Barbarism
The brutality of Glome is personified by King Trom, who displays random and mindless cruelty toward his daughters. The goddess Ungit, worshipped in Glome, represents this savagery. However, her worship also alludes to deeper meanings, suggesting that while the rationality of Fox, Orual's Greek tutor, is more compassionate, it might not be the right alternative.
Mindset of an Unattractive Woman
One of the themes explored by Lewis is the perspective of a woman who sees herself as unattractive. Through the character of Orual, the protagonist, Lewis illustrates the tragedy that can occur when a mission, even if noble, takes over a person's entire existence, leaving no space for love.
Clash Between Dark Idolatry and Pale Enlightenment
The conflict between the dark idolatry of Glome's goddess, Ungit, and the pale enlightenment embodied by Orual's Greek tutor, the Fox, is striking. Ungit represents barbarism, yet her worship alludes to profound meanings that imply the Fox's rationality, though more humane, may not be the right solution.
Chaos Inflicted by Vocation or Faith
Through the character of Orual, the protagonist, Lewis illustrates the tragedy that occurs when a mission—no matter how noble—completely overtakes an individual, leaving no space for love. This theme underscores the turmoil that a calling or belief can bring into a person's life.
Examination of a Soul
In this novel, it is clear that Lewis shifts his focus away from social commentary and the satire of contemporary trends and movements, which is prominent in his space trilogy. Instead, he delves into the exploration of a soul, illustrating its workings, its transitions, and its path from self-deception to truth through the experiences of suffering and love.
The Palace of Cupid and the Nature of Faith
The central image of the book is the palace of Cupid, totally real, visible, and tangible to Psyche, as totally unreal and invisible to Orual—except for a brief moment which Orual tries to forget or to explain away as illusion. If the palace had been as real in Lewis as it is in Apuleius, however, then there would be no excuse for Orual. As it is, there remains something of force in her complaint against the gods: Why do they work in hints? Why will they not show themselves for worship?
These questions are of particular force in the twentieth century, the Age, one might say, of Lack of Faith. There is a Christian answer to them, which Lewis knows well. The virtue of Faith would cease to exist if divinity were present as simply matter-of-fact. In the same way, the virtue of Obedience would vanish if there were not some pledge of obedience for mortals to take, such as not seeing her lover, in Psyche’s case, or not eating the fruit of the tree of knowledge, in the story of Genesis. Till We Have Faces may be read, then, as an allegory of Faith (even Christian Faith), with Orual as a representative of modern humanity, anxious to do her best and to reach the divine but with only inadequate theories of reality from which to work—on the one hand the Fox’s barren rationalism, on the other Bardia’s primitive superstition.
Theories of Myth
Throughout the novel, indeed, Lewis takes pains to scatter examples of the main modern theories of myth (or rather, of the main theories current in his maturity). Myth is merely a narrative version of ritual, says the foolish priest who provokes Orual into authorship; it explains what people do in temples. This theory was popular among early classical scholars (though it fails to explain ritual). Myth is an allegory of the forces of nature, expressed obscurely to hide it from the vulgar, declares the second Priest of Ungit, ironically “enlightened” by the Fox. This idea was popularized, for example, by Max...
(This entire section contains 196 words.)
Unlock this Study Guide Now
Start your 48-hour free trial and get ahead in class. Boost your grades with access to expert answers and top-tier study guides. Thousands of students are already mastering their assignments—don't miss out. Cancel anytime.
Already a member? Log in here.
Miller, the great Orientalist: A lot of fuss about the obvious, thinks Orual. Most powerful in the novel are the theories of Sir James Frazer, author ofThe Golden Bough (1890-1915), propagandist for the notion of myth as magical story and magic as proto-science, and creator of such fascinating modern concepts as “the wasteland” and “the king must die.” “Barren king makes barren land,” shouts a voice at King Trom. The king has the speaker instantly shot, but he has voiced a key Frazerian notion, which carries a kind of conviction even to the king.
Orual's Journey and Agnosticism
Lewis is presenting in Orual the progress, in short, not of an atheist, but of an agnostic. She wants to believe but does not know what to believe. She comes to better knowledge of herself. Does she, and does the reader, come to better understanding of the divine? With great restraint, Lewis offers no hint of Christian revelation. Yet he does allow one to believe that Orual is given a kind of grace, and forgiveness, at the end. Her situation is felt to emblematize that of many in the modern world, well-meaning but ignorant, or in older terms, “righteous” but “pagan.” Christian churches have long been uncertain as to whether such are saved.