Review of The Silver Chair

The Silver Chair by C.S. Lewis

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


The Silver Chair is one of the lesser known stories in the Chronicles of Narnia, perhaps because all the dramatizations lose steam after The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe, Prince Caspian, and Voyage of the Dawn Treader. Or maybe because our beloved Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy do not appear except when Eustace talks about his adventures with Jill.

However, there is still a lot of truths that Lewis imparts to his readers. Like, the idea of obedience despite a lack of results or even understanding. It’s not blind faith as the atheists accuse Christians, but a trust that God (or Aslan the Lion) knows what he is doing and it will make sense when the time comes. I think of Lewis’s other famous, or perhaps infamous, character, Screwtape the demon who said the kingdom of hell is at its most perilous when a Christian continues to obey despite not seeing God’s presence. Eustace, Jill, and Puddleglum press on to rescue Prince Rillian despite thinking they’ve missed the signs and doubt they know what to do when they do encounter.

Or the idea of evil: the White Witch is dead and so is her plan to rule Narnia in an endless winter, but the Green Witch (perhaps a kin) came up with a plan to ensnare the heir to the throne. Evil always has new guises; if one plot fails, another comes up. Nazism may have been reduced to comic relief, but there is Islamic terrorism. Communism under an all powerful party is gone, but the ideas of socialism and communism are never more alive in the 21st century.

And lastly the Silver Chair itself; the Green Witch lied and said the chair prevents the Prince from taking the form of a snake – a purported form of protection. And yet, the opposite is true. Think of all the things that we thought would set us free but enslaved us – alcohol, drugs, sex, fame, power.

The Silver Chair was published decades ago, but the story remains as poignant as ever.



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