Posted in Till We Have Faces

This book surprised me in a lot of different ways; I can't say that I expected it to be so difficult to understand, but it certainly was enigmatic in parts (especially at the last bit). There's no way that I could dissect it all, but there are some interesting and thought-provoking things to think about.

I loved the two separate parts of the book and how they shed light on each other. I think that Orual's journey mirrored the ways that we resent things we don't understand. How many people do you know who hate God in the same way as Orual? They curse him and use "logic" (as the Fox did) to disprove everything about Him. Orual stubbornly refused to submit; her struggles are similar to ours sometimes. She hated because she didn't understand.

I can think of times in my life where I've resented my parents because they forced me to experience things that were unpleasant. From what I could see, they were just being cruel tyrants. Later, after talking to them, I realized how foolish I was being. Just because I couldn't see everything behind what happened, I didn't have the capacity to make judgements against them.

At the end of the book, the [figurative] veil is removed from Orual's eyes and she sees her true self, her true role. Psyche helps to define it because she was the picture of sweetness, submission, humility and pure faith.

"I ended my first book with the words no answer. I know now, Lord, why you utter no answer. You are yourself the answer. Before your face questions die away. What other answer would suffice? Only words, words; to be led out to battle against other words. Long did I hate you, long did I fear you. I might--"

Discussion Questions

1. What does Orual's veil symbolize about her?
2. How does Lewis paint the picture of human love as opposed to divine love?
3. Was there one quote that really struck you? Please share :)

I found an EXCELLENT list of discussion questions HERE. If you want to scroll through them and answer the ones that you really like in the comment section, that would be great! I might do the same.

Thanks for sticking with it. :) I'll have news for you on the next book sometime soon! I'm going on a couple trips this summer, but I'll try to plan around. Maybe we should pick one book to read over the entire summer? I don't know if you still want to keep up with the set-up that we're doing now. Let me know your preference!

Enjoy your first days of summer! :)
~Sylvia

Posted in Till We Have Faces

Again, I’m sorry for posting so late! I didn’t get a chance to read the chapters till this evening.

Dicussion Notes

This is where the book really starts to get into mythology. My absolute favorite passage from the reading is definitely when Psyche tries to explain the West-Wind to Orual:

   "'Oh, it was no dream. One can't dream things like that, because one's never seen things like that. He was in human shape. But you couldn't mistake him for a man. Oh, Sister, you'd understand if you'd seen! How can I make you understand? You've seen lepers?'
   'Well, of course.'
   'And you know how healthy people look beside a leper?'
   'You mean--healthier, ruddier than ever?'
   'Yes. Now we, beside the gods, are like lepers beside us.'
   'Do you mean this god was so red?'
   She laughed and clapped her hands. 'Oh, it's not use,' she said. 'I see I've got given you the idea at all. Never mind.'"

The reason I love this is because it makes the distinction between natural and supernatural so clear. In Miracles, C.S. Lewis writes how the natural world is like a limited version of the supernatural world. Sometimes we picture God as kind of being less real than us; you know, like a floating ghost instead of an actual reality. Lewis suggests that the supernatural is actually more real than the natural. This is the basic message that Psyche is trying to communicate to Orual. We have matter here on earth; instead of imagining heaven as being abstract, try to imagine it as being more dense, more matter-like. The matter here on this natural earth is only a shadow of the matter in the supernatural world. I'd strongly encourage all of you to read Miracles; it's my favorite out of all of Lewis's books. It made me think about things in a different light.

Discussion Questions

1. Were you surprised that Psyche was still alive?
2. Why do you think Orual wasn't able to see the castle? Why did she see Psyche wearing rags when really she was wearing fine clothing? What was it that was blinding her?

That last question is pretty hard, so I'll leave it at two. Keep reading one chapter each day! I'll do my best to post another discussion on Friday.

Regards,
Sylvia

Posted in Till We Have Faces

Again, I’ve had to restrain myself from reading ahead. Ack...why do we always have to leave off on cliff-hangers!?

Discussion Notes

After reading those last chapters, we can really see the true natures of each of the characters. The king has been revealed to be a first-rate JERK, and Psyche could not be more opposite him. The Fox is more of a hero than I divined, and Redival probably couldn't be more shallow.

I think that, in these few chapters, we've seen very clearly the differences between cowardice and bravery. The king, when he found out that it was Psyche who was "the Accursed" rather than himself, he was actually relieved. He was so self-absorbed that he didn't care about anyone else. The Fox was the one who said that, if he could, he would sacrifice the kingdom as well as his life to save Psyche.

"But, Master, I'd lose not only my throne but my life to save the Princess, if I were a king and a father. Let us fight. Arm the slaves and promise them their freedom if they play the man. We can make a stand, we of your household, even now. At the worst, we should all die innocent. Better than going Down Yonder with a daughter's blood on your hands."

When Redival acted out of her own selfish interest, she ended up sentencing her sister to death. It not only shows her ignorance, but how little she cared for anyone but herself.

Orual wanted to take Psyche's place rather than let her die. I thought it was interesting when the king said this:

"There's some cursed cunning that I haven't yet smelled out behind all your sobbing and scolding. You're not asking me to believe that any woman, let alone such a fright as you, has much love for a pretty half-sister? It's not in nature."

It only shows his character all the more clearly. He didn't think it's natural that Orual should love Psyche because, in his life, his view of the natural was so skewed. His outlook on the world was centered on himself, therefore, everything else was disproportionate. He didn't understand Orual's or the Fox's desire to sacrifice themselves for someone else, especially someone for whom they had good reason to be jealous of.

Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. ~ John 15:13

Discussion Questions

1. How did Psyche show her noble nature?
2. How did Bardia show his noble nature?
3. How did the priest of Ungit show his cowardly nature?

Have a wonderful Easter!
Regards,
Sylvia

Posted in Till We Have Faces

I have been looking forward to getting a chance to read this book for a long time. As you know, I am a big Lewis fan. I have actually read all of his fiction except for this. (I also enjoy his non-fiction, but in that area, there is still much to read)

Some of you have said that the first couple chapters were difficult, some have said they were easier than expected. Sometimes it takes a while to get used to the style and tone of a book. I often have to re-read the first couple chapters of a book to make sure that I haven’t missed anything important. It might be a good idea to skim through them again to get a better understanding of the scope of the first four chapters. I think this book is definitely worth taking a little bit more time on.

Discussion Notes

Hopefully by now we all have a pretty good idea of what each of our characters are like and what the setting of this story is. The kingdom of Glome is, to borrow the word from the book, "barren." The peasants are poor and sick, the king can't manage to produce an heir, and the whole situation just seems to be a mess. At first, Psyche seems to be some sort of bright savior, but when nothing miraculous happens, the townspeople grow disgruntled and angry.

What interests me is the very beginning of Chapter 1, when our main character (I can't figure out her name) begins her narration. It gives a small peek into what the end of the story will be like, but there's not much that we can deduce. All we know is that it sounds rather ominous. We'll just have to keep reading and find out why she wrote what she did. ;)

As the subtitle of the book explains, Till We Have Faces is "a myth retold." The classic tale of Cupid and Psyche is something that's been around for a long time (you may or may not be familiar with it). Why did Lewis choose to "re-tell" a familiar piece of literature by writing a novel?

The value of the myth is that it takes all the things we know and restores them to the rich significance that has been hidden by the veil of familiarity...By putting bread, gold, horse, apple, or the very roads into a myth, we do not retreat from reality: we rediscover it. As long as the story lingers in our minds, the real things are more themselves. ~ C.S. Lewis

Lewis believed that truth could be communicated through mythology. The truths that we encounter in everyday life is sometimes hard to see because they are "hidden by the veil of familiarity." The myth puts them in a new light and helps us to see them more clearly.

I'm looking forward to re-discovering some more truths in this book as we continue reading. ;)

Discussion Questions

1. Why do you think "the Fox" was so "ashamed of loving poetry"?
2. Why didn't Psyche didn't bond as much with Redival as she did with her other half-sister?
3. Was there any quote or passage that struck you in some way? I'd love to hear your thoughts on it. :)

We'll keep reading one chapter a day. I'll post another discussion on Saturday.
Until then!
Sylvia

Posted in Till We Have Faces

Hi all! I’m really sorry that I’m so late in posting. I haven't had time to type up the discussion today, so we'll plan on it tomorrow. I think it'll work out better if we read only one chapter a day (since they are a bit longer), and have discussions every third day. It'll take the pressure off just a little bit.

I have enjoyed it so far; I look forward to digging into it more tomorrow!

Thanks for your patience. :)
Happy reading,
Sylvia

Posted in Till We Have Faces

Don’t forget to read the first and second chapters today! We’ll meet tomorrow to have discussion.

Regards,
Sylvia

Posted in Till We Have Faces

We had a great time reading The Giver a couple weeks ago. I hope you are all ready to dive head-first into our next book: Till We Have Faces by C.S. Lewis.

Get ready to read: Monday, March 17th

This was the choice that got the most votes in the poll that we had in December. And, of course, as you've probably already figured out, C.S. Lewis is among my very favorite authors. His books always have a sense of childlike simplicity, and yet are amazingly profound. There is so much that we can learn from him.

This is one of the few books of his that I haven't read yet. I'm definitely looking forward to getting into it.

I hope you'll join us! Please leave a comment if you plan to participate. If you have any questions, feel free to send a private message.

Regards,
Sylvia

Post Script: Welcome to our newest members, EstrellaEnchanted and brownbeauty!

Just for fun~ Have you read any C.S. Lewis books before? The first book that we read as a group was The Magician's Nephew from the Chronicles of Narnia series. Which of his books have you read? Have you read any of his non-fiction? Which one do you think is your favorite?