The Silver Chair | Chapter 4: A Parliament of Owls

Chapter Summary:

Just as Jill is getting ready to go to bed, the owl (named Glimfeather) comes to her window to visit. Glimfeather asks if she was serious about her quest to find the lost prince. Jill says that she was serious. Glimfeather then leaves to get Eustace. Glimfeather returns later for Jill, and tells Jill that she will have to fly on the owl's back. Glimfeather brings Jill to a tall tower, which already contains many owls and Eustace as well. 

Eustace tells the owls about his friendship with King Caspian. The owls tell Eustace and Jill that Trumpkin the Dwarf won't let anyone seek after the lost prince--too many have already died or disappeared trying. 

The owls then tell the story of the lost prince. One day, Prince Rilian was out with his mother, the Queen of Narnia (Ramandu's daughter) to the North of Narnia. The Queen laid down for a nap at one point while Rilian was a short distance away. The Queen was bitten by a serpent and died within ten minutes. The Queen tried to give Prince Rilian a message before she died, but was not able to speak well enough to deliver it. 

The Queen was mourned greatly by Rilian and Narnia as a whole. One day, Lord Drinian--the former captain of the Dawn Treader--who was friends with Rilian noticed a change in Rilian. After convincing, Rilian brings Drinian to the site where his mother died. There, Drinian sees a woman beckoning to Rilian, but the woman disappears before Rilian reaches her. Drinian can sense that the woman is evil, but he does not say anything. The next day, Rilian goes to see the woman, and he has never been seen since.

Drinian confessed to Caspian what had occurred, and Caspian first intends to kill Drinian, but realizes he does not want to lose a friend along with his wife and son. 

The owls and Jill speculate that the serpent and the woman to whom Rilian was attracted were the same being. The owls even mention that this might have to do with the White Witch. 

Eustace tells the owls that they have to go to the ruins of the giant city to the north. The owls unanimously agree that they cannot fly Eustace and Jill there, but that they can take Eustace and Jill to a Marsh-wiggle, who will be of more help. The owls ask if they are ready, but Jill is asleep.

Reflection:

As far as individual chapters are concerned, this is not going to be one of the more memorable ones at the end of TCON. Largely, and we've seen one or two of these in every book, this is a plot-moving chapter. Before Eustace and Jill can really embark on their quest for the lost prince, they need to know the back-story, and so do we. As a result, we have a flock of owls to tell us the story. 

What is abundantly clear in the chapter is that this serpent is bad news, and so is the woman that is connected with the disappearance of Prince Rilian. In case it weren't already bash-you-over-the-head-with-a-frying-pan obvious, here's how the text describes the snake:

"It was great, shining, and as green as poison" (p. 393)

and the woman:

"She was tall and great, shining, and wrapped in a thin garment as green as poison" (p. 394). 

So that's about as obvious of a parallel as you're going to get. Of course, we immediately (due to the constant allegory in these books) think of the Garden of Eden and the snake in the garden. Recall, now, that we've known of a snake in a garden in Narnia before. If you've forgotten, there is a snake in the garden who tempts Digory in The Magician's Nephew to eat one of the magical apples. I would not be surprised, in the slightest, if this snake is the very same one. After all, if the snake is the woman who tempts Rilian, then the theme of temptation is a strong connection between the two snakes. I would not be surprised at all. 

As with some chapters, I don't have much more to say, only that the plot has been moved along within this chapter, and that the woman connected with Rilian's disappearance is clearly bad news. Onward to meet the Marsh-wiggle, whatever that means.