Till We Have Faces Read-Along || Week 3 Recap
And if [the gods] can indeed change the past, why do they never do so in mercy?
Stuff's getting real now, isn't it?
Discussion Questions
1. When thinking about Psyche as she was before the debacle of the Great Sacrifice, Orual characterizes the time as "when she was still happy, and still mine." How does this sum up the possessiveness of Orual's love for Psyche? What does it say about how she views her?
2. Lewis describes Orual's reaction to the King's potentially fatal illness in this way: "The largeness of a world in which he was not . . . the clear light of a sky in which that cloud would no longer hang . . . freedom." Isn't it extraordinary how the author is able to capture and convey the feelings of an abuse survivor so accurately?
3. In this book, Lewis gives a lot of insight into the realities of life as a soldier. How much did Lewis's own experience as a WWI veteran influence his writing, both in general and in this book?
Personal Highlights
- The one sin the gods never forgive us is that of being born a woman.
- I did and I did and I did -- and what does it matter what I did?
- I was with book, as a woman is with child.
- Let them answer my charge if they can. It may well be that, instead of answering, they'll strike me mad or leprous or turn me into beast, bird, or tree. But will not all the world then know (and the gods will know it knows) that this is because they have no answer?
This week is the last one of the read-along! We'll be finished by the 31st. (Hypothetically. 😜)
The description you spoke of in #3 is incredibly powerful and moving. I haven't been to war or anything exactly like that, but I have experienced the bond foraged with people when you aren't thinking about forming a friendship at all, but rather saving a horse's broken leg or some such thing, and it is a beautiful thing.
ReplyDeleteI feel like Chapters 20 - 21 have such "Ecclesiastes" vibes, All the labor of a man is for his mouth, and yet the soul is not satisfied. The way in which the Queen pushes away her grieving through distraction is so sad and yet is not work rather a gift from God in that respect? I guess it rather depends on whether one is doing it in acceptance or denial of one's grief, and the Queen is certainly doing it in denial as we see her bitterness against the gods is still quite real.
Absolutely. <3
DeleteYES. Very Ecclesiastical in feel, you're right.
I liked that third quote, too! Oh, and you have such good questions to go with this book! I answered for Week 2 and Week 3 here:
ReplyDeletehttps://moviesmeetmatch.blogspot.com/2020/01/till-we-have-faces-chapters-8-21.html
Thanks so much for doing your posts on this read-along, MC!
Delete1. Orual is obsessive toward Psyche, treating her more like a possession than a sister, or even than like a daughter, which Orual thinks is how she feels toward Psyche. She can't stand the idea of sharing her with anyone, whether it's a god or a husband or even worshipers who misunderstand her.
ReplyDelete2. Lewis is a remarkable writer, able to convey big things with a minimum of words and fuss. I like that simple elegance.
3. I feel like the story gains new life whenever soldiers or soldiering is involved. It becomes more straightforward, less pensive and dreamlike, and I'm sure that's partly just because of Lewis's own experiences and partly because Orual herself feels more alive then.
I love that third quote. I've seen it before and didn't know what it was from. Very cool.
Sooooo close to done!
1. Exactly. And that possessiveness can be so damaging.
Delete2. YESSS. That's one of my very favorite things about him. He can take some vague impression I've always had and make it into a concept that I can easily grasp and communicate to others.
3. It definitely becomes much more prosaic in those sections.
Isn't it satisfying when you find the source for a quote you've seen before? ;D