Puddleglum

Puddleglum
Narnia character
Tom Baker as Puddleglum in the BBC serial The Silver Chair
Race	Marsh-wiggle
Nation	Narnia
Gender	Male
Birthplace	Narnia
Major character in
The Silver Chair
Portrayals in adaptations
1990 BBC miniseries: Tom Baker
1999 Radio Drama [1]: Ron Moody

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. Puddleglum is an uncommonly cheerful marsh-wiggle; however, as marsh-wiggles are best known for their pessimism, he is still rather exceptionally gloomy, described by other characters as a "wet blanket".

Lewis said that his gardener Fred Paxford served as a model for Puddleglum.

The name Puddleglum may be a typical Marsh-wiggle name (no other Marsh-wiggle is named in the series), but it can also be viewed as a concatenation of "Puddle" for the wetland area where Marsh-wiggles live and "glum" which describes their outlook on life. It likely derives from the poet John Studley, whose comical choices of words Lewis criticized:

The association is further strengthened by the fact that "Stygian" refers to the River Styx which was said to flow through the classical Underworld, and the three adventurers in The Silver Chair descend to the Narnian Underworld.

Nothing is known of Puddleglum's life before he appears in chapter 5 of The Silver Chair, where he first introduces himself by saying, "Puddleglum's my name. But it doesn't matter if you forget it." From then on, he is a caricature of pessimism and a bastion of gloomy fortitude: "I see you're making the best of a bad job. That's right. You've been well brought up, you have. You've learned to put a good face on things." But in the end Lewis gives readers a small sign that maybe spending time with Eustace and Jill has had an effect on him. After Jill surprises him with a farewell hug (and kiss), Puddleglum remarks, "Well, I wouldn't have dreamt of her doing that. Even though I am a good-looking chap."

Puddleglum is the companion of Eustace and Jill as they search for Prince Rilian, heir to the Narnian throne, who disappeared 10 years earlier.

He is a unique character in Lewis's works. He is neither dashing nor charming, neither a great fighter nor a clever strategist. Yet he is instrumental in breaking the Emerald Witch's spell and releasing the Prince by stomping out her magical fire (badly injuring his foot in the process, though not as much as a normal human would, since his feet are webbed).