Orual's Hell (An Endnote Blog) - Kevin Crowley

It’s funny that I started out writing the blog assignment for Till We Have Faces with the intention of doing a parody. That idea slowly changed and evolved as I wrote. I was going to satire the concept of an unforgiving and judging god, the kind of god who is just as much endorsed by Christian theology just as much as a loving, merciful god is. I was going to show how her disbelief in the invisible god would lead her to an eternity of damnation and suffering. While I kept the eternity and damnation part in the story, I changed my approach to what that would look like exactly, and how she would get there.

Throughout Till We Have Faces Orual was thoroughly ignorant of the wrongness in her deeds. She presented to the reader ample justification for why she was in the right, though we know just be reading her tainted thought-process that she was clearly in the wrong. Constantly she would blame others instead of blaming herself, and her pride disabled her from believing her sister. Her biggest fallacy, of course, was that she sought to own people. She was so prideful that people became mere property to her.

Well, instead of a happier resolution with her and Psyche taking a stroll and going over everything Psyche had endured for her, I was for some reason drawn to a more horrific ending. What attracted me to such a terrifying conclusion stirred questions of interest and wonder in me. Perhaps I can relate to Orual in her ignorance, and perhaps I wanted her damned because of that. I thought it would be more interesting and have more impact (for me at least) to witness Orual refusing to see the god, but instead projecting her image upon it, and then going back to not seeing it (or hearing it) completely. I ended the story eerily with Orual kwnoing that Psyche was right and there was a loving god trying to reach her, but her choosing the contentment of torture instead. I suppose by writing this I wanted to show how often people are the creators of their own misery and hell. It is sad and disturbing to see from an outside point of view how people can often do this to themselves, and how often I do this to myself.

Orual's Judgment - Kevin Crowley

[My version of the ending takes place on pg. 297]

“I cannot hope for mercy”

“Infinite hopes—and fears—may both be yours. Be sure that, whatever you get, you will get justice.”

I closed my eyes, resting my head on the Fox’s shoulder. To be comforted like a child again, one last time before the god’s judgment, brought tears to my eyes. I sobbed, covering my face, forgetting my veil did a perfectly fine job at concealment. The Fox consoled me like the days of old when I would hurt myself playing outside, and held me while petting my head, whispering sweet utterances of comfort.

The reprieve did not last long however. Suddenly darkness overtook everything, except for a dull cascading light that shone from above, coming from some unknown source. There, within the shadows of grey and silver, the light (if you could call it that) materialized a body before me. I cringed peaking at the human-like form, though I could not make out what it was exactly, just to close my eyes again and I buried my face back into the Fox’s arms.

“Oh Fox!” I yelled, “Save me! I do not want to—“

“Quiet, my dear. Be brave and face your judgment.”

That voice, that eerie unforgettable voice, whose source was not from flesh and blood, but from divine authority, sighed. If world’s could sigh, it would be the sound of such, but greater than any thunder or earthquake, though it trembled my innards much the same. It was a masculine voice, but to say it was a man’s voice would be denigrating. It reminded me much of my Father’s voice, having a similar quality of rebuke in its tone. I could not bare to look up, but before I knew it the Fox suddenly swiped his left hand over my veil, revealing my entire head and face for the first time since I made my pledge. I could not believe what had just happened, but before the shock of such an action could be rationalized, the Fox then did something else more startling and out of character. He grabbed me by my hair and pulled my head up to look at the form in front of me. I gasped, tears rolling down my cheeks, I could only make out a faint blurry silhouette of a human form floating in the dull grey light.

“Orual”, the voice rang, Queen of Gnome, Queen of the dead, you have chosen your punishment.”

“Fox!” I screamed, “What are you doing?! Please stop this!” But he would not relent.

“Even now,” the voice continued, “You cannot see me rightly.”

He sounded disappointed, downright sad, but I could only stare wide-eyed into a figure of a man, that increasingly became more hideous the longer I looked. The body of the form became treacherous looking, its hands and feet resembling talons, its arms and legs looking black and decayed. Its head looked leprosy-covered to the point where I was unable to distinguish if it was a man’s face or not. It’s cheeks, eyes, and ears would melt and roll down its neck, bringing back that all too familiar smell of blood into my nostrils; but the head would morph into the appearance of a giant insect head with snapping pincers and hard rigid mandibles. Sometimes it would resemble a baboon’s face or a vulture. Sometimes the faces would appear to be overlapping all three creatures. I cried out in terror, misery, and shame, “Who are you?!”

“I am the One who you chose not see. I am Psyche’s husband.”

“I knew it! I knew it all along!” I shrieked, “You are some sort of Brute who devoured my sister! Now you here to devour me, you treacherous fiend! ”

“Before you heeded reason and chose not to see me…now you heed fear and see me how you wish to see me.”

While the Fox held my head up and in place to face this demon, suddenly Bardia and the Priest were on either side of me, grabbed my arms and held them outstretched. I was completely at the mercy of this beast now. I cried and whimpered, but nothing could be done. A soft “why?” is all I could mutter then.

“As I have said,” Interrupted the booming voice, “You have chosen your punishment.”

“The Brute knows no Justice!” I screeched, struggling against my captors.

“You blame Psyche for leaving you, as though you owned her; you blame your father for treating you with such disdain about your looks that you cover your face in shame, as though he put the veil on you himself. You blame the Fox for wanting to leave after you made him free, as though he too belonged to you. You blame Bardia for not wanting you, and worst still you blame his wife for taking him away from you. And you blame the people for twisting Psyche’s story when you know everything they say is true –“

“Stop it. Stop it. Stop it.” I cried.

“Silence!” roared the Fox from beside me, shaking and rattling my head. “It is the god’s turn now to speak.”

The Brute’s voice continued to speak out against me. But soon, like the hideous image that stood before me, its voice became distorted and scrambled. Soon I could not make sense of anything it said. In the deep silence I meditated on what it had said. I knew that everything it said was true. I knew what its real image was. I knew how Psyche could have left me for him. I would have done the same, if I was her. I then heard something, it could have been in my head…someone saying, “You also shall be –“

"No!" I found myself shrieking, trying to wriggle free from those who dared to hold me.

What was it? What was that voice saying? It’s getting fuzzy. I can’t recall. It’s on the edge of my brain. “You also shall…” The voice is fading away. “You also…” Its image too is going back to being blurry. Thankfully, I do not have to watch that grotesque creature cast judgment on me. “You…” Its voice is now a low humming sound. While the image and sound of the Brute vanished before me, suspiciously it did not get darker like one would hope in such a situation. All I wanted then was some peace. The darkness would have been welcomed, just a little solace. Instead, the grey light before me became brighter and brighter, until it filled the room. The light was unlike the sun’s light which gives off rays of warmth, though this light was not cold either. I had no idea what was happening, but I could still feel the Priest, Bardia, and the Fox all pulling at me. It hurt incredibly, but I was helpless. I could feel scratching of rings on my left ankle now. Fox jerked my head down to see it was my Father pulling my leg out, and then on the right side Trunia was pulling on my right leg. They kept pulling and tugging. I felt teeth bites and nails cutting into my skin. I could not tell if it was blood or their saliva that dripped down my body.

None of the pain mattered, however. I would gladly bear it for all time. The Brute was gone and everyone I ever cared about and loved was here, by my side.

Floating Islands - Kevin Crowley

Floating Islands

The most awe-struck moment I found myself reading in Perelandra was toward the end of the book when it occurred to the Green Lady (Tinidril) why she should not stay on the Fixed Island, other than of course for the reason that she was told not to by Maleldil.

“I awoke from sleep, my mind was cleared”, she says, “…How could I wish to live there except because it was Fixed? And why should I desire the Fixed except to make sure—to be able on one day to command where I should be the next and what should happen to me? It was to reject the wave—to draw my hands out of Maleldil’s, to say to him, ‘Not thus, but thus’…That would have been cold love and feeble trust. And out of it how could we ever have climbed back into love and trust again?” (p.179)

This trusting in Maleldil to provide resembles Jesus’ speech on the Sermon of the Mount, “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear…” And the passage goes on. The idea portrayed here in Mathew, chapter 6, and in Perelandra is about trusting in God.

I believe C.S. Lewis uses an excellent analogy with fixed and floating islands. It’s funny because living on a planet in which all landmasses are fixed, we don’t see the idea of living fixed as a type of sin. Ransom says himself that his ancestors were not given such a forbiddance by God (for how could He if all lands are fixed?). But the sin is just the same. There need not be floating islands to recognize the temptation in permanence. Permanence gives rise to us being tempted in owning something. We believe we own this land. We believe we own our day to day lives. We believe we are owners of our own destiny. And as such, we lose our ability of adaptation. When we are fixed it is much harder to adapt to change…which is exactly what life is—a constant change. Any attempt to bring order to our lives is an attempt to enslave ourselves.

However, putting your faith in God…trusting God, some would say is just another form of slavery. Indeed, the New Testament scriptures are full of quotes revering an idea of being “enslaved to God” (Rom 6:15-23 speaks plenty on this). But this language used by Paul was seemingly reluctantly used to get through to the thick-headed people he was addressing. While the word slavery does not give one the best connotation, it is certainly not the same kind of slavery we are use to thinking about. Being enslaved to God/Maleldil is quite simply trusting in his providence. In effect, we are enslaved by our appetite for food, but one would not say this is a bad kind of enslavement, for food provides us with nourishment and life. We are also enslaved by air, the sun, the earth, and other things that without we would die. And the kind of slavery that Paul talks about is exactly the same kind that Jesus spoke of in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 6); being enslaved to the life-giving objects such as food, water, and shelter, is the same as being enslaved to the one who provides such. The choice lies in trusting ourselves to provide ourselves or trusting God. Personally, the idea of self-providence is like an image of a snake eating itself.

Heaven's Veil - Kevin Crowley

My last post was rather critical of Perelandra, I know. While it wasn’t my favorite book of C.S. Lewis, there were parts of it that I really enjoyed. C.S. Lewis has a way of creating brilliant analogies, giving deep insight and concepts to meditate on. There are a few that stand out in my mind, so I will briefly discuss each one.

The Lady, who later is known as Tinidril, offers many wonderfully intuitive statements in her wise naiveté. The first I recall that really struck me was her statement to Ransom about the roof: “Oh, I see it…Your world has no roof. You look right out into the high place and see the great dance with your own eyes. You live always in that terror and that delight, and what we must only believe you can behold.” I like this quote because it really puts a perspective on faith. I never thought it was possible to take the Earth’s atmosphere for granted. But indeed, after reading that I did feel like I have been all this time. I could relate, and I think many can, to the fact that I really do take the sky for granted. I think most people in our culture do take the sky for granted…especially the night sky, as oppose to our ancestors who looked to the sky in wonderment and awe. Nowadays our night skies are damped by the luminosity of artificial light so we cannot see most of the stars. The dance has been veiled by our own doing. Tinidril, living on Venus whose skies are fully covered by clouds, does not have the luxury we Earthlings have in seeing the glorious night sky. Tinidril can only wonder, and of course as Lewis was allegorizing to, she possesses great faith. The fact that many people need to “see to believe” is a harsh reality that humans rely too much on the senses. As Tinidril did not need to see the night sky to know the great dance existed beyond the thick veil of clouds, we too should not need to experience everything sensationally to believe it’s there. It is a sad thing when our vision is veiled by our sight.

Plaigerlandra - Kevin Crowley

Plaigerlandra

Although it is obvious that C.S. Lewis imbues Christian elements into all of his fictional works, which is fine, it’s another thing to carbon-copy stories right out of the Bible. Much like he did with the latter part of The Magician’s Nephew, Perelandra is nothing more than a direct spin on the Fall of Man story in the book of Genesis. I can respect new spins on old stories, but when it vaguely differs from the original, then I have a problem. I feel like, when Lewis does this kind of thing, he is tired, worn out, rid of creative ideas. Another thing that pissed me off about the book was that not only are the characters of Tinidril and Tor simply Venus versions of Adam and Eve, but the other inhabitants of the planet are simply mythological beasts. It’s like he wasn’t even trying to come up with new creatures. At least with the first of the series, Out of the Silent Planet Lewis actually tried to create new creatures. It’s one thing to describe an extraterrestrial being to be like a creature on earth or in mythology, quite another to just rub it off as fantasy beings. Perhaps Lewis could not let go of the Narnia world he had left, and missing it decided to just insert them in his Space Trilogy. Whatever the case, I felt as though the creatures were out of place in a sci-fi series, and Perelandra all-around lacked conceptual originality.


(Although I have to admit this artist's depiction of Perelandra is pretty sweet!)

Nicole McLellan - Sacrifice In Narnia

In the book, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, there is an interesting element of sacrifice intertwined in the story. Edmund betrays his family and Aslan, making him a traitor in the land of Narnia. The White Witch Jadis comes to claim his life, declaring that unless he is sacrificed on the Stone Table, all of Narnia will be overturned and perish. Interestingly enough, Aslan takes Edmund’s punishment, submitting himself to the White Witch’s tortures and ultimately dying on the Stone Table in Edmund’s place. Later, he is resurrected and defeats the White Witch during battle. This is a great example of agape love or sacrificial love. This also parallels the story of Christ and his death and resurrection. According to the Christian belief, every person who has ever done anything wrong is guilty of breaking God’s law, the penalty for which is death. Christ took that punishment upon Himself when he willingly died on the Cross. He was later resurrected, defeating death. The concept of agape love can be seen very clearly in both Aslan’s sacrifice in Narnia, and Christ’s sacrifice on the Cross.

Nicole McLellan - Uncle Andrew's Reaction

In the book, The Magician’s Nephew, I could not help but notice the difference between Uncle Andrew’s reaction to Aslan and the reaction of the children and cabby. Unlike the children and cabby who are enthralled at the sight of Aslan and the sound of his singing, Uncle Andrew is horrified. It even says that he would have run away and hid in a rat hole if he had not been frozen with fear. It seems that what Uncle Andrew is experiencing is something that Rudolf Otto labels mysterium tremendum. It is the “aweful mystery” of the Divine, which in this case would be Aslan. The Divine is considered to be something “wholly other”. Because Aslan is a lion, he can be considered something “wholly other” than Uncle Andrew and the other humans present. It is because of this “wholly otherness” that Uncle Andrew experiences feelings of terror. He does not understand Aslan or his singing, and he recognizes Aslan’s ability to overpower him. It is interesting that Uncle Andrew experiences mostly terror, while the children and the Cabby experience mostly awe when watching Aslan coming closer to them. Both are aspects found within Otto’s concept of mysterium tremendum.

Orthodoxy - Chesterton

In Orthodoxy, an essay by Gilbert K. Chesterton, he mentions that he is “concerned with a certain way of life, which was created in me by fairy tales, but has since been meekly ratified by the mere facts.” I can relate with Chesterton, especially after taking this C.S. Lewis course. In particular, reading the Chronicles of Narnia series truly allowed me to forget about all of the ‘facts’ my mind has accumulated since I was a boy, causing me to assume the world works a certain way. But as I read, my mind was liberated, and as I became a part of those stories, walking through Narnia with Peter, Lucy, Edmund and Susan, I was able to purely experience something which was fresh to my mind, uncontaminated by the things this nation’s culture has ruined for me.

Myth Became Fact – C.S.Lewis

C.S. Lewis discusses in his essay, Myth Became Fact, that “what flows into you from the myth is not truth but reality.” He continues in saying that truth is always about something, but reality is that about which truth is. As I read Til We Have Faces and The Chronicle Series, I experienced exactly what Lewis was hitting on in this excerpt. While I wasn’t enlightened by any particular truths, I did feel like I was delving into the fringes of something real, of something bigger than me, and bigger than this adulterated culture when I am stuck in the middle of. Each of those books were page-turners to me, and I think the reason why is because these myths allowed me to escape from my own little world; they allowed me to rid myself of the box which I place God in, and my philosophies of life in general.

Narnia

Most of The Chronicles of Narnia takes place in Narnia, a world constructed by C.S. Lewis. Passage between Narnia and our world is possible, though rare, and is accomplished through various ways in the different books. Visitors to Narnia observe that the passage of time while they are away is unpredictable. For example, if one year had passed since one left Narnia and returned, a thousand years, or perhaps only a week, could have gone by in Narnia. Narnia itself is populated by a wide variety of creatures, all exotic and beautiful, according to Lewis’ descriptions.
It seems to me that Narnia correlates somewhat with our world; only spiritual warfare could be seen as being symbolized through Aslan, the White Witch, the animals, and the visiting children. As I read through the book series, I found my own spiritual walk relating to the joy, struggles, and battles which the children face in their different experiences with Good and Evil.

The Ethics of Elfland - Chesterton

To Alfred Chesteron, fairy tales are the things he most believed in as a child and the things he would say he still believed to this day. “They seem to me like entirely reasonable things. They are not fantasies: compare them with other things they are fantastic,” says Chesterton in his essay, The Ethics of Elfland. The concept of fairytales is nothing like an idea of an infantile, imaginary story-land that has no connection with reality; instead, fairytales can be used as a link to truth and reality. Coming into this class, I honestly thought fairytales were made for mothers to read to their children to keep them entertained, or for creepy old people.. but I learned that fairytales are, in fact, meant for the grown, intellectual community as well, though the prideful would deny that.

Aslan

According to C.S. Lewis, Aslan is not an allegorical portrayal of Christ, but said that there was no intent of correlating the two during the portrayal of Aslan’s character. Although Aslan can be read as an original character, many readers see parallels with the character and story of Christ. The event which is most parallel to Christ, to me, is Aslan’s personal sacrifice - reminiscent of the accounts of Christ's crucifixion and resurrection. But his personality is also similar to that of Christ’s: being affectionate when necessary, always with the right thing to say (but silent when necessary), strong and brave, always loving, and standing for what he knew was Good, despite the cost.

Til We Have Faces - C.S. Lewis

While this book isn't nearly as well known as Lewis' "Chronicles of Narnia," which I love, that doesn't in any way take away from how beautiful this book is. Lewis had an amazing grip on a very wide variety of genres, everything from apologetics (Mere Christianity) to autobiography (Surprised by Joy) to science fiction (his Space Trilogy) to mythology (Til We Have Faces), not to mention a lot of other well-known works (such as "The Screwtape Letters" or "The Great Divorce"). He is always managed to blow me away and I don't think I've ever read something by him that I don't like. This book is obviously very different than a lot of his other books, but no less amazing.
Although I didn’t think this book dealt with Christian themes quite as often or clearly as some of his other books, I still think he tied in amazing portrayals of some beautiful aspects of life. It explores profound questions of love, philosophy, morality, and all sorts of other issues.

Space Trilogy - C.S. Lewis

I read this trilogy just after reading Lewis's series, The Chronicles of Narnia. I was totally unprepared for the change in writing style after reading the Narnian books, whose descriptive language was colorful and fun. It took me a while to adapt to his more difficult style of writing, but as I began to enjoy it and become a part of the storyline, I discovered a high underlying level of spirituality, something I wouldn’t have ever expected to find in science fiction novels. Unlike what I found in the Narnia series, Lewis seems to make a lot of undertoned criticisms about things he dislikes in our world, like human greed and conformity.

Space Trilogy - C.S. Lewis

I read this trilogy just after reading Lewis's series, The Chronicles of Narnia. I was totally unprepared for the change in writing style after reading the Narnian books, whose descriptive language was colorful and fun. It took me a while to adapt to his more difficult style of writing, but as I began to enjoy it and become a part of the storyline, I discovered a high underlying level of spirituality, something I wouldn’t have ever expected to find in science fiction novels. Unlike what I found in the Narnia series, Lewis seems to make a lot of undertoned criticisms about things he dislikes in our world, like human greed and conformity.

Joy

When I first watched In the Shadowlands with our class, I was blown away by Joy, Lewis’ lover. A woman able to have such a significant impact on a man who has impacted the lives of millions of others ought to deserve some credit! Like Lewis, Joy had a difficult life leading up to the meeting of these two individuals. She was involved in an abusive relationship in America, but eventually left her husband in search of a better life for herself. Lewis and Joy eventually fell in love, becoming inseparable companions. Due to her physical health, life for her remained somewhat difficult after their meeting, becoming very ill and eventually dying of Cancer; but not before changing the heart of a stubborn man, gifting him with the emotion of passionate love for the first time in his life.

Evelyn Way Is Aslan Jesus?

Did Lewis sneak one past us as making Aslan the second head of the Trinity, Jesus Christ? If so, how can we really tell? Well, after reading the Chronicles of Narnia, I can only come to the conclusion that Aslan is made after the very life and image of Jesus.
Who was Jesus? What did he do that was such a big deal that people thousands of years later are still talking about? Jesus was the most magnificent, loving, gentle, and yet powerful man that walkd this earth. By his sheer presence people's lives were changed. He raised a man from the dead, he gave sight to the blind, made the lame walk again, healed disease, and offered life to the full! He was radical in his teachings and healings and performed miracles that no one had ever seen before.
Like Jesus, Aslan gives warmth, compassion to the children, and knows everything about his land. He is the King of Narnia, he sang it into existence, He is the creator, and his creation recognizes that. He is not to be made a playmate though, for his velvet paws can be used for great wrath. What he and Jesus have most in common is their capacity to love without limits.
Have you ever known someone who was completely innocent and decided to give their life in place of someone who deserved punishment? In the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, Edmund betrays the trust of his siblings, and decides to go down his own path. A path that would ultimetly lead to death and destruction. He deserved to pay for this crime, the Witch had rightful ownership over his blood. But what Aslan did was meraculous and full of grace. He took Edmunds place on the Stone Tablet. He offered his life in order to pay for the debt that Edmund had aquired. In order for Edmund to live, Aslan sacrificed himself.
Where did Lewis get this radical act of love from? He got it from Jesus. Jesus came and took upon himself the sin and guilt of the world. The world consumed in sin had to have a price paid. The Bible says, "The wages of sin is death." Jesus, the perfect sacrifice, willingly gave his life for mankind. It is this gift of his life that makes eternal life possible for those who receive Him.
These acts of love are like none other. Aslan is the Savior of Narnia, he restores life, gives hope, and conqurs evil. He is the Lion of Judah!

Evelyn Way Myth Became Fact

"Would not conversation be much more rational than dancing? said Jane Austin's Miss Bingley. 'Much more rational' replied Mr.Bingley, 'but much less like a ball."
C.S. Lewis relates this to his arguement that Christianity is mythical and the only vital nurishing element of the whole thing. Myth's do not move away from time, it has outlived the thoughts of all it's defenders and all of its adversaries. "It is the myth that gives life. Those elements even in modernist Christiantiy which Cornieus reagrds as vestigal, are the substance: what he takes for the 'real modern belief' is the shadow."
I too often would stand on the side of the argument that there was no such way religion, Christianity in particular, could be a myth. To me myth was associated with things that aren't real. Fairy tales of jack and the beanstalk, the little mermaid, these stories which bear good moral teachings but held no reality. To me, Christianity was everything but a fairy tale, it held truth, it was real! Was I missing something? Was my perceptions of Christianity not fully acurate?
Lewis challenges this less than attractive stand I took by stating that by myth we are nearest to experiencing as a concrete what can otherwise be understood only as an abstraction. Then he throws in the kicker: "What flows into you from the myth is not truth but reality (truth is always about something, but reality is that about which truth is), and, therefore, every myth becomes the father of innumerable truths on the abstract level." WOW! Check and mate, well done Lewis. This whole time I was so caught up in "myths" being something that aren't "real" but what i didn't understand was that reality is always about something which truth is. It is possible to reconcile myth and religion. Infact to do so, makes the whole experience that much greater. Your eyes are opened to bigger things, God all of the sudden is outside of this box that so many Christian's don't even realize they had put him in. I am guilty of being one of those Christian's at one point in my life. How deeply sorry I am that I was missing out on the glory of God's creation and his absolute reality in my own life. I hope that you too can come to discover this for yourself and come to live a life fuller than before.

Mike Zang - Repetition

If we were to somehow create an overarching purview of myth since the beginning of humankind, we could probably categorize them into just a few broad archetypes. This can be both a good and a bad thing. Good because it shows the consistency of human thought throughout history; bad because it might reduce civilization to a restricted set of ideas, question our free will, and perhaps suggest that we cannot escape these fundamental ideas. However, Chesterton speaks of repetition in positive light in "The Ethics of Elfland." His understanding about repetition is that it points towards a cyclical positive energy. There is nothing particularly weird about repetition, but rather it seems more rational to him than anything. It is the redundancy of features that the cosmological force finds fitting. It is also the redundancy that humanity oftentimes gets sick of and perceives as lacking life.

The stories of Narnia and Lord of the Rings may be just another repetition of archetypal elements told throughout history, but they serve a primary purpose within the context of time. They have the auspicious capability of pulling together archaic mythological ideas, and conveying them to a widespread mainstream culture. Although modern culture may not interpret the stories how older societies interpretted them, that is fine. It works in with the evolution of myth itself. The important matter is how the story stands throughout time and becomes reworked into the fabric of contemporary culture.

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.