Discussion of Perelandra

On Monday, January 7th, 2008, we discussed our first reading of C. S. Lewis. Lewis wrote a Space Trilogy based around a character named Ransom who visits neighboring planets. Perelandra, the second work of the series, focuses on Ransom’s journey to Venus and the events that occur when he arrives. This book, a kind of parallel to the story of Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden, invoked a lot of discussion on a vast number of topics.

Part of the class time was spent discussing the nature of the culture and time in which this book was written. Some students pointed out that this novel was published in the beginnings of World War II and comments on the insecurity of the time. Culturally, the world was still hurting from the First World War and the thought of another war perhaps frightened people. This book asks a lot of questions about the nature of evil, of temptation, and of the response of humans to atrocities. This novel might have been seen as a response of Lewis as an attempt to explain or express his own uncertainties and hesitations toward the coming war. This book was also written after H.G. Wells, who had already been commenting on space travel. The fiction was beginning to focus itself away from this planet and out toward others. Dr. Swicegood pointed out that both Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkein did not like the directions into which this literature was headed and called for someone to write something to pull the space fictions back to the right path. Lewis’s space trilogy could be seen as an answer to this call.

We spent some time discussing the travel to Venus. Ransom is taken in a box in the shape of a coffin. The class spent some time discussing the purpose of the vehicle’s structure which led to a surprising debate about obedience in faith. We noted that the act of obeying God is the act of “dying to self” or letting go of your own wills, wants, wishes, and desires. Therefore, as Ransom embarks on his journey he is putting his own inclinations behind him for the will of Maledil. The coffin then becomes an image of this sacrifice. As he leaves Earth, and eventually leaves Venus, he is doing so strictly out of obedience to the will of Maledil.

The class also spent some time discussing the character of Ransom himself. What was it about this man that made him the chosen one. What was so special about him that Maledil would select him from among all others to save Venus from temptation and an inevitable fall, much like that of Eve. We decided that it is not Ransom’s uniqueness that set him apart, but rather, his commonness. In the fact that he had nothing special to offer was the fact that he had everything to give. Ransom goes obediently, making him the perfect servant for Maledil. He does not rely on his own efforts and strengths because he realizes they are of no consequence. Therefore he is fully open to the will of Maledil and can act without pride or merit. This relates to the fact that God can and will use anyone and it is often not our strengths which are put to the test, but our commonalities.

Written by: Becky Siegert