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Chapter 18 Study

An archived study of the first book in Lewis' theological science fiction Space Trilogy.

Chapter 18 Study

Postby Kanakaberaka » May 3rd, 2006, 3:47 pm

Synopsis: After a night of rest in one of the guest houses, Ransom is awakened early the next morning by the voice of an eldil. He is directed through ranks of visiting Malacandrians to the center of Meldilorn to await the arrival of Oyarsa. At last Oyarsa arrives and he and Ransom have many misunderstandings to clear up. But before Ransom can tell Oyarsa about the doings of Maleldil on Thulcandra, a hunting party of hrossa approaches.
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One interesting detail pointed out at the begining of this chapter is the types of humor prefered by the various hnau. -
...the sorns seldom got beyond irony, while the hrossa were extravagant and fantastic, and the pfifltriggi were sharp and excelled in abuse ...
So the intellectual sorns prefer subtle reverses of meaning, while the romantic hrossa enjoy hyperbole. And the pfifltriggi, being artists utilize critisism as humor.

At the crack of dawn, Ransom finds himself awakened by an eldil. He is summoned to appear before Oyarsa so quickly that he misses the opportunity for tea, if any were available on Malacandra.

Ransom is fearful at the almost invisible arrival of Oyarsa. And Oyarsa notes this :
"What are you so afraid of, Ransom of Thulcandra?" it said.

This reminds me of what angels announce at their appearances before mortals in most of the New Testament - Fear Not, as in Luke 2:10 :
"And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for behold, I bring you tidings of great joy..."
C.S. Lewis expressed a dislike for Victorian stlye angels saying that instead of "Fear not" they should say "there, there" to a human audience. Lewis corrects this impression by showing us an archangel type being who's very appearance inspires terror in the hearts of mortals just because of what he is.

Which brings up another question about what sort of being Oyarsa is. The pagans of Earth would have condidered him a god. But in Lewis' cosmology, what sort of angelic being would he be? The Seraphim are said to be closest to God himself. But I have the impression that Oyarsa is a Principality by this definition I found at a Catholic website :
Principalities rule over the lowest hierarchy, guarding countries and charged with making announcements to mankind. They govern souls and bodies.

Assuming that Lewis is following the traditional hiearchy of angels, Oyarsa has quite a few ranks of angels above him. This would explain quite a few of the questions that Oyarsa asks Ransom after Ransom explains his situation to him. This fearsome spirit being appears to be in the dark about what Maleldil has done on our planet. This has me puzzled. I have always thought that all unfallen angels were in communion with God. That is, always in constant communication with the Almighty. Couldn't someone in the angelic spheres share some news with the Oyarsa of Malacandra over the course of almost 2000 years? Too busy keeping watch over all those hnau I suppose.

What I enjoyed most about this chapter is that we are given a look at the fall of Lucifer from an extra-terrestrial point of view. At the damage he inflicted apon another planet and how Lucifer's opposite number fended off his attack.

so it goes...
so it goes...
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Kanakaberaka
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Original Chapter 18 Comments

Postby Kanakaberaka » May 3rd, 2006, 4:13 pm

so it goes...
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Kanakaberaka
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Posts: 1030
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Location: Just outside of Rego Park, NYC


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