The Silver Chair | Chapter 10: Travels Without the Sun

(Friday's post, 2 days late--oops! I've had a busy start to the weekend, but I'm going to try to get caught up today!)

Chapter Summary:

The voice introduces itself to Eustace, Jill, and Puddleglum as the Warden of the Marches of Underland, and says that he stands in the darkness with 100 armed men. The Warden asks why they have come to the Deep Realm. Puddleglum tells the Warden that it was an accident. The Warden says that they are to go see the Queen of the Deep Realm.

A torch is lit, and Eustace, Jill, and Puddleglum can see the army of men--they are all holding spears, but are all incredibly pale and look incredibly sad. The Warden tells Eustace, Jill, and Puddleglum to march, and they have no choice but to obey. They march through tunnels until they come to a large cave filled with animals that are either dead or asleep. The Warden simply says that they will wake at the end of the world. They walk along further and come to another large cavern. In it is an enormous sleeping man, much larger than giants. When Puddleglum asks who it is, the Warden says that he is old Father Time, who will awake at the end of the world.

They pass from cave to cave, and emerge to a large dark cave. In this cave, they can see a boat on a sandy beach, and they are told to get on the boat. They travel across a large lake and emerge on the banks of an underground city, filled with people who are silently going about their business quickly and all with sad faces. 

The Warden takes Eustace, Jill, and Edmund into a large green castle. The Warden requests to see the Queen, but is told by a footman that she is away. A voice comes from above them in the castle, requesting to see the Overworlders. Eustace, Jill, and Puddleglum go upstairs, and are introduced to a young man. The young man recognizes Eustace, Jill, and Puddleglum--and they learn that he is the Black Knight--the knight who was in armor with the Lady of the Green Kirtle (the Queen of the Underland).

Eustace mentions that it was cruel of the Queen of the Underland to send them to Harfang, where the giants intended to eat them. The Black Knight replies that the Queen would have never done that on purpose--and that whatever the result, her intention was good. 

Suddenly, Jill blurts out that they are on a mission to find Prince Rilian of Narnia. The Black Knight says that there is no such person in the Underworld. Eustace describes the sign from Aslan that said 'UNDER ME' and the Black Knight says that this was all that's left of a much longer message. It is revealed though this conversation that both Aslan and the Queen of the Underland are very old. The Knight says that the Queen knows no age or death. The Knight also says that the Queen has promised him a great kingdom in the Overworld when he marries her and becomes King.

Reflection:

In this chapter, we are introduced to a whole new species of people within the world of Narnia. We have traveled within Narnia to the South (The Horse and His Boy), to the East (The Voyage of the Dawn Treader), and most recently to the North (The Silver Chair), and now there's not much choice but to voyage underground--at least if we still want some directional variety in our Narnian lives.

And in this chapter we are introduced to the peoples of the Underworld--a place where, as the Warden tells us numerous times, many have come but few return from. The people of the Underworld look somewhat like the men of the Overworld--but they are pale, as well as inexplicably silent and sad. Imagine a whole city full of people who are not talking, but simply shuffling their feet, one in front of the other, so that the only sound is the hum of footsteps. And every single one of them is sad. We don't know why (though I'm sure we'll find out).

There are also very interesting features of the underground caverns that Eustace, Jill, and Puddleglum explore. We see the sleeping (or dead?) animals as well as the sleeping Father Time--all of will supposedly awaken at the end of the world. What's more, I believe this is also the first time that the end of the Narnian world is mentioned as a possibility. Of course, there is some foreshadowing going on to our next and final novel within the TCON series--The Last Battle.

And beyond that, there is the mystery of the Queen of the Underworld--a woman who sounds as if she is timeless, but who we cannot decide, as the reader, whether she is good or evil. I have my speculations, but only time will tell.

As a whole, this chapter is primarily about newness--about the underground beneath Narnia that seems to have been there for a very long time, filled with people we never knew were there. In many ways, it reminds me of the lowest of the poor classes in the U.S.--the people that are usually ignored by the societal hierarchy. There's lower-middle classes, then people who live in poverty, and then there are those that we never (or rarely) hear about--the homeless, the mentally ill, the incarcerated... We can live our whole life in the United States and never really interact with these people, going on with our lives as if they are not present. And I suspect that this is what most Narnians do as well. As usual, we see major parallels between the Narnian world and the world that C.S. Lewis writes from. 

I could launch into a greater discussion on this whole issue, but use your own imagination as you read along. There is meaning in these words, and it's up to us to think about what meaning they have.