The Silver Chair - Definition

The Silver Chair is the fourth book in The Chronicles of Narnia fantasy series by C.S. Lewis. It is the first book in the series in which the Pevensie children do not appear.

The story begins with Eustace Scrubb, who was introduced in The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, returning to Narnia with his classmate Jill Pole. As Aslan explains to Jill shortly after her arrival, they have been brought to Narnia to find a prince who disappeared under mysterious circumstances some years before. The prince, named Rilian, is the son of King Caspian (formerly Prince Caspian), who is now an old man and unable to undertake the arduous journey himself. Rilian has in fact been taken captive through the evil spells of an enchantress named the Green Witch - reminiscent of the White Witch in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe - and needs to be brought back to inherit the throne. Initially, Jill and Eustace are aided by a parliament of talking owls; on their journey to the far north of Narnia, they are accompanied by a gloomy but stalwart Marshwiggle, appropriately named Puddleglum.

In this volume Lewis deals with such topics as temptation, guidance, and Christian discipleship. Again it is to be stressed that his pedagogic intent is secondary to his main aim of creating a good story. One of The Silver Chair's most memorable scenes has a mental struggle between the enchantress and Puddleglum concerning the true nature of reality.