History Literature / TheSilverChair

* CastingGag: In the BBC TV adapation, the giant nurse is played by Patsy Byrne, who played "Nursie" in the second series of ''Series/{{Blackadder}}''.

* TheFaceless: When Eustace, Jill and Puddleglum meet the Green Lady and the Black Knight, the knight has wears a visor obscuring his face. In a later scene in the BBC adaptation, the same black knight wears a mask obscuring his face and hair. [[spoiler: This is probably because otherwise, the audience would know he is Prince Rilian, who had appeared in previous scenes.]]

* AdiposeRex: The Queen of the Giants of Harfang, who's described as being "dreadfully fat", with "a double chin and a fat, powdered face".

* ExoticEntree: The protagonists discover that the venison served at the table of the "Friendly Giants" came from [[spoiler:a Talking Stag. Talking Animals are fully sentient and sapient beings with all the same rights as humans and other humanoid races such as dwarves, so the author notes that for anyone of Narnian culture, this is the equivalent of cannibalism. If that weren't enough, the characters later find out they are on the menu for the following night.]]

* BoardingSchoolOfHorrors: Jill and Eustace's school, which is a mix of the author's personal experience and educational theories he spoke against in ''The Abolition of Man''. Unusually for the trope (and interestingly considering Creator/CSLewis's own childhood experience under a SadistTeacher), the school's abuses stem not from draconian discipline but from an indulgent ''lack'' of discipline that allows [[GangOfBullies gangs of bullies]] to run wild, terrorizing ordinary students like Jill and Eustace. The children's school seems to be more inspired by the "Wyvern" period of Lewis's life, as detailed in ''Surprised by Joy''.

* AndNowYouMustMarryMe: The Lady of the Green Kirtle plans on marrying a brainwashed Rilian once he's seated on the throne.

* AndNowYouMustMarryMe: The Lady of the Green Kirtle plans on marrying [[spoiler:a brainwashed Rilian]] once he's seated on the throne.

* BatmanGambit: The Lady of the Green Kirtle's plan revolved around Rilian being the kind of person to seek revenge against a wild animal, and around him being easily swayed by beauty. She was right on both counts.

%%* BeneathTheEarth: Underland.

* CreepyCave: In search of the missing prince, the protagonists end up falling into "Underland," a civilization of MoleMen housed BeneathTheEarth in massive natural cave systems. The whole area is decidedly PlayedForHorror, with the initial journey to the central city making use of all the frightening elements of a real-life caving expedition such as crossing dark waters and crawling through small, tight tunnels. There is a sense of {{claustrophobia}} and [[DarknessEqualsDeath encroaching darkness]] throughout the Underland chapters, and to make matters worse, the whole place starts flooding after the climactic confrontation.

%%* BigBad: The Lady of the Green Kirtle.

* ScaledUp: [[spoiler:The witch can transform herself into a snake.]]

* ClippedWingAngel: The Lady of the Green Kirtle turns into a serpent [[spoiler:and Rilian chops its head off]].

* {{Allegory}}: The Lady of the Green Kirtle, ruler of Underland, uses genuine atheist arguments. Combined with her magic, she persuades the heroes that there is no Aslan (God). They have conceived of the great lion Aslan merely because they have seen a cat and imagined something greater. Likewise, they have conceived of the Sun merely because they have seen a lamp and imagined something greater. The fact they can only describe them by reference to other things is proof enough they do not actually ''exist'', and in fact never existed. Best to put aside such childish fantasies and comforting delusions and live in the ''real'' world. Considering her [[AnimalMotifs association with snakes]], WordOfGod connection to [[SatanicArchetype Jadis]], and the fact that she ''knows'' those things do exist, having been to the upper world herself, she could be considered a SatanicArchetype or similar representation of demon-suggested doubts. This is likely intentional, as Creator/CSLewis was himself a former atheist who converted to Anglicanism as an adult and is known for his Christian apologetics pieces (the Narnia series are his only childrens' books).

* BravingTheBlizzard: After the trio have been tempted to find the giant castle of Harfang by the Green Lady, with the promise of warm beds and hot baths, a massive snowstorm descends. They should be looking out for the ruined city of the Ancient Giants, and they do come across it, but they are too distracted by the promised comforts of Harfang.

* BravingTheBlizzard: After the trio have been tempted to find giant castle of Harfang by the Green Lady, with the promise of warm beds and hot baths, a massive snowstorm descends. They should be looking out for the ruined city of the Ancient Giants, and they do come across it, but they are too distracted by the promised comforts of Harfang.

** At the end of the book, where the Lady of the Green Kirtle is set up as a HollywoodAtheist of the "completely evil" variety and Lewis puts into her mouth some dubious philosophical arguments against the existence of Aslan--although given her own supernatural nature, she could be read as more like a demon than an atheist (even if she is certainly tempting the ''protagonists'' to atheism). Specifically, the Lady's arguments are all based on the [[UsefulNotes/LogicalFallacies Genetic Fallacy]], to dismiss an idea on the basis of its origin. All the more egregious for the fact that the Lady knows full well that both Aslan and the outside world exist. Of course, the magic of her mandolin and the "sweet and drowsy smell" of the green powder she throws on the fire make the arguments more convincing to the protagonists than they otherwise would be.

* AdiposeRex: The Queen of the Giants of Harfang.

* TrrrillingRrrs: The Lady of the Green Kirtle does this when she first meets Jill, Eustace, and Puddleglum. She is described as speaking in "a voice as sweet as the sweetest bird's song, trilling her R's delightfully".

--> '''Puddleglum:''' Aslan didn't tell Pole what would happen. He only told her what to do. ... But that doesn't let us off following the sign.

* MySpeciesDothProtestTooMuch: Puddleglum says that he's actually quite cheerful, at least compared to all the other marsh-wiggles.

* ThePollyanna: Other marsh-wiggles consider Puddleglum to be this, and advise him to go on the trip for his own good--to sober him up. Of course, the joke is that marsh-wiggles as a species are so morose that by human standards, Puddleglum is still a very gloomy fellow.

* EskimosArentReal: The Lady of the Green Kirtle claims not to believe in lions or any other aspect of the outside world. She's lying, but she nearly bewitches the overlanders into agreeing with her. This is a typical Creator/CSLewis allegory; in order to describe Aslan or Narnia to the Lady who says they don't exist, they have to do so in terms of things that she ''does'' accept the existence of, allowing her to dismiss it with "So you made up a bigger version of a cat, and called it a lion", in the same way as heaven, whether or not it exists, can clearly only be described in terms of the mortal world by those who haven't experienced it (which may be everyone).

** Inverted with the green powder the Lady of the Green Kirtle throws on the fire to enchant Eustace, Jill, Puddleglum, and Rillian. It gives off "a very sweet and drowsy smell" that makes it hard to think.

* SlapYourselfAwake: Puddleglum employs this technique when he stomps out the fire that the Lady of the Green Kirtle is using as part of her hypnotic magic. Not only does it quash the aroma that was lulling the heroes into a trance, but the pain (he's barefoot) is specifically said to give him a moment's perfect clarity.

* InvitedAsDinner: When the children meet the Lady of the Green Kirtle, she tells them to present themselves to the giants as being there for the Autumn Feast. They do, and are welcomed with open arms. It is only after Jill runs across a cook book that she realizes that [[spoiler:the traditional dish at the giants' Autumn Feast is man]].