I’ll be here next Thursday (January 12) having read Chapters 1-3. What would become of us if they were?” Let’s Get Started Be sure that, whatever else you get, you will not get justice.”įox: “Oh, no, child. Now’s their turn.”įox: “Infinite hopes - and fears - may both be yours. Beaver’s voice echoing all the way from Narnia in this conversation between Orual and her Greek tutor, the Fox:įox: “Why, yes, child. Lewis’s curiosity about longing ( Sehnsucht) plays an important part in the unfolding drama and whether we choose to call it myth or allegory or metaphor, his references to the numinous are stunning. I love Orual’s strength, but identify with many of her weaknesses. I discovered Till We Have Faces in college and have read it at least a half dozen times since then. The big challenge in writing about fiction will be for us to discuss the book and to write meaningfully without blowing the unfolding plot for those who are experiencing the book for the first time. I’ve invited friends who visit Living Our Days to join me in reading the book over the next several weeks. Just as in the Chronicles of Narnia, readers will bond with particular characters and despise others. Written in memoir form, Till We Have Faces chronicles Orual’s howling question, “What do the gods want from us?” and the jarring answer she received at the end of her life.Īll analysis aside, when C.S. Set in a culture in which a woman’s role and status were defined by her beauty, her husband, or both, Orual had neither, but managed to carve out a life for herself based on the love of her youngest sister, Psyche, and the challenge of learning and gaining new skills.

Tired of the harsh comments, the too-long glances, and worst of all, the pity, she chose mystery, invisibility - and in the process, she gained renown.

Orual, warrior queen of Glome, wore a veil. In his novel based on the Greek myth of Cupid and Psyche, Lewis uses the narrative to explore themes such as the limits of reason, the selfishness of natural love, and the nature of faith.

He believed Till We Have Faces to be his best book. Ask an author to name his favorite of all the books he’s written, and most will demur, insisting that it’s like trying to choose a favorite child.

Till we all have faces