Mike Zang - Ethics of Perelandra

When Lewis visits Ranson in the beginning of Perelandra, he is brewing with ambivalent feelings about the eldril. Lewis doesn't know how to interpret Ransom's ideas about humanity and about this cosmic entity he's keeping at home. It all sounds to far-fetched for Ransom to understand, but this is how the realm of faerie must exist. It cannot work from clear-cut logic and rational deducing. Reality need not make perfect sense. In fact, in most cases, the awe-inspiring, wondrous elements of life are fueled by sentiments that have no logical boundaries or definitions. Science attempts to impose labels and restrictions around our ideas of what is rational and irrational, and coerces us into believing that something is truly insane, but when we experience those things for ourselves, we came sometimes come to the understanding that those things which we are afraid of, i.e. the eldril in Lewis's case, are not to be feared, but admired.

"The Ethics of Elfland" describes this aspect of faerie, that the fantasies which take place within are fantastical and not always reasonable. They have their own laws, guided by other forces which we as humans cannot typically comprehend. The ethics of faerie go beyond our mundane thought processes and notions of rationality. What occurs there is truly of its own accord, but always in line with a certain rationale, albeit far from the human one. It is because of this that Lewis soon understands the eldril is not an evil entity, but rather just different, not one he is used to. When we can understand this about faerie/elfland, we can begin to embrace ideas that are outside of our comfort zone.