Underland (Narnia)
| Underland | |
|---|---|
| The Silver Chair location | |
| Created by | C. S. Lewis |
| Genre | Juvenile fantasy |
| Type | Subterranea |
| Notable locations | Sunless Sea, Dark Castle |
| Notable characters | Lady of the Green Kirtle, Earthmen, Father Time |
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.
Jill, 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.
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