The Silver Chair

“This is not going to be a school story, so I shall say as little as possible about Jill’s school, which is not a pleasant subject. It was ‘Co-educational,’ a school for both boys and girls, what used to be called a ‘mixed’ school; some said it was not nearly so mixed as the minds of the people who ran it. These people had the idea that boys and girls should be allowed to do what they liked. And unfortunately what ten or fifteen of the biggest boys and girls liked best was bullying the others. All sorts of things, horrid things, went on which at an ordinary school would have been found out and stopped in half a term; but at this school they weren’t. Or even if they were, the people who did them were not expelled or punished. The Head said they were interesting psychological cases and sent for them and talked to them for hours. And if you knew the right sort of things to say to the Head, the main result was that you became rather a favorite than otherwise.”

This opening paragraph introduces the Narrative Voice and the theme of Morality. The omniscient first-person narrator often comments on characters and events throughout the book, which is first evidenced here as he describes the kind of story that he is about to tell. Although the narrator’s tone is light-hearted and humorous as he introduces Experiment House, his moral stance is made clear through his criticism of overzealous bullies and too-lenient staff, thus foreshadowing the characters’ further struggles with injustice and immorality once they enter the realm of Narnia and begin their quest in earnest.

“‘Yes, but this is a really terrific secret. Pole, I say, are you good at believing things? I mean things that everyone here would laugh at?’

‘I’ve never had the chance,’ said Jill, ‘but I think I would be.’”

This quote establishes continuity with the previous The Chronicles of Narnia books, and in particular with The Voyage of the Dawn Trader (1952), in which Eustace first appeared and met Prince Caspian. Eustace alludes to his earlier journey into Narnia to create intrigue, and Jill’s enthusiastic reaction sets her up to be his counterpart in The Silver Chair. With regards to the theme of Narnia as a Christian Allegory, Jill’s willingness to take a leap of faith also characterizes her as one who has the innate ability to become a true believer in