The Bell and the Hammer
In Out of the Silent Planet, when Ransom is
riding on Augray’s shoulders, the duo travels to Meldilorn. Ransom arrives to
see a “gong and a hammer hung on a pillar of stone. These objects were all
richly decorated, and the gong and hammer were of a greenish blue metal which
Ransom did not recognize.” This is an interesting repetition of the theme used
in The Magician’s Nephew, with the
bell and the hammer. Why, then, the purpose of these specific items?
Perhaps there is
some symbolism of gender here, as the phallic nature of the hammer can
counteract the feminine symbol of the bell. But also, it speaks to Digory’s
adventurous nature. Perhaps there is an allegorical reference to Pandora’s Box,
as his curiosity got the better of him; a poem etched into the stone charged
the person who passed up the bell to “wonder,
till it drives you mad, What would have followed if you had.” In a very “curiosity
killed the cat” kind of manner, this unleashes evil into in the world; the
Pandora’s Box allegory is complete. But I wonder, then, why would Lewis use the
bell and the hammer as the medium for this evil?
There were many
other methods in which this exchange could have occurred. That, combined with
the theme’s repeated use in the earlier book (which was written over twenty
years earlier, in fact), implies that the symbolism of the bell and the hammer
is significant – the bell, at least, can be considered synonymous with the gong
in that sense. Maybe the sound of the bell, and not the actual concept itself,
comes into play here. The resonance created by the bell literally and
figuratively tore the building down, and changed the landscape of the world (as
well as the plot of the story). The hammer is necessary because it truly
provides a sense of agency for its user; Digory can’t ring the bell
accidentally, or half-heartedly. In order to ring it, he must make the choice
to pick up the hammer and then continue that choice by ringing the bell. It
adds a certain level of emphasis to his decision.
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