The Silver Chair Chapter 12 Summary

The Queen of Underland

  • Too bad for them that it was not just Earthmen at the door—instead, the queen herself has returned.
  • And guess what? She's super angry that the Prince is no longer under her enchantment. Rilian confronts her and tells her that he intends to return to Narnia, then asks her to please give them safe passage.
  • But the Lady isn't going to let go so easily. She throws a green powder on the fire and begins strumming a mandolin, both of which act to make them sleepy and forgetful.
  • She then begins to convince them that there is no other world than the Underworld, and that they've created Narnia out of their own imaginations.
  • The powder and music work really well, so even though Jill, Scrubb, and Rilian fight back, they ultimately fall in line with the Lady's thinking.
  • Puddleglum to the rescue: He uses his frog feet to stamp out the fire and tells the Lady that they'll believe in Narnia and Aslan even if they're not real, since they are a better alternative to the Underworld.
  • Then things get ugly. The Lady transforms into the poisonous green serpent that killed Rilian's mother and twines herself around Rilian.
  • But Rilian and Puddleglum are able to hack the snake to bits—so there's an end to the wicked enchantress.
  • The four of them drink some wine to steady themselves and then make plans for escape.