis kept saying scrub all the time. It's like, you know, Eustace was in Voyage of the Dawn Treader. We know his name. Why we, you know, now it made sense. Uh but anyways, Rillian's plan was to get around the fire onto a high ground, hoping to find the new diggings. And as he rode, he sang a song about Coran Thunderfist of Arkinland. And I thought that was pretty cool because obviously we just went through the horse and his boys, so it's kind of cool that there's still, you know, there's still knowledge of that at this point. And so he was so glad at being free from his enchantment that all the dangers seemed a game in comparison. I don't know what he fully went through under that enchantment, but it does not sound like it was an easy time. Puddleglum slips off the ho the one horse and pulls a gnome to interrogate it. So he grabs a he grabs a gnome out and and interrogates it, and Rillian asks it what the Earthmen were all about today. It asks them that they not tell the queen anything it says, and Rillian says that they killed the queen. And then the gnome says that in that case, they're all friends, they're on the same team. The gnome's name is Golg G-O-L-G Golg. He and the other gnomes were just doing the witch's work when they heard a crash. I'm guessing that it was the chair breaking, uh, but they realized that they hadn't had a song or a dance in a long time and thought they must have been under an enchantment. They decided that they weren't going to do this anymore. Now what the others thought was a volcano was actually a glow from a crack coming from a thousand fathoms under them. So there's a crack in the rock, and this glow is coming from there. And Golg explains that there were other lands below them, and these gnomes come from that land called Bisom. And where they were right now, just for reference, is called the Shadow Lands. So beneath them yet is I guess Bisom and who knows what else. And the witch had called them from Bisom to work for her, since gnomes love digging. Uh, but the witch put gloomy and glum things into their minds, and they couldn't do anything unless she put it into their mind. So complete brainwashed, like they're under her control hundred percent. And the gnomes were preparing for battle, since they didn't know that the witch was dead. So when they see the four of them coming out of the castle on horseback with their swords drawn, there was nothing else for them to do but fight. In their minds, of course, now. But now they know the witch is dead, these four are on their side, so the gnomes are now trying to get back down the crack and home to Bism. And Brillian asks where the new diggings were, and Golg says that he will show them the road, but it is too close to the surface, so he would rather die than go on the road. And as he shows them the road, he announces to all the gnomes that the witch is dead and these four are friends, and soon all the gnomes are cheering. And they came to the end of the crack, which was a thousand feet long and two hundred feet wide, and they look into Bism, and Golg invites them to come with them to Bisom. Golg says that the mines down there are living, that golds and other minerals grow there and you

A Decision to Make

SPEAKER_00 50:57

can eat rubies. There are also dragonish creatures that live in the lake of fire down there as well, which I thought was interesting. Interesting detail. I'd love to learn more about that. I'm not sure at this point if Lewis ever wrote anything more about Bism or anything, but interesting, interesting stuff. Rillian thinks that it would be a marvelous adventure to go. Even Eustace's face changed as his days of adventure were coming back to him, and he's convinced that if Reapit was there, he would say they couldn't refuse the adventure. I think he's right. Rillian says that since his father went to the end of the world, it would be great if he went to the bottom of the world. But Puddleglum reminds them that his father would love to see him while he's still alive, and Jill refuses to go, no matter what anyone says. So Rillian agrees that they should go back, but he has left half his heart in Bism. Golg tells them that there are lamps all the way down the road, and suddenly they hear a hissing, scorching voice, like the voice of fire itself coming from Bism. Quick, quick, quick, to the cliffs, to the cliffs, to the cliffs, it said. The rift closes, it closes, it closes. Quick, quick. And at the same time, with ear-shattering cracks and creaks, the rocks moved. Already, while they looked, the chasm was narrower. From every side, belated gnomes were rushing into it. They would not wait to climb down the rocks. They flung themselves headlong, and either because so strong a blast of hot air was beating up from the bottom, or for some other reason, they could be seen floating downward like leaves. Thicker and thicker they floated, till their blackness almost blotted out the fiery river and the groves of live gems. Goodbye to your honors. I'm off, shouted Golk and dived. Only a few were left to follow him. The chasm was now no broader than his dream. Now it was narrow as the split in a pillar box. Now it was only an intensely bright thread. Then, with a shock like a thousand good trains crashing into a thousand pairs of buffers, the lips of the rock closed. The hot, maddening smell vanished. The travelers were alone in an underworld which now looked far blacker than before. Pale, dim, and dreary, the lamps marked the direction of the road. So now they're alone in the underworld, and they see the lamps marking the road. Puddleglum thinks that the lamps will go out maybe five minutes. The road goes down through water, then back up again, and now the water is rising, and the hills were now islands. And they could see the roof of the underworlds distinctly, and the road was leading them up into a steep tunnel. They had the uncomfortable thought of going into a hole that got narrower and narrower, and at this point the roof was so low that Puddleglum and Rillian hit their heads on it, so they got off the horses and they go on foot. The lamps ahead and behind them go out, and now they are in absolute darkness. Puddleglum says that the good thing is that being trapped down here it will save you on your funeral expenses. But really encourages them instead. They see a bright patch of light, but it's not daylight. It's a sort of blue light, and Eustace says it is better than nothing, so Jill goes on Puddle Glum's shoulders because it's coming from a hole. So she goes up on his shoulders to get a better look when all of a sudden someone or something pulls her up through the hole. And she finds herself in the heart of Narnia, where there were fawns and dryads dancing in the moonlight and snow. There was music playing that was filled with good magic, unlike the witch's music that had been filled with bad magic. Jill tells them to get the others out as well, and that one of them was Prince Rillian. Now some of the Narnians they doubt that it's Prince Rillian, but they start digging the others out regardless. And now Eustace comes out of the the hole with his sword drawn and lunging at anyone who came near him because for one he couldn't see. When he was coming out of the hole, he hit his head and some snow hit him in the face. So he he can't really see, but more importantly, he thought that enemies had caught Jill. And I mean, why wouldn't he? Like all like she's just pulled out by something. Like up until now, we haven't really encountered a lot of friends. But Jill tells him to stop, and she tells him that they're friends and they're in Narnia. So the dwarves that were there give them warm cloaks and hot drinks while they work on digging the others out because the hole was too small for the others. And I forgot that they were on horses, right? So you gotta dig a hole big enough to get these horses out now too. And then all of a sudden a great chasm in the hillside opened up, and out comes Puddleglum, Rillian, and the horses. Jed Jed Jill sheds a tear and says their quest has been worth all the pains it cost. Rillian tells the older and wiser beasts and dwarfs what happened, and at this that the same kind of witch as the white witch contrived the whole thing. Then the oldest dwarf shares a lesson learned. Those northern witches always mean the same thing, but in every age they have a different plan of getting it. Now this is one of the themes in the book, deception. When we look at what the witch did throughout the story, we see that deception and illusion was one of the biggest tools that she used. From sending them to Harfang, claiming that the giants were gentle and friendly, when in reality she sent them there to be eaten by the giants. To the conversation in Underworld when she throws powder on the fire and plays music and makes it harder for everyone to think clearly, and she uses that opportunity to manipulate them and try to convince them that Narnia doesn't exist and that it's all a dream. It is their memories of Narnia and Aslan that bring them back to reality. Just like our enemy the devil, the witch disguised herself as something beautiful, and so much so that Rillian falls for her, and when he goes to her on his own, she takes him to the underworld. All of this shows me why it is so important that God warns us in the Bible not to be deceived, no the the enemy you know transforming, uh coming to us as an angel of light when really the whole plan of the enemy is just to counterfeit everything that God has done. But this is a major theme in this story. The next morning the children realize that Glimfeather, the owl, is back, and he tells them that

Going Home

SPEAKER_00 59:49

Rillian has already gone back to Care Paravel to meet his father, who is returning. Now, Aslan had met with Caspian either in a dream or face to face, but he told him to head back to Narnia and he would meet his son there. His son would be waiting for him. So two centaurs offer Jill and Eustace rides on their back back to Parvel Caravel, which honestly would be a great honor because no one had ever been offered to ride a centaur's back before. So they say goodbye to Puddleglum and they get on the centaurs and head back to Narnia. And when they get back, they see Caspian's ship is also back, and there's four knights and they're they're carrying Caspian on a bed. He's old, pale, and still. Rillian embraces his father, and Caspian dies. Rillian weeps, and Narnia mourns. Jill and Eustace hear in a deep voice behind them saying I have come. It's Aslan, and everything else looks pale and shadowy in comparison to him. Jill asks him if they can go home, and Aslan says yes, and he opens his mouth and blows. Now this time it didn't feel like they were flying. It was more like everything like they were standing still, and everything else blew away, and they find themselves once again on the mountain of Aslan. They were walking before a stream with Aslan going before them. That reminds me of Psalm twenty three. Aslan stops and they look in this stream, and there they see the dead, King Caspian, with water flowing over him, and all three of them, including Aslan, weep. Now I see the Psalm twenty three reference of leading beside still waters, but I think this illustration goes deeper. So Eustace is told by Aslan to pluck a thorn from a thicket and to stick it into his paw. So Eustace does this, and a great drop of blood, redder than you have seen or imagined, splashes into the stream over the dead body, and the king begins to change. Suddenly out of the stream comes a boy who runs and embraces Aslan, and this boy is Caspian. Now the Psalm also mentions how God restores our soul. And I see that happening here. There's also life in the blood, and we are covered by the blood of Jesus on the cross. And this might even be, you know, there might even be some symbolism to baptism in there. But I think there are multiple symbols being shown here, but either way, it's a really beautiful thing that happens. Caspian greets his friend Eustace with excitement and says, You did reach the end of the world after all. Caspian explains that he is in fact dead, and if he appeared to people in Narnia, they would see him as a ghost, but he doesn't belong there anymore. Aslan tells the children that when they meet Aslan there again, it will be to stay, but they must go back to their own world for a while. Caspian asks Aslan if it's wrong that he's always wanted a glimpse of their world. I don't know if you remember in Voyage of the Dawn Treader, and they're talking about the world being round like a ball, and Caspian gets all excited about that. So it's nice that they kind of brought that back. He's always wanted to get a glimpse of our world. Aslan tells him that he cannot want wrong things anymore. Aslan tells him that he will get to see their world for five minutes their time, and that it will not take longer than that to set things right. Now when I read this, I was a bit confused, not sure what he's talking about, but don't worry, that'll all make sense soon. Aslan tells them that they are going back to experiment house, and instructs Jill to pluck a switch off a bush. She does it, and it instantly turns into a little whip in her hands. Then he tells the boys to draw their swords, but to only use the flats. He leads them through the wood, and they end up at the wall, its experiment house. Aslan roars, and thirty feet of the wall falls before them. Aslan turns his back to England and faces his country. The bullies see the wall fallen down, and a lion as huge as an elephant laying in the gap. Jill uses the whip on the girls and the boys use the flats of their swords on the boys, making the bullies run away. Then the head comes out and sees what's happening. She freaks out and calls the police. Jill and Eustace change into ordinary clothes and Caspian went back to his world and the wall was made whole again. The police come and they see nothing wrong, but the head was acting like a lunatic, and that sparked an investigation into Experiment House, where many people ended up getting expelled, and the head ended up living happily ever after in parliament, which was a much more suited job for her. And from that day on, Experiment House became a good school, and Eustace and Jill were always friends. Back in Narnia, Rillian buried his father and mourned him. He ruled Narnia well in his days. Puddleglum's foot was good in three weeks, but pointed out that you couldn't expect good things to last. He still being his pessimistic, realistic self. And the opening of the hillside, where they had all come out, was left open, and on hot summer days the Narnians would go sailing down in the waters of the underground sea. And that's how the book ends. I was like, I really enjoyed

Other Themes

SPEAKER_00 1:07:00

this read and the story. Um and just all the symbolism and and themes that are in there. And I'm planning on doing more episodes regarding the Silver Chair and you know, exploring Jill and Eustace in more detail. Um we'll see what other thing topics I want to talk about yet, but those will probably be in bonus episodes one day. But I mentioned earlier the theme of deception, but there are a few other themes that I'd like to mention, and the first being freedom. C.S. Lewis likes to have freedom as a theme, like it was a major theme in The Horse and His Boy. And i in the Silver Chair, it's not just the physical freedom, but the mental freedom as well. The enchantment that Rillian and the gnomes were under captured their minds and stole their identities from them. So this quest was not just to bring Rillian Rillian home physically, but mentally as well. And there's also a heavy theme of temptation. And that we saw in Voyage of the Dawn Shredder, we saw it in Lion the Witch in the Wardrobe, continual themes. And these are real things that we deal with on a daily basis as well. This theme of temptation comes like it continues to keep them distracted and away from you know the the signs what Aslan had told them to do. And so when the witch tells them about Harfang, for example, it tempts the children and it keeps them distracted from the signs that they were supposed to follow. It wasn't until Aslan appeared to Jill in a dream and kind of woke her up a little bit that they got back on track. And with any adventure, and I think this is a theme in all of the Chronicles of Narnia, we have the theme of courage. Eustace had learned courage in Voyage of the Dawn Treader, but he had many moments he needed courage as well in this bo in this book. Now Jill was afraid and cautious through most of the story, and I don't blame her. It's her first time in Narnia, first time doing anything like this, but we see her grow in courage throughout. And we even see Puddleglum showing great courage when he stamped out the fire and bring and brought clarity back to the minds of everyone who is you know, this is something that is important to note. But this was if he hadn't done that who knows what would have happened. I don't think that they would have ended up the way they did. So we see that throughout the Silver Chair, there are many important lessons to be learned, and

Closing

SPEAKER_00 1:10:05

C.S. Lewis has a way of making his writing mean something. And I have to say, this book was a very fun read. I think that Puddleglum is now one of my favorite characters, like in all of Narnia. You know, he's very negative and pessimistic, and like I said, some could argue it's more being realistic. But many times throughout this book, he is the voice of reason, and I'm glad that he's with them on the journey. For example, like you know, reminding them to stay on you know track with the uh with the signs, and you know, his pessimism and his skepticism regarding the the witch, which they didn't know was the witch at the time, but sending them to Harfang and everything like it kind of works for him in some ways. And it's very interesting, and I might have to look, you know, talk more about that in a in another episode. But I want to thank you all for tuning into this episode of Faithful Fables. I'm really happy to have you here and supporting the show. And you know, make sure that you leave a comment, you leave a rating, uh, and there is a support the show link. If you want to give a little donation, feel free. Um, but all of this being said, I have an announcement to make. Uh I'm going back to school this fall, and because of that, the podcast will be slowing down quite a bit. I know it already has been slowing down, but it will be slowing down a bit more. It will be difficult to manage the podcast work and school work uh at the same time. So, you know, it it has to take a little bit of a back seat. Uh, I will be back and I am excited for the next book, which will take us all the way back to the beginning. We're gonna be going through the magician's nephew, so I look forward to that. And I'm not gonna be completely silent and gone, but I hope to be making content on YouTube here and there when I'm able, and so make sure that you check out the link to that in the description. And you know, I might do little stuff here and there just to stay active, but as far as main episodes go, that is gonna be taking a break. I thank you guys so much for your continued support, and I will be back for more Faithful Fables. And until then, stay faithful.