This forum was closed on October 1st, 2010. However, the archives are open to the public and filled with vast amounts of good reading and information for you to enjoy. If you wish to meet some Wardrobians, please visit the Into the Wardrobe Facebook group.

Worshipping the man or judging him?

The man. The myth.

Worshipping the man or judging him?

Postby rusmeister » March 20th, 2006, 9:56 am

User avatar
rusmeister
Wardrobian
 
Posts: 1795
Joined: Dec 2005
Location: Russia

re: Worshipping the man or judging him?

Postby jo » March 20th, 2006, 10:40 am

"I saw it begin,” said the Lord Digory. “I did not think I would live to see it die"

User avatar
jo
Wardrobian
 
Posts: 5167
Joined: Aug 1999
Location: somewhere with lots of pink

Re: re: Worshipping the man or judging him?

Postby Bill » March 20th, 2006, 2:10 pm

Time is the fire in which we burn!

User avatar
Bill
Wardrobian
 
Posts: 2733
Joined: Aug 2004
Location: Fleetwood, Lancashire UK

re: Worshipping the man or judging him?

Postby David » March 20th, 2006, 7:05 pm

We must remember that authors create fictional personae in their works. The narrators of Lewis' books are created by him but are not "him" in the regular sense of the word.

Modern critics talk about "the death of the author" and "the biographical fallacy." Since a text exists independently of its author and is not begotten like a son by the father or created as if by God (says Roland Bathes) it is wrong to judge a work of literature based on an understanding of a writer's personal life. Works of literature arise out of language and other works of literature, not out of the author's personal life and it is fallacious to interpret them with biography as one's primary source of judgment.

I agree with this to a large degree, though I think it needs to be modified somewhat. Biography does come into play to an extent. But the intellectual influences and literary influences are much more important and have much more bearing on a book than our understanding of an author's life.

So the myths and the similar books that influenced Till We Have Faces are infinitely more important to correctly interpreting the text than our ideas of whether Lewis had a close relationship with Joy Davidman or what was his attitude on women.
The way, the weather, the terrain, the discipline, the leadership. --Sun Tzu
User avatar
David
Wardrobian
 
Posts: 1044
Joined: May 2005
Location: Grand Rapids, Michigan

re: Worshipping the man or judging him?

Postby jo » March 20th, 2006, 7:16 pm

"I saw it begin,” said the Lord Digory. “I did not think I would live to see it die"

User avatar
jo
Wardrobian
 
Posts: 5167
Joined: Aug 1999
Location: somewhere with lots of pink

Re: re: Worshipping the man or judging him?

Postby robsia » March 20th, 2006, 7:26 pm

User avatar
robsia
Wardrobian
 
Posts: 3732
Joined: Aug 2004
Location: Incognito no longer

re: Worshipping the man or judging him?

Postby jo » March 20th, 2006, 7:29 pm

"I saw it begin,” said the Lord Digory. “I did not think I would live to see it die"

User avatar
jo
Wardrobian
 
Posts: 5167
Joined: Aug 1999
Location: somewhere with lots of pink


Return to C. S. Lewis

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered members and 18 guests

cron