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C. S. Lewis: Till We Have Faces
May. 26th, 2013 10:29 pmC.S. Lewis' Till We Have Faces is his last work, retelling of the myth of Cupid and Psyche from the perspective of Psyche's older sister Orual. In the version I have, Lewis' introduction outlines the myth plainly.
Framed as Orual's charge against the gods, Orual narrates her life to provide evidence of the gods' cruelty. The King of Glome largely ignores or beats his daughters, and when Psyche is born a girl, he ignores her also. For most of Psyche's youth, Orual and her tutor the Fox become a family, with the Fox still mentoring Orual, Orual mothering Psyche, and the three forming their little world of their own. When Psyche is taken away to be a sacrifice to the King of the Mountain, cracks start to appear. Orual manages to sneak into Psyche's chamber the night before Psyche is left for the Shadowbrute, but she is dismayed and angered by Psyche's calm acceptance of her fate. Orual makes the climb up the mountain later to try to retrieve Psyche's body, but discovers that Psyche is still alive, and apparently delusional. Psyche says that the god of the mountain has literally made her his bride and that she lives in a palace on top of the mountain. The palace is invisible to Orual, and so she tries futilely to bring Psyche back to Glome. Grief-stricken, Orual and The Fox believe that Psyche's gone crazy, and Orual convinces Psyche to light a lantern when her lover returns, so Psyche can see his face. She does so, and is cast out into the world and into the hands of a vengeful Aphrodite. Although Orual becomes (in any other novel) a ruler of legendary greatness, she's haunted forever by what's happened to Psyche. Narrated from Orual, the novel is nevertheless centered about Psyche.
( review under the cut )
Despite everything, everything that I've said, it's really a beautiful, well-written book, well worth the energy spent thinking and reading about. There's a blend of storytelling and philosophy which really does reward further analysis. 10/10
And finally, I am not either of the nonnies in this f_fa thread about the novel but if you are, please friend me posthaste. The link has a trove of thought-provoking analysis about all sorts of ideas in Till We Have Faces.
Framed as Orual's charge against the gods, Orual narrates her life to provide evidence of the gods' cruelty. The King of Glome largely ignores or beats his daughters, and when Psyche is born a girl, he ignores her also. For most of Psyche's youth, Orual and her tutor the Fox become a family, with the Fox still mentoring Orual, Orual mothering Psyche, and the three forming their little world of their own. When Psyche is taken away to be a sacrifice to the King of the Mountain, cracks start to appear. Orual manages to sneak into Psyche's chamber the night before Psyche is left for the Shadowbrute, but she is dismayed and angered by Psyche's calm acceptance of her fate. Orual makes the climb up the mountain later to try to retrieve Psyche's body, but discovers that Psyche is still alive, and apparently delusional. Psyche says that the god of the mountain has literally made her his bride and that she lives in a palace on top of the mountain. The palace is invisible to Orual, and so she tries futilely to bring Psyche back to Glome. Grief-stricken, Orual and The Fox believe that Psyche's gone crazy, and Orual convinces Psyche to light a lantern when her lover returns, so Psyche can see his face. She does so, and is cast out into the world and into the hands of a vengeful Aphrodite. Although Orual becomes (in any other novel) a ruler of legendary greatness, she's haunted forever by what's happened to Psyche. Narrated from Orual, the novel is nevertheless centered about Psyche.
( review under the cut )
Despite everything, everything that I've said, it's really a beautiful, well-written book, well worth the energy spent thinking and reading about. There's a blend of storytelling and philosophy which really does reward further analysis. 10/10
And finally, I am not either of the nonnies in this f_fa thread about the novel but if you are, please friend me posthaste. The link has a trove of thought-provoking analysis about all sorts of ideas in Till We Have Faces.
