The Silver Chair Chapter 11 Summary

In the Dark Castle

  • Jill, Scrubb, Puddleglum, and the Black Knight sit down to dinner in the Knight's rooms.
  • He explains to them about the enchantment he's under and the Lady's plans to take over a realm in the Overworld and make him king. This is meant to break the enchantment.
  • The three travelers are not impressed by the plans to kill a rightful king and tell him how wrong the think this is; apparently, the Black Knight never thought of it in this way.
  • He's still convinced that the Lady is quite a nice woman, though, and explains to them all the care she has taken of him since he came to her.
  • The Knight explains to his company that every night he's afflicted by what he calls a "frenzy," during which he raves and thrashes about—and turns into a deadly serpent.
  • The Lady has created a silver chair on which to bind him during these fits, to keep both him and others safe until he's well again.
  • He conceals Jill, Scrubb, and Puddleglum in one of his rooms so that they can witness this "enchantment" once the Earthmen have come to bind him to the chair.
  • Before the Knight "loses his mind," he makes the three of them promise to never ever loose him from the chair, no matter what he says.
  • During his frenzy, the Knight tells them that he's really sane at that moment—it's the rest of the day that he's enchanted—and that he is a prisoner there; he begs them to cut his bonds.
  • This is a game-changer, and the three of them have a really hard time sticking to their promise of three seconds ago. They really want to cut the ropes.
  • It isn't until the Knight calls on them in the name of Aslan to set him free that they really have a problem. This is the fourth sign, and the pressure is on to follow it, despite how things seem.
  • After a terrible moment, Scrubb and Puddleglum set the Knight free.
  • The Knight immediately goes for his sword and destroys the silver chair, so that it can do no more harm.
  • He reveals that he is, in fact, Prince of Narnia. Scrubb reveals that he is an old friend of Rilian's father, and that they were sent by Aslan to save Rilian.
  • Now they have to face the Earthmen, whose feet can be heard on the stair outside the door.