Underland (Narnia)
Encyclopedia
The Underland is a fictional location in the children's fantasy
series The Chronicles of Narnia
by C. S. Lewis
. Described by Lewis as lying beneath the land of Narnia
, Underland appears mainly in The Silver Chair
, where Eustace Scrubb
and Jill Pole
travel under the ground to reach it in their search for Prince Rilian
. They find him in Underland and release him from his enchantment by The Lady of the Green Kirtle
.
, Eustace
and Puddleglum
meet The Lady of the Green Kirtle
at the Giants' bridge. She tells them to go to the Giants' house far north. On the way, the three cross a hill with a maze of strange trenches. From the high vantage of the Giants' house, they see that the trenches are in fact letters, and recognize the phrase "Under Me" as one of the signs given by Aslan to guide their quest for Rilian
. They determine to follow the directions, and find a passage leading under the ground.
Underground they encounter the Warden of the Marches of Underland, accompanied by a hundred Earthmen (Gnomes) "of all sizes, from little gnomes barely a foot high to stately figures taller than men." The Earthmen escort them through many natural caverns ("each lower than the last") to the Dark Castle of the Lady of the Green Kirtle, the Queen of Underland. On the way they pass many dead or sleeping animals from the Overworld, who, it is said, "will wake at the end of the world."
After many miles of travel underground, they pass a recumbent sleeping giant called Father Time. They are told that he was once a king in Overland, fallen into Underland, now dreaming of the Overworld; and like the animals they passed earlier, he too will waken at the end of the world.
The last stage of their journey takes them on board a ship, which is rowed across the vast underground Sunless Sea to the city where the Dark Castle lies. Many travellers from the Overworld have taken ship here, they are told, and few return to sunlit lands. The recurring theme is that many unlucky inhabitants of Overland fall somehow into Underland, where they become trapped, and remain sleeping until the end of the world. Underland is pervaded by silence; amongst the sleepers from above, the Earthmen work diligently but quietly.
Bism, far beneath Underland, glows with volcanic heat. As Golg, their Earthman guide, leads them past the opening to Bism, the travelers look down into it and make out a river of fire where Salamanders swim, alongside groves and fields of many colors, not unlike a stained glass window. Lewis describes Bism as a place of beauty for the Gnomes, who desire to reach it as much as Rilian and his companions want to reach the Overland. Golg describes the living riches of Bism as far outstripping the "dead" gold and jewels that Overlanders find in their shallow mines. Rilian is torn with desire to see this land, but the rift between Underland and Bism is about to close, and the Gnomes hurry to be on the correct side. Rilian and his companions escape to the surface through the tunnel dug by the Earthmen.
, which tells of the end of Narnia, Father Time makes another appearance. From the Stable Door, Aslan calls him; whereupon he awakes and stands tall, and blows his trumpet. This causes the world to end. All the creatures from the Narnian world come past the Door, either to enter or not; the stars fall from the sky; the world is flooded; and at the last, before Aslan tells High King Peter to close the Door, Father Time puts out the sun.
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
series The Chronicles of Narnia
The Chronicles of Narnia
The Chronicles of Narnia is a series of seven fantasy novels for children by C. S. Lewis. It is considered a classic of children's literature and is the author's best-known work, having sold over 100 million copies in 47 languages...
by C. S. Lewis
C. S. Lewis
Clive Staples Lewis , commonly referred to as C. S. Lewis and known to his friends and family as "Jack", was a novelist, academic, medievalist, literary critic, essayist, lay theologian and Christian apologist from Belfast, Ireland...
. Described by Lewis as lying beneath the land of Narnia
The Chronicles of Narnia
The Chronicles of Narnia is a series of seven fantasy novels for children by C. S. Lewis. It is considered a classic of children's literature and is the author's best-known work, having sold over 100 million copies in 47 languages...
, Underland appears mainly in The Silver Chair
The Silver Chair
The Silver Chair is part of The Chronicles of Narnia, a series of seven fantasy novels written by C. S. Lewis. It was the fourth book published and is the sixth book chronologically. It is the first book published in the series in which the Pevensie children do not appear. The main characters are...
, where Eustace Scrubb
Eustace Scrubb
Eustace Clarence Scrubb is a fictional character in C. S. Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia. He appears in The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, The Silver Chair, and The Last Battle. In The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, he is accompanied by Edmund and Lucy Pevensie, his cousins...
and Jill Pole
Jill Pole
Jill Pole is a major character from C. S. Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia series. She appears in The Silver Chair and The Last Battle.-Prior story:Very little is known about Jill's family or her life before she becomes friends with Eustace...
travel under the ground to reach it in their search for Prince Rilian
Rilian
In C. S. Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia fictional series, Rilian is the son of King Caspian and the grandson of Ramandu the star. Rilian appears in two of the seven books, The Silver Chair and The Last Battle.- In The Silver Chair:...
. They find him in Underland and release him from his enchantment by The Lady of the Green Kirtle
Lady of the Green Kirtle
The Lady of the Green Kirtle, also called Queen of Underland and Queen of the Deep Realm, is the main villain in The Silver Chair by C. S. Lewis. She is sometimes called briefly the Green Lady , and she is known also as the Emerald Witch; neither name, however, appears in Lewis's text...
.
The Search for Rilian
JillJill Pole
Jill Pole is a major character from C. S. Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia series. She appears in The Silver Chair and The Last Battle.-Prior story:Very little is known about Jill's family or her life before she becomes friends with Eustace...
, Eustace
Eustace Scrubb
Eustace Clarence Scrubb is a fictional character in C. S. Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia. He appears in The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, The Silver Chair, and The Last Battle. In The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, he is accompanied by Edmund and Lucy Pevensie, his cousins...
and Puddleglum
Puddleglum
Puddleglum is a fictional character in the children's fantasy series The Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis. Puddleglum appears in The Silver Chair, in which he is a principal character. He also appears briefly at the end of The Last Battle...
meet The Lady of the Green Kirtle
Lady of the Green Kirtle
The Lady of the Green Kirtle, also called Queen of Underland and Queen of the Deep Realm, is the main villain in The Silver Chair by C. S. Lewis. She is sometimes called briefly the Green Lady , and she is known also as the Emerald Witch; neither name, however, appears in Lewis's text...
at the Giants' bridge. She tells them to go to the Giants' house far north. On the way, the three cross a hill with a maze of strange trenches. From the high vantage of the Giants' house, they see that the trenches are in fact letters, and recognize the phrase "Under Me" as one of the signs given by Aslan to guide their quest for Rilian
Rilian
In C. S. Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia fictional series, Rilian is the son of King Caspian and the grandson of Ramandu the star. Rilian appears in two of the seven books, The Silver Chair and The Last Battle.- In The Silver Chair:...
. They determine to follow the directions, and find a passage leading under the ground.
Underground they encounter the Warden of the Marches of Underland, accompanied by a hundred Earthmen (Gnomes) "of all sizes, from little gnomes barely a foot high to stately figures taller than men." The Earthmen escort them through many natural caverns ("each lower than the last") to the Dark Castle of the Lady of the Green Kirtle, the Queen of Underland. On the way they pass many dead or sleeping animals from the Overworld, who, it is said, "will wake at the end of the world."
After many miles of travel underground, they pass a recumbent sleeping giant called Father Time. They are told that he was once a king in Overland, fallen into Underland, now dreaming of the Overworld; and like the animals they passed earlier, he too will waken at the end of the world.
The last stage of their journey takes them on board a ship, which is rowed across the vast underground Sunless Sea to the city where the Dark Castle lies. Many travellers from the Overworld have taken ship here, they are told, and few return to sunlit lands. The recurring theme is that many unlucky inhabitants of Overland fall somehow into Underland, where they become trapped, and remain sleeping until the end of the world. Underland is pervaded by silence; amongst the sleepers from above, the Earthmen work diligently but quietly.
Rilian's escape
When Rilian is rescued and the Queen killed, Rilian and the others seek to find a way back to the Overworld. Rilian knows of a new passage on this side of the Sunless Sea, that the Earthmen have dug recently in preparation for the Queen's intended invasion of Narnia. They fear being apprehended by the Earthmen, but commotion breaks through the silence, and they discover that the Earthmen too have been trapped in Underland by the Queen's magic. Now that she is dead, the Earthmen are freed from their task of preparing her invasion, and they return gleefully to their own home, the land of Bism.Bism, far beneath Underland, glows with volcanic heat. As Golg, their Earthman guide, leads them past the opening to Bism, the travelers look down into it and make out a river of fire where Salamanders swim, alongside groves and fields of many colors, not unlike a stained glass window. Lewis describes Bism as a place of beauty for the Gnomes, who desire to reach it as much as Rilian and his companions want to reach the Overland. Golg describes the living riches of Bism as far outstripping the "dead" gold and jewels that Overlanders find in their shallow mines. Rilian is torn with desire to see this land, but the rift between Underland and Bism is about to close, and the Gnomes hurry to be on the correct side. Rilian and his companions escape to the surface through the tunnel dug by the Earthmen.
The End of the World
In The Last BattleThe Last Battle
The Last Battle is the seventh and final novel in The Chronicles of Narnia series by C. S. Lewis. It won the prestigious Carnegie Medal in Literature in 1956.-Plot summary:In The Last Battle, Lewis brings The Chronicles of Narnia to an end...
, which tells of the end of Narnia, Father Time makes another appearance. From the Stable Door, Aslan calls him; whereupon he awakes and stands tall, and blows his trumpet. This causes the world to end. All the creatures from the Narnian world come past the Door, either to enter or not; the stars fall from the sky; the world is flooded; and at the last, before Aslan tells High King Peter to close the Door, Father Time puts out the sun.
See also
- List of places in The Chronicles of Narnia
- List of characters in The Chronicles of Narnia
- The Silver ChairThe Silver ChairThe Silver Chair is part of The Chronicles of Narnia, a series of seven fantasy novels written by C. S. Lewis. It was the fourth book published and is the sixth book chronologically. It is the first book published in the series in which the Pevensie children do not appear. The main characters are...
- Narnia (world)Narnia (world)Narnia is a fantasy world created by C. S. Lewis as the primary location for his series of seven fantasy novels for children, The Chronicles of Narnia. The world is so called after the country of Narnia, in which much of the action of the Chronicles takes place.In Narnia, some animals can talk,...