The Silver Chair | Chapter 6: The Wild Waste Lands of the North

Chapter Summary:

Eustace, Jill, and Puddleglum set off on their journey north and cross the river Shribble. Just after doing so, they encounter a group of about 50 giants. The giant primarily ignore them, but the giants entertain themselves by throwing giant boulders, which results in a few close calls. 

Eustace, Jill, and Puddleglum continue along the northern moors for about ten days, drinking water from rivers and hunting wild birds for food. One day, the countryside abruptly changes--mountains loom up ahead, and a very large river stands between them and the beginning of the mountainous terrain. Jill spots a bridge where they can cross, and they do so. 

Just as they are crossing the bridge, two strangers on horseback are seen coming toward them. One is a beautiful woman dressed in green who identifies herself as She of the Green Kirtle. The other is a person in a suit of armor who never once speaks during their interaction. As Eustace and Jill are about to explain the reason for their journey, Puddleglum stops them short. The woman says that the road that they are on will lead to Harfang--a city of gentle giants, who will give them a place to eat and sleep when they reach it. She also tells them to ensure not to get to the castle too late, as the giants lock the castle a little after noon, and do not open the doors for anyone. 

As Eustace, Jill, and Puddleglum continue onward, they discuss the merit of the woman's words, and Puddleglum speculates wildly about the suit of armor that rode the other horse. 

Several weeks later, and after much travel through the cold mountains, a city is spotted in the distance. Eustace, Jill, and Puddleglum know that this city is likely Harfang. 

Reflection:

This chapter was an interesting one, and definitely more than just a run-of-the-mill plot-mover. Nevertheless, I'm struggling a little bit with what particular area to focus on, given that I have already focused on so many similar topics in other chapters in the TCON series. I think probably the best route to go here is the route of the mystery. In this chapter, C.S. Lewis introduces the reader (along with Eustace, Jill, and Puddleglum) to a mystery. This is similar in ways to the mystery of the seven lost Lords in The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.

The mystery in this chapter is the mystery of the suit of armor. Here is how the knight is described as Eustace, Jill, and Puddleglum are approaching:

"One was a knight in complete armor with his visor down. His armor and his horse were black; there was no device on his shield and no banneret on his spear" (p. 403). 

After their interaction with the woman in green, Eustace, Jill, and Puddleglum have a brief conversation about the suit of armor. Puddleglum wonders aloud why he never spoke. Jill replies that perhaps the knight was shy, or that he was just mesmerized by the beautiful woman he was with. Puddleglum, in his typical pessimistic way, suggests that beneath the armor could have been a skeleton, nothing at all, or something invisible.

Thus within the mystery of the lost prince of Narnia, we have another mystery--the mystery of the suit of armor. The mystery particularly toys with a reader's brain because of the possibility that the lost prince is actually himself beneath the armor (boy, would that be a bummer for our party of three). I suspect we will find out the answer to the mystery at some point in the novel. While this isn't always the case with adult novels, a novel aimed at children will certainly reveal this mystery along the way as well--or maybe, just maybe, it will be one of those mysteries that Aslan keeps from everyone at the end. Regardless, C.S. Lewis has definitely created a character who we will remember, until we know a little more about him.