Till We Have Faces: A Myth Retold
Author:
C. S. Lewis
Publication:
1956 by Geoffrey Bles (UK)
Genre:
Fairy Tales, Fiction, Mythology
Current state:
Basic information has been added for this book.
It has been read but content considerations may not be complete.
Book Guide
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C. S. Lewis has based his novel 'Till we Have Faces' on the classical myth of Psyche and Cupid. In this Psyche's great beauty incurs the wrath of the goddess Venus who sends her son Cupid to punish her. Cupid falls in love with Psyche and has her carried off to a stately palace where he visits her secretly by night. He tells her she must never see his face but, urged on by her sisters who envy her happiness, Psyche looks upon his face one night and is filled with insatiable love for him. Cupid awakes and vanishes, leaving Psyche to wander broken-hearted over the earth. She accomplishes a number of impossible tasks devised by Venus and eventually Cupid returns, marries her and she is turned into a goddess.
Of the changes he has made in the myth, Dr. Lewis writes: 'The central alteration in my own version consists in making Psyche's palace invisible to normal, mortal eyes—if "making" is not the wrong word for something which forced itself upon me, almost at my first reading of the story, as the way the thing must have been. This change, of course, brings with it a more ambivalent motive and a different character for my heroine and finally modifies the whole quality of the tale. I felt quite free to go behind Apuleius whom I suppose to have been its transmitter, capture the peculiar quality of the Metamorphoses—that strange compound of picaresque novel, horror comic, mystagogue's tract, pornography, and stylistic experiment. Apuleius was, of course, a man of genius; but in relation to my work he is a "source", not an "influence" nor a "model".'
From the dust jacket
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C. S. Lewis
1898 - 1963Irish/British
CLIVE STAPLES LEWIS was born in Belfast in 1898. As a child, he was fascinated by the fairy tales, myths, and ancient legends recounted to him by hi... See more
Resource Guide
Podcast
Episode 70: Why Read Fairy Tales?
Released in 2020 by The Literary Life
Available formats: Streaming Audio
Length: 1 hr. 29 min.
View on the The Literary Life site
"Angelina Stanford and Cindy Rollins tackle the topic of fairy stories, discussing the what, why and how of reading them. Angelina shares the distinctive characteristics of fairy stories in contrast to other types of stories, such as myths. They deal with the question of whether fairy tales are 'escapist', the influence of the Grimm brothers scholarly work on interpreting fairy stories, and allowing the story to unveil its deeper truths without forcing meaning onto it.
Angelina gives an illustration of how to see the gospel messages in fairy tales by talking us through the story of Sleeping Beauty. She refutes the ideas that fairy tales are about human romance or are misogynistic. She also highlights some of the Enlightenment and Puritan responses to fairy tales that still linger with us today. Cindy and Angelina also discuss some common concerns such as the magical, weird, or scary aspects of fairy tales. Angelina also makes a distinction between folk tales, literary fairy tales, and cautionary tales."
Podcast
A Year of C.S. Lewis
Released in 2022 by Plumfield Moms Podcast
Available formats: Streaming Audio
Length: 31 min.
View on the Plumfield Moms Podcast site
Podcast
Episode 61: Til We Have Faces by. C.S. Lewis, Ch. 1-2
Released in 2020 by The Literary Life
Available formats: Streaming Audio
Length: 1 hr. 12 min.
View on the The Literary Life site
Episode 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68 finish out the series on this book.
Podcast
Till We Have Faces
Released in 2004 by Peter Kreeft Audio
Available formats: Streaming Audio
Length: 1 hr. 14 min.
View on the Peter Kreeft Audio site
Reviews
Till We Have Faces
Reviewed by Diane Pendergraft
Orual adopts her veil because she is ashamed of how she looks. She gradually learns that, as people variously interpret the reason for the veil, she gains power over them. They fear her because they can’t read her expressions. She maintains a false element of control over men who assume she is hiding her great beauty. After many years of hiding from others, she gradually begins to forget who she is herself. What veils do I wear to hide my real self from others or from myself? Do I do it out of fear or a desire for control, or both?
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