Arts and Humanities Commons^™

"Big Medicine, Strong Magic": Sacrament And Sacrilege In Till We Have Faces And The Wind In The Willows, Kayla Kovacs

English Senior Capstone

Magic abounds as the fantastical and ordinary collide in C.S. Lewis’s final work of fiction, Till We Have Faces, and Kenneth Grahame’s children’s classic, The Wind in the Willows. As these authors weave worlds of profound, yet wonderfully simple beauty, they tell stories that point towards the deep intersectionality between seen reality and myth. This paper aims to show the permeability of the veil separating these realms through the concept of sacrament. While sacrament is seen as a kind of gate through which characters may pass to taste and see with new senses, it is contrasted throughout with …

The Balance Of Spectacle And Empathy: Writing And Revising The Stone Skinned: A Novel, James Tickle

Honors Program Theses and Projects

No abstract provided.

God In The Dock: From Theory To Experience, The Odyssey Of The Theodicy Of C.S. Lewis, Anthony Vance Halford

Masters Theses

Problems, for us as humans, can be seen to as a moving target. There are two concerns that immediately come to the forefront. Those concerns are as follows: who defines the problem and how do they define the problem. Answering these two questions provides the direction for answering the next concern. And that concern then turns to how does one solve the problem? For solving a problem involves defining if there is a problem and can it be solved. Quite possibly the most confounding and complex problem to face humanity as a whole and Christianity specifically is the problem of …

No Mere Materialism: The Revelatory Nature Of Death In C.S. Lewis's Space Trilogy, Laurel Wood

Global Tides

This paper explores the role which death plays in the narrative of C.S. Lewis’s Space Trilogy. During the time of the trilogy’s composition, materialist philosophy was becoming increasingly popular in the Western world as individuals looked to science as the source of absolute truth. As a former materialist, Lewis was alarmed by this development and confronted materialist ideology in numerous fiction and non-fiction works.

Blending textual evidence from the trilogy with scholarly commentary, this paper demonstrates that Lewis uses death, particularly the fear of annihilation and the afterlife which it evokes, to bypass materialist assertions of the atheistic nature of …

Love, Austen, And Lewis: How The Successful And Unsuccessful Romances In Jane Austen's Novels Correspond To C.S. Lewis The Four Loves, Lauren Bridgeman

Honors Theses

As any Jane Austen lover can confirm, the romances in Austen's books feel closer to life than any romance in other novels, even if the relationships and some of the settings are fictional. Of all the books in which romance plays a key role, why do hers rise above the mocking that most receive? Though she never married, she grasps the concept of love in all its complexity through plot, how her characters relate to one another, as well as these characters' development. Another author who sets out to deal with the complexity of love, albeit in more of a …

Writing For The Fantasy Genre Through The Christian Worldview, Angelina Rose Butters

Masters Theses

My thesis proffers the prevalence of Christian worldview elements in fantasy fiction. The research findings presented expand on the different Christian elements within fantasy literature by interpreting the writing and influence of Christian authors, such as J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis, and secular authors, such as Jennifer A. Neilson and J.K. Rowling. I argue that within fantasy there are Christian elements that are either overtly or covertly incorporated. I present my findings based on these readings in different sections: fantasy’s purpose to provide entertainment, the inclusion of God to dictate the destiny and laws of the fantasy worldview, the inclusion …

The Nurse Of Elfland: Lizzie Endicott And C.S. Lewis, Reggie Weems

Mythlore: A Journal of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature

In Surprised by Joy, C.S. Lewis introduced Lizzie Endicott as the first of two "other blessings" in his childhood, even before his introduction of Warnie. But apart from his abbreviated 136-word biography, very little is known about the nurse who introduced Lewis to faery tales. Based on the Lewis Family Papers, genealogical research, and personal interviews with Lizzie’s relatives, this article introduces Lizzie to the world of Lewismania. It also suggests various ways in which Lizzie influenced the man and the author that C.S. Lewis became, as well as the mythical worlds he created and Lewis’s anonymous tributes to …

Women And Supposition: The Chronicles Of Narnia And Biblical Womanhood, Carolyn Dailey

Honors Projects

Supplemented by C.S. Lewis' works in theology, predominately Mere Christianity, and 'Priestesses in the Church?" as well as sources from other theologians, and historians, this paper explores the relationship between Christian tradition and Biblical womanhood that is expressed in C.S. Lewis's The Chronicles of Narnia. This paper finds that C.S. Lewis drew more from the core tenets of love and equality that exist at the heart of Christianity rather than from traditional Christian beliefs, including some he held himself. In doing this, he crafted an imaginative fiction that affirms Biblical womanhood.

Faceless Man And Infinite God: Till We Have Faces A Subversion Of Greek Anthropocentrism, Hunter Hogsed

Senior Honors Theses

C. S. Lewis’s novel Till We Have Faces directly subverts the Greek anthropocentric view of both God and man. The Greek myths of Hesiod-Homer and platonic philosophy hold to a view of man being morally superior to the gods. The character of Orual in Till We Have Faces represents Greek anthropocentrism. Orual opens the story accusing the gods of stealing her beloved sister Psyche but, through an encounter with the madness of the divine, sees herself as the true destroyer of her sister’s face. The illusion of her own moral superiority crumbles away as she sees how her love is …

Informed By Joy: A Christian Librarian's Reflection On C.S. Lewis, David H. Michels

Articles, Book Chapters, & Popular Press

In Surprised by Joy C. S. Lewis offers us his account of his conversion to Christianity. Using his experiences of joy as “signposts,” he leads us through his early life up to his conversion at age thirty-one. I reflect on Lewis’s account as a librarian, researcher, and fellow Christian, considering his information world and the people who aided and hindered him on his faith journey. I conclude with some thoughts on his and my own conversion, as both unique yet shared experiences within the Christian tradition.

"Real joy seems to me almost as unlike security or prosperity as it is …

A Tale Of Two Atheists: A Historical Inquiry Into The Lives Of C.S. Lewis & Antony Flew, Zachary Sechler

Senior Honors Theses

C.S. Lewis and Antony Flew are two of the foremost philosophers of the 20th century. Lewis and Flew both left Christian backgrounds to become atheists during their early years of study. Later, both changed their minds accepted the existence of God. Lewis died a Christian whereas Flew died a deist. Lewis and Flew share many things in common including being accomplished academics, having multiple major worldview shifts, and changing parts of their worldviews as a result of the World Wars. Lewis and Flew both had a major influence in the development of 21st-century philosophy through a variety of works they …

The Good Fight Guide: A Theological Guide To C.S. Lewis' The Screwtape Letters, Sara Patterson

Honors Theses

This resource exists to help believers discover theological truths presented in C.S. Lewis' "The Screwtape Letters" by defining unfamiliar terms, explaining theological principles, and providing application options. It is my prayer that each reader finds this resource helpful as they fight the good fight (Ephesians 6:12).

The Search For Mere Purgatory, Tucker Douglass

Honors Theses

Jerry L. Walls, in his book Purgatory: The Logic of Total Transformation, examines the different models of postmortem purgation that have been advocated over the years. After having assessed the value of satisfaction, sanctification, and mixed models, Walls proposes C. S. Lewis’s model as a type of “mere purgatory” that most Christians could get behind. He gives several reasons why Lewis’s account could prove most ecumenical:

1. Lewis is respected by believers from most all Christian traditions, including evangelicals;

2. his other views on the afterlife are already highly regarded;

3. his model is purely sanctification based while also …

Recovered Images: Medieval Echoes In C. S. Lewis’S Space Trilogy, Nathan Earl Houston Fayard

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

C. S. Lewis has begun to garner more scholarly attention in the last few decades, but his first novels, his science fiction or Space trilogy, continue to be largely ignored by academia. Yet, these three novels are deserving of more serious study, as they are pioneering works of literary science fiction, and even more surprisingly, of literary medievalism. Though long derided as mere reactionary attacks on Modernism and science, when properly understood, these strange and wonderful tales actually reveal the complexity and nuance of Lewis’s response to his times. In them, the Inkling author creates a unique combination of the …

The New British Christianity Of C.S. Lewis, Thomas Kemp

LSU Master's Theses

The emergence of C.S. Lewis as a popular author known for Christian content during the second half of the twentieth century provides an ideal case study for the transformation of religiosity within Britain. As religious behavior shifted from institutional adherence to private experience, Lewis became a ‘popular theologian’ who represented Christianity both for Christians – who looked to him for spiritual inspiration– and for non-Christians – who treated his views as representative of contemporary Christianity. By analyzing the reception, representation, and use of Lewis (his figure and his work) throughout the twentieth-century and into the twenty-first, it becomes clear that …

Echoes Of War: The Great War’S Impact On Literature, Samuel R. Williams

The Great Lakes Journal of Undergraduate History

This paper examines the works produced by: Erich Maria Remarque, Ernest Hemingway, C.S. Lewis, and J.R.R. Tolkien, specifically to show how their writings recorded and translated the experiences of soldiers during World War I, and their struggle to assimilate into civilian society afterward. By examining authors and novels from varying geographic and national background, common themes of bitterness, trauma, and disillusionment are found in men that fought on both sides of the conflict. Literature’s reflection of these scars appears in the lived experiences woven into the writings by the authors, and the reactions of the wider public that shared similar …

"Master Chef" With Chan And Mann

St. Norbert Times

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C.S. Lewis And The True Myth: A Reconciliation Of Theology, Philosophy, And Mythology, Courage Lowrance

Masters Theses

C.S. Lewis was both a student of pagan philosophy and mythology and a Christian. He never was divided between these two pursuits in his life, though he gave the latter its proper priority. What allowed Lewis to keep this balance was his idea of the gospel as the True Myth, an idea that helped lead to his conversion and remained at the core of his thinking throughout his life. By this idea of True Myth, Lewis was able to not only unite the pagan myths to Christian truth, but also the rest of human thought as well. Thus, in order …

The Inklings And King Arthur (2017), Edited By Sørina Higgins, Gabriel Schenk

Journal of Tolkien Research

Book review by Gabriel Schenk of The Inklings and King Arthur (2017) ed, by Sørina Higgins

Book Review: Of Deeper Magic: The Theology Behind The Writings Of C.S. Lewis. By Donald T. Williams., Phillip Fitzsimmons

Faculty Articles & Research

Deeper Magic: The Theology Behind the Writings of C.S. Lewis is both exciting and engaging in its exploration of Christian thought in general and Christian themes in particular, found in the fictional and nonfictional works of C.S. Lewis. This book would sit comfortably on the shelf with other first-rate Evangelical Christian interpretations of the works of individual Inklings, such as Ralph Wood’s The Gospel According to Tolkien: Visions of the Kingdom in Middle-Earth or the works of Matthew Dickerson including his Narnia and the Fields of Arbol: The Environmental Vision of C.S. Lewis. Like the authors of these books, Donald …

English People. Owen Barfield; Narnia And The Fields Of Arbol. Matthew Dickerson And David O'Hara; And The Mythic Dimension. Joseph Campbell, Phillip Fitzsimmons

Faculty Articles & Research

Three books, written about differing themes and released decades apart, still manage to work together to present a complex picture of the images of mythology and their effect upon the human race. The books are English People, a 1929 novel by Owen Barfield; Narnia and the Fields of Arbol, a 2009 study of environmentalism in the works of C.S. Lewis, by Matthew Dickerson and David O'Hara; and The Mythic Dimension, a selection of essays by Joseph Campbell spanning almost three decades.

Lewis In The Rye: An Approach To Controversial Literature, Abigail Griffiths

Senior Honors Theses

This thesis aims to coalesce literary criticism with Christian theology to provide a guideline for how Christians, who uphold a certain moral logic, should interact with literature that sparks controversy among readers. An analysis of J.D. Salinger’s novel Catcher in the Rye (1951) will be considered through the lens of C.S. Lewis’ commentary on good reading, good critique, and good art. Catcher in the Rye, an American novel, contains elements of derogatory language, promiscuous scenes, and insinuations of nihilism. How would C.S. Lewis, a British novelist and a prominent figure in Christian thought, read Salinger’s work: would he find …

Logos I - Philosophy And The Nature Of Morality: The Abolition Of Man, C.S. Lewis, Lucie Steiner

Aristos

C.S. Lewis’ objective stance on ethics is argued to be superior to the moral sentimentalism of David Hume, because if there is not agreement on what constitutes moral action, then there is no basis for argument over the existence of moral law.

Sacred And Profane Loves: The Renaissance Influence In C.S. Lewis' Till We Have Faces, Kevin Corr

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

C.S. Lewis’ last novel, Till We Have Faces: A Myth Retold, has often been regarded as his greatest work, but just as often as his most enigmatic work. The purpose of this thesis is to unveil much of the novel’s mystery by considering the impact Renaissance literature had in shaping the novel, most notably Edmund Spenser’s Faerie Queene. Although it is well-known that Lewis was Professor of Medieval and Renaissance Literature at Cambridge, current scholarship on Lewis has overlooked the Renaissance influence in the author’s work, which particularly plays a vital role in Till We Have Faces. …

The Great Tower Of Elfland: The Mythopoeic Worldview Of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, G.K. Chesterton And George Macdonald (2017) By Zachary A. Rhone, Mike Foster

Journal of Tolkien Research

Book review by Mike Foster of The Great Tower of Elfland: The Mythopoeic Worldview of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, G.K. Chesterton and George MacDonald (2017) by Zachary A. Rhone.

Finding Faith In Fantasy: Exploring The Chronicles Of Narnia, Harry Potter, And His Dark Materials, Jamie Weston

Selected Honors Theses

Fantasy is often a controversial topic within the Christian community, especially when magic is involved and religious ideals are tested. This controversy is explored and questioned through the advocating of the creative, intellectual, and spiritual qualities of Fantasy that are positive and encouraging for a Christian, and by analyzing the presence and value of these qualities within three famous fantasy series, The Chronicles of Narnia, Harry Potter, and His Dark Materials.

What About Susan? Gender In Narnia, Emma G. Schilling

Student Publications

Critics of C.S. Lewis argue that his misogyny is present in his portrayal of female characters. While Lewis himself was self-contradictory in his attitudes towards women, his depictions of female characters in The Chronicles of Narnia are both realistic and progressive. Both the male and female characters throughout the series demonstrate individual strengths and weaknesses that are not dependent on their gender. The criticism against Lewis focuses on his treatment of Susan, especially regarding her being the only child not to return to Narnia at the end of the series. Unlike what the critics argue, however, Susan is not excluded …

The Origins Of Morality, Paulina Sanchez

Dialogue & Nexus

In modern society, there exists a standard for moral conduct that seems to reign universal over many societies of people. Pinpointing the origins of morality, however, can become problematic because of how one approaches what morality is and what its purpose is in society. Psychologists may point out the social constructs and norms that allow for morality to unfold. Evolutionary biologists may give evidence of human-related species that have developed similar behavioral standards. A Christian theologian may look to scripture in explaining a Creator who ordained that all abide by the standards of conduct most pleasing to this deity. Which …

C.S. Lewis: Reluctant Convert, Kerry Irish

Faculty Publications - Department of History and Politics

This is a 4600-word introduction to Mere Christianity with an emphasis on Lewis' own conversion.

It’S About The Journey: Lewis On Heroes And Personality In Out Of The Silent Planet, Jillianne L. Hook

The Kabod

In his novels, Lewis’s heroes come from humble beginnings and are shaped by circumstances until Lewis is satisfied with them; that is, until they reach their full potential. This draws on his belief that humans only attain true personality by surrendering their personalities to God, who then shapes them into true sons: “The more we get what we now call ‘ourselves’ out of the way and let Him take us over, the more truly ourselves we become.”