Previous
Chapter 7
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
Unsure of himself, Scrubb repeats the line about the Autumn feast to the King of the giants and the Queen of the giants. In response, the King and the Queen give each other a strange smile that makes Jill uneasy. The Queen marks that Scrubb and Jill are “good children,” and the King reaches out and shakes their arms with his hand. A moment later, Puddleglum utters a nonsensical word, which frightens the Queen, who did not seem to realize he was alive. The children assure her that she will like Puddleglum better once she gets to know him.
The strange smile shared between the King and the Queen suggests that the message from the beautiful woman carries some sort of double message that Jill, Scrubb, and Puddleglum have yet to comprehend. There is something about the children, in particular, that interests the King and the Queen. Meanwhile, Puddleglum seems to annoy them, suggesting that being altruistic hosts is not their sole motive.
Themes
Overwhelmed, Jill suddenly breaks down crying. At the sight of Jill’s tears, the Queen of the giants orders her servants to take the guests and make sure they are well taken care of. Then, the Queen’s Nurse picks up Jill and brings her to a warm bedroom. Jill wonders if the giants will have food and utensils that are appropriate for someone her size. Luckily, the Queen’s Nurse has clothes to fit Jill and excellent food, which Jill enjoys. The only thing Jill does not like about the Queen’s Nurse is that she keeps bringing Jill oversized children’s toys. Jill repeatedly tells the nurse that she does not want the toys, but the Nurse says she thinks Jill will want them tomorrow once she has rested.
Jill’s crying is the result of pent-up fear, frustration, and exhaustion. She has done her best to put on a brave face, but now that she considers herself relatively safe, she can no longer hold in her emotions. The clothes the Queen’s Nurse gives to Jill implies that humans have stayed at Harfang before, though there is no trace of them now. Indeed, something fishy seems to be going on at Harfang, though Jill is too overwhelmed to figure out what at the moment.
Themes
That night, Jill has a strange dream. An oversized toy horse in her bedroom transforms into Aslan, who tells Jill to repeat the signs to herself. Terrified, Jill feels as though she has forgotten them all. Then, Aslan picks up Jill in his mouth and carries her to the window. In the sky, Jill sees the words “UNDER ME.” Jill wakes up late the following morning having forgotten about the dream.
Aslan comes to Jill in her dream to put her back on the right path. She has strayed from her quest, and the vision helps remind her of the signs and why she traveled to Ettinsmoor in the first place. However, for the moment, it is unclear whether Aslan succeeded, as Jill forgets the dream upon waking up.
Themes
Soon after Jill wakes up, Scrubb and Puddleglum enter her room, the latter nursing a headache. Scrubb and Jill look out Jill’s window to see a clear view of the terrain they climbed the previous day. It rained the night before, so all the snow is gone, and the children can clearly see what looks like the remains of a giant city. Additionally, they spot the words “UNDER ME” carved into the ground.
Once again, the children have missed one of Aslan’s signs and made their task harder. However, presumably Aslan believes they can still complete their quest, otherwise he would not have appeared to Jill in her dream. Importantly, the third sign with which Aslan provided Jill implored her to follow the words she found on the ruined giant city, which she appears to have found.
Themes
Get the entire The Silver Chair LitChart as a printable PDF.
Jill expresses disappointment in herself for missing yet another of Aslan’s signs. Puddleglum suggests he is just as much to blame because he should have made them all stop and explore the day before. Scrubb points out that the trench he and Jill explored was actually the E in “ME.” Puddleglum suggests that the message means they must find a way beneath the ruined city in order to find Prince Rilian. Together, Puddleglum, Jill, and Scrubb make a plan to escape Harfang. Puddleglum does not want to tell the giants why they have actually come, and everyone worries that the giants will not let them leave. As such, they plan to escape sometime while it is still light outside, as the giants lock up the castle at night.
Earlier in the book, Jill tries to make excuses for herself and gets in a fight over who is to blame for missing the first sign. Here, however, she shows growth by taking full accountability for her failure, even if she is not the only one to blame. Now that Harfang seems more like a prison than a source of temptation, Jill, Scrubb, and Puddleglum are eager to leave. Even though they still do not know what the giants have planned for them, they all suspect that it is not in their best interest.
Themes
As they settle on their plan, the giant Nurse comes in and asks the group if they would like to witness the King of the giants leaving to go hunting. Outside, the King and a number of other giants walk with a group of regular sized hunting dogs. Behind him, a group of giants carrying the Queen of the giants on a litter. Jill yells to the Queen eagerly to let her know they are excited for the feast.
Jill, Scrubb, and Puddleglum know that it would be ideal for them to be able to escape while the King and Queen of the giants are away. However, they do not want to make anyone suspicious, so Jill yells to the Queen about the feast to confirm that they intend to stay put.
Themes
