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Chapter 3
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Silver Chair, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Deception and Illusion
Freedom and Imprisonment
Temptation
Courage
Summary
Analysis
As Jill starts getting ready for bed, she hears a tap on her window. She opens the window to find a large owl, who asks her if she is serious about wanting to rescue the prince. Jill assures the owl that she very much wants to rescue the prince, so the owl tells her to prepare for a journey. Then, the owl leaves to fetch Scrubb. Jill changes into clothes better suited to travel and then waits for the owl to return.
The owl tells Jill to climb on his back so that he can fly her to Scrubb. Then, he flies her to a dilapidated tower full of owls and sets her down next to Scrubb. Glimfeather begins a meeting, which he calls “a parliament of owls.” Before the meeting can properly get underway, Scrubb asks the owls if they all have King Caspian’s best interest at heart. He does not understand the need to meet secretly, and he warns the owls that he will not aid anyone who is traitorous to the King. Glimfeather explains that they meet at night because owls believe it is the proper time to undertake important business.
“Parliament of owls”—the name of the chapter—is a pun; a large group of owls is known as a parliament, and parliament is also the name for the highest legislature in the United Kingdom. Although Scrubb makes it clear that he believes the owls are acting suspicious, Glimfeather offers a different perspective—they are owls, so of course they meet at night. They are, after all, nocturnal. Although Scrubb may have been wrong about his suspicions, he still shows great courage in standing up to the owls he thinks might not have his friend’s best interest in mind.
Themes
Glimfeather also explains that they are meeting secretly because he does not think Trumpkin would allow Jill and Scrubb to go after the prince. Previously, many of the bravest people and creatures in Narnia tried finding the prince but never came back. Because King Caspian did not want more people to die, he issued an order stating that no one was allowed to pursue the prince any longer. Glimfeather believes that the King would make an exception if he knew that Aslan had sent Scrubb and Jill. However, Trumpkin is in charge at the moment, and he is a stickler for the rules. Scrubb asks Glimfeather how long King Caspian will be away. Glimfeather replies that he does not know—King Caspian went in search of Aslan, who has recently been spotted on an island in Narnia.
Despite Jill and Scrubb’s suspicions, it appears that everyone they have met so far in Narnia is kind and well-intentioned because Aslan watches over and guides them. However, when Jill and Scrubb venture outside of Narnia later in the novel, they will have to deal with people and creatures who do not have Aslan’s moral principles to guide them. Of course, Aslan’s watchful eye does not make Narnia a sort of paradise. Things still go wrong in Narnia, as King Caspian’s situation demonstrates. Although King Caspian does not know it, Aslan is already well aware of his situation and has sent Jill and Scrubb to rectify it. King Caspian would have been made aware that this was the case had Jill more carefully followed Aslan’s instructions.
Themes
Glimfeather tells the story of the prince’s disappearance. The prince’s name is Rilian, and one day he was out riding with his mother, the Queen of Narnia, and other high-ranking members of the court. In the middle of the day, the group stopped in a beautiful glade to eat and drink. There, the Queen fell asleep, and the rest of the party gave her some distance so they would not wake her. However, while everyone else was away, a snake slithered up and bit the Queen’s hand. Rilian heard his mother cry out in pain, so he came running, sword in hand, just in time to see the serpent slither off. Sadly, the serpent’s venom was powerful, and its bite killed the Queen.
The story of the Queen’s death is an allusion to the biblical story of the Garden of Eden in Genesis. The Queen of Narnia falls asleep in an idyllic place, unaware that evil may lurk nearby. Because she lets her guard down, a serpent—much like the one from Genesis—attacks and kills her. The Queen’s death is part of the novel’s running commentary on how evil can be deceptive. Throughout the novel, characters tend to let their guard down around beautiful things and people, leading to negative consequences.
Themes
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After the Queen of Narnia’s death, Rilian went to great lengths to find the serpent. One day, he took his best friend, Lord Drinian, with him to the spot where the serpent bit the Queen. Drinian and Rilian spotted a beautiful woman standing in the glade, and she beckoned to Rilian. However, before Rilian could move toward her, she disappeared. That evening, they returned to the castle. Drinian was not sure what to make of the event, but he wondered whether the woman was evil. That night, Rilian left the castle by himself and never returned.
Again, it seems that beauty has deceived Rilian and led him astray. The position of the beautiful woman in the glade aligns with that of the serpent, implying that there is some relationship between the two. Whether Rilian makes that connection is unclear. His disappearance from the castle is sudden and, because he never comes back, Lord Drinian has no way of verifying his friend’s true intentions.
Themes
After Glimfeather finishes his story, he offers to take Jill and Scrubb to one of the Marsh-wiggles, which will help them get into Ettinsmoor. Based on what Aslan told Jill, they know they need to seek out the ruins of a giant city. Glimfeather offers to take them right away. However, when he turns to look at Jill, she has passed out from exhaustion.
Jill and Scrubb have to place their faith in Glimfeather because they have already missed Aslan’s first sign and have nowhere else to turn. Luckily, Glimfeather appears eager to help and understands the urgency of the mission.
Themes
