The Silver Chair

This is for me the most exciting of the books. I simply adore it and there is one chapter in particular that really speaks to me. It is the story where I think Narnia begins to end. This is the first time, for me, that the country feels old. I imagine that this is because it is the first time when there are so many old things in it and when time is of the essence.

The story introduces us to a new character, Jill Pole. She is a pupil at Eustace’s school called (rather wonderfully) Experiment House. She is being bullied and is offered a shoulder to cry on from Eustace. There is definitely a lack of trust here as Jill knows what he used to be like but eventually they manage to escape and end up in a magical land. Through a series of unfortunate events, Jill alone is faced with Aslan who commands her to follow a mission. She is given a set of instructions to remember and sent on her way to catch up with Eustace. The mission is to find the missing son of King Caspian. The Prince Rillian disappeared some ten years ago and the King is gravely ill and dying. Jill and Eustace team up with a marshwiggle called Puddleglum. One of literature’s greatest unsung heroes, Puddleglum is a miserable old so and so but a character with love in every atom of his being. They fluff the instructions and everything goes wrong until in one glorious chapter they find the prince, almost lose their opportunity to save him and then are faced with the great enemy herself. Almost seduced into the thrall of this enemy they are saved by the thoughts and actions of Puddleglum and the timely application of his foot to a fire. Suffice it to say, it all ends well. Lewis is clear though that it needn’t have all turned out that well nor should it have been that hard either.

The heart of the message of this book is that if we follow what Jesus (Aslan) tells us to then things are much simpler. There is also the fact that there are so many distractions on the way. Jill and Eustace are constantly waylaid because they are not looking in the right place. Their minds are not focused on what they should be focused upon. The instructions given by Aslan are, rather bizzarely, incredibly clear and clouded at the same time. If Eustace had been there all the time with Jill it would not have been anywhere near as hard for them. The message for Christians is to try and keep your focus. Keep thinking about what Jesus wants us to do. Without wishing to denigrate the struggles of others, what this books says to me is that God will make sure that what He wants will happen anyway. What he values and uses is us. We have the opportunity to help develop what He wants and to help bring his Kingdom about. He doesn’t need us to but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try.

There is a darker message too. Here we see the wiles of the enemy. The Lady of the Green Kirtle is a deadly enemy. She is very clever, very quick-witted and very capable as well. She almost convinces Eustace and the others that Narnia is in their imagination and they almost given in. What this says to us is that we need to be careful. Our enemy is just as cunning and just as clever. He may try to convince us that what we believe is wrong. Maybe he will use some very clever people using very clever words (or talking about the flying spaghetti monster) but if we stand firm and hold on to what we know (not what we can prove because in the key moment it’s not what Puddleglum can prove but what he knows and believes that counts).

I think that this book has a huge amount to offer the reader and the Christian. It’s scary and adventurous and I enjoy it so much every time I read it. There was no competition for the picture that most makes me smile in this book. Pauline Baynes illustrates Puddleglum fishing so beautifully.