The Silver Chair

The Silver Chair Summary | Plot Summary

The Silver Chair by C.S. Lewis is one of the wonderful novels that make up the Chronicles of Narnia series. This novel reintroduces the reader to characters from previous Narnia novels as they search for the lost prince of Narnia, Prince Rilian. Prince Rilian disappeared ten years ago while trying to find a serpent whose poisonous bite killed his mother. His father, King Caspian, is old and desperate to find a successor to the throne. Eustace Scrubb and his friend, Jill Pole, arrive in Narnia in time to follow four signs set out for them by Aslan to find the prince. This, like all the other Narnia novels, is full of adventure, narrow escapes, and leaps of faith.

Jill Pole is crying in the gym because the bigger kids are bullying her in her school. Eustace comes to console her and tells her about his adventures in Narnia. While running from the bullies, Eustace pulls Jill through a door in the school garden that takes them into Aslan's country. Here, Jill accidentally pushes Eustace off a cliff where Aslan rescues him by blowing him to Narnia. Jill is then left alone with the large lion, more afraid of him than she was the cliff.

Aslan tells Jill that he brought her and Eustace here because he has a task for them. Jill and Eustace must follow four signs in order to find the lost prince of Narnia. Jill promises to try. When she arrives in Narnia with Eustace, Jill asks Eustace if he knows any of the people surrounding the old king as he boards a ship. Eustace says no, but later learns that the kind is his old friend Caspian. This was the first sign and they missed it. Later, an owl befriends the kids and sets them up with a marsh-wiggle who will escort them through the north where Aslan has told Jill to look for the next sign.

As they travel through the Wastelands of the North, Jill, Eustace, and Puddleglum, the marsh-wiggle, see many giants. The giants do not bother them, however. When they reach a bridge they run into a lady and a dark knight. The lady tells them to go to the giant house of Harfang and tell the gentle giants there that she has sent them for the Autumn Feast. The children are excited by this idea because they are tired of sleeping on the cold ground and eating only what they can catch. Puddleglum is reluctant, however, since this is not part of Aslan's signs. On the way to the house at Harfang, they run across a curiously flat hill that is marked with many trenches. Cold and tired, the children take no notice of it and continue on to Harfang. At Harfang, they are greeted with wonderful hospitality and given warm beds to sleep in.

The next morning Jill and her companions look out the window of Jill's bedroom in Harfang and discover not only the second of their signs, but the third as well. Jill is deeply stressed by this since they have now failed to fulfill three of the four signs. Jill and her companions devise a plan to escape from the house at Harfang since they are concerned their leaving would not be looked upon kindly. They realize how right they are when they go into the kitchen and discover two recipes with which the giants had planned to cook them.

When Jill and her companions escape from Harfang, they are followed by the giants and forced to hide in a crevice in the rock walls. They move deeper into this crevice and soon find themselves underground. Here they meet a group of strange creatures that insist on taking them to the Queen of the Underland. The Queen is not at home when they arrive. However, her dark knight is home and insists the children and Puddleglum go up to visit with him.

While visiting with the knight they learn that he suffers from an enchantment and must be tied to a silver chair every night. The children hide while the creatures tie the knight. When they return to the room, the knight tells them that the enchantment is the knight and that when he is in the silver chair he returns to his own senses. The stranger then asks them to release him by the name of Aslan. This is Jill's fourth sign. Jill tells Puddleglum and Eustace to release him. The knight turns out to be Prince Rilian.

The Queen returns and tries to put the prince, Jill, Eustace, and Puddleglum under her spell again, by throwing magic ashes in the fire and by playing a strange musical instrument. They all resist her attempts until Puddleglum puts out the fire with his foot. The Queen then turns into a serpent and tries to kill the Prince. The Prince and Puddleglum kill the Queen, thus releasing themselves and the strange creatures of the underland from her spell.

The Queen had her creatures dig a hole under a kingdom she intended to rule, so the Prince and Jill and her companions searched out this hole for their own escape. When they reach the hole, Puddleglum lifts Jill onto his shoulders so they can see where it comes out. The hole opens into Narnia. Jill and her companions are saved. The next morning they learn that King Caspian has returned. When Jill and Eustace go to the harbor to see the king, they find that he has died soon after seeing his son again. Jill wants to go home and is relieved when Aslan appears a moment after she voices her wish.

Aslan takes the children back to his country and shows them Caspian floating in a stream. Aslan has Eustace poke his paw with a thorn and he allows a drop of blood to fall on Caspian. The blood has the magic to return Caspian to a younger age and bring him back to life. Then Aslan sends Jill and Eustace home where, with the help of Caspian, they scare away their bullies. Prince Rilian becomes king of Narnia and rules in peace for many years.