The Space Trilogy

by C. S. Lewis

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Analysis

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With the exception of the immensely popular seven-volume Chronicles of Narnia, written for children, the trilogy is Lewis’ only major long fiction. His well-known Christian views (which he proclaimed across three decades of religious writings), his enormous literary scholarship, and the major intellectual and social currents of the time provide a convenient, if somewhat simplistic, framework for interpreting the trilogy.

Although the novels’ Christian subtext is veiled in references to “Maleldil” and “dark eldils,” the outlines of the cosmic struggle are clear. The rebellion of the earthly oyarsa suggests the rebellion of Satan—which, Ransom learns, was redeemed by the sacrifice of Maleldil the Young (Christ). On Perelandra, Ransom himself becomes the Christ figure, enduring his own Passion; at the climax of Ransom’s internal struggle, the voice of Maleldil makes the parallel plain by telling him, “My name is also Ransom.” As Christ paid for humankind’s sins, so will Ransom pay—in advance—to redeem the new Eden.

The struggle for the soul of England in the final volume brings Christianity face to face with some of the principal political and intellectual forces of mid-century. The N.I.C.E.’s secret police deal ruthlessly with dissent; powerless locals are rounded up for “experimental” use; and even the institute’s leaders are cannibalized as the scheme of conquest progresses. This it-can’t-happen-here evocation of Nazism might seem trite, but Lewis makes the scenario compelling by linking the specter of fascism with notions current in contemporary intellectual circles, notably the doctrine of creative evolution espoused by Henri Bergson and amplified by George Bernard Shaw.

In the earlier books, Weston is the mouthpiece for such views; in the final volume, another eminent scientist, the Italian anatomist Filostrato, presents the argument: The fundamental principle of the universe, the “Life Force,” seeks to perfect itself, evolving from crude matter into ever more sophisticated organisms and, ultimately, into pure spirit. Weston refers to this doctrine to justify the planetary imperialism he attempts to carry to Malacandra and Perelandra; because he believes humankind to be more advanced than the extraterrestrial races, he argues that he is justified in enslaving or exterminating them in the name of universal progress. Filostrato and his allies attempt to stride toward pure spirit more directly, by animating a disembodied head with an artificially enlarged brain; they believe, erroneously, that they are assisting at the birth of the next stage of intelligent life.

Lewis makes it plain that the fictional scientists (and, by implication, the real-life adherents of such philosophies) have confused the idea of spirit, itself a neutral concept, with true goodness—which, Lewis asserts, is attainable only through Christian faith. This “fatal misprision” makes the secular rationalists easy prey for the dark eldils (which are identified with the devils of Christian belief), and these evil spirits use Weston, Devine, Filostrato, and many others as unwitting tools in a program of destruction. Although the trilogy’s supernatural elements remove the works from a realistic plane, the convincing way in which Lewis develops earthly manifestations of ultimate evil as logical outgrowths of familiar doctrines makes the books compelling even to nonbelievers.

Moreover, the trilogy is a tour de force of imaginative writing that demonstrates Lewis’ mastery of a wide variety of fictional forms. Out of the Silent Planet, the shortest and most straightforward of the books, incorporates many of the elements of classic science fiction, including a space flight, meetings with fantastic aliens, and an extended depiction of another planet. Were it not for the theological backdrop (which comes into focus only toward the story’s end), Out of the Silent Planet could pass as merely a well-written and exceptionally erudite pulp novel.

(This entire section contains 714 words.)

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could pass as merely a well-written and exceptionally erudite pulp novel.Perelandra, on the other hand, has more in common with the epic or the medieval romance than with most novels: A divinely inspired hero journeys to an unearthly realm to do physical and spiritual battle with demons. That Hideous Strength, the most heterogeneous of the books, mixes fantasy elements with episodes of startling realism in nearly equal measure. For this reason, some critics have judged it the least aesthetically satisfying of the three, but the effortlessness with which Lewis weaves together enormously diverse plot threads, and the skill with which he renders a wide assortment of memorable characters, are truly impressive.

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