Greg Basch/Till We Have Faces #1

Till We Have Faces #1

                Several facets of Lewis’ favorite work, “Till We Have Faces” are reminiscent of Biblical elements. One of the most powerful themes of the book is the relationship between Orual and her sister Psyche. As we discussed in class, there are four loves through which we as humans express ourselves in relationship. Orual seems to have an intense, obsessive brand of Eros love for her sister, and acts accordingly to that passion throughout the book. In Orual we have an interesting case study of the power of lost love over a person. Because she is so in love with Psyche, she is lead to drastic measures to attempt to win her sister back.

                We discussed in class the distinction between envy and jealousy. It isn’t quite clear to me which of the two Orual would be characterized by—perhaps both. Envy seems to be the more sinister of the two, defined by a malicious indignation that someone else has something that you want. This is different from the more natural jealousy, which is the desire to have something that someone else has. The latter is focused on the blameless urges of the person. The former is focused on an outward contempt towards another. While it is obvious that Orual has a deep longing to be with her sister Psyche, she seems to also develop a hatred for the gods who have taken her away, and this could feasibly be described as a form of envy.

                For some reason, Orual’s actions to attempt to win back her sister remind me, in a way, of the story of King David and Bathsheba in the Old Testament. The situations are different, but David’s lust for Bathsheba leads him to commit a terrible act out of selfishness that ultimately brings great pain to Bathsheba, the one for whom he lusted. This is in some ways similar to Orual’s situation.  Her great lust for Psyche leads her to coerce Psyche into looking upon Cupid’s face, which leads to great pain for Psyche.

                Like much of Lewis’ work, there seems to be an important statement here about the nature of mankind. We are inherently jealous, hateful and hurtful. We will go to terrible lengths to get what we want.