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C. S. LewisA modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Veils, masks, and obscured identities recur throughout the novel. The most obvious example is the veil that Orual chooses to wear on her second return from the mountain. In one sense, the veil represents her attempt to erase her identity as Orual—and with it, Orual’s grief—and become, simply, the Queen. In another sense, it represents the fact that, in light of her newfound knowledge of the gods’ existence, she is no longer sure who she is or what she believes in. In the novel, a person’s face comes to define their identity, as suggested by the section from which the novel’s title is taken: Orual asks, how can the gods “meet us face to face till we have faces?” (138)
The visibility or otherwise of Psyche’s palace represents the “central knot” (116) of Orual’s complaint. She argues that if she had been able to see the palace—as the Priest of Istra claims she could—then she never would have acted as she did. If she had had tangible proof of the god’s existence and Psyche’s comfort, then she would have been satisfied. As the novel makes clear, however, the onus is on
By C. S. Lewis
A Grief Observed
A Grief Observed
C. S. Lewis
Mere Christianity
Mere Christianity
C. S. Lewis
Out of the Silent Planet
Out of the Silent Planet
C. S. Lewis
Perelandra
Perelandra
C. S. Lewis
Prince Caspian
Prince Caspian
C. S. Lewis
Surprised by Joy
Surprised by Joy
C. S. Lewis
That Hideous Strength
That Hideous Strength
C. S. Lewis
The Abolition of Man
The Abolition of Man
C. S. Lewis
The Discarded Image
The Discarded Image
C. S. Lewis
The Four Loves
The Four Loves
C. S. Lewis
The Great Divorce
The Great Divorce
C. S. Lewis
The Horse And His Boy
The Horse And His Boy
C. S. Lewis
The Last Battle
The Last Battle
C. S. Lewis
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
C. S. Lewis
The Magician's Nephew
The Magician's Nephew
C. S. Lewis
The Pilgrim's Regress
The Pilgrim's Regress
C. S. Lewis
The Problem of Pain
The Problem of Pain
C. S. Lewis
The Screwtape Letters
The Screwtape Letters
C. S. Lewis
The Silver Chair
The Silver Chair
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The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
C. S. Lewis