Before Till We Have Faces

Pints with Jack has released a great episode called a primer for Till We Have Faces (TWHF), Lewis' most complex work of fiction and, according to Lewis, his greatest work. I wanted to add some notes that may help a Jewish reader approach this work (please note that R' Mark Gottlieb has already written an introduction to TWHF here, and I've already shared a lot of my thoughts on TWHF here). If you haven't read TWHF, please check out those other resources because what I write here is just some notes. 

TWHF is, as Lewis says, the myth of Psyche and Cupid retold. In many printings of TWHF a recounting of the myth is included at the end. But to weigh in on the debate, I definitely think you should read the myth first - Lewis assumed that any educated adult would be familiar with it.

OK, some things to know: 

1) Lewis was generally a fan of paganism and the willingness of pagans to sacrifice for their gods. The straight line he draws between paganism and Christianity contrasts sharply with the Jewish view of Judaism as being a complete break from paganism (or paganism being a corruption which must be fixed). 

2) TWHF works on two levels, the personal and the societal. On the personal level Queen Orual embodies the warnings of the Four Loves. She spurns each of the loves before eventually learning that the Gods love her and, perhaps, she could have loved them. 

On the societal level, TWHF is the story of the beginning of the evolution from paganism to Christianity and from barbarism to Western Civilization. The goal is to make the gods beautiful so that Glome will be able to accept Christianity. This can only be done thanks to Orual's transformation of Glome into a prosperous society. Lewis' concentration is much more on the first level than on the second. Orual attains grace only because she eventually learns the gods love her, not because of the prosperity and happiness she brought to her people. I think Judaism, with its concentration on works would celebrate Orual and the good she does for society despite her faults. The bible has a number of heroes who play this role. 

3) Correctly, Psyche is the only one that can bring beauty to the gods. For only one who loves God can enable others to love Him as well. To do this, Psyche must become a goddess herself, which she does. In Judaism it is people who bring about love of God, redemption, and forgiveness. Not so in Lewis' view.

I hope this helps! Happy reading...