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.

Lewis and Mrs. Moore

The man. The myth.

Re: What prove do we have that they were romantically involv

Postby Adam Linton » October 29th, 2006, 11:57 pm

we have not loosely through silence permitted things to pass away as in a dream
User avatar
Adam Linton
Wardrobian
 
Posts: 981
Joined: Jan 2005
Location: Columbia Falls, MT

Postby carol » October 30th, 2006, 7:51 am

What a teenage girl thought, is hardly the strongest proof - after all, he was a young adult and her mother was in her 40s.

In the years after Lewis became a Christian, any suggestion of such relationships must be dismissed as mischievous. But I find it very surprising that a man whose youth was so apparently nasty (enjoyed some dark and sadistic issues, and certainly wasn't a celibate teenager) would turn to a woman twice his age when he could find younger women to relate to.
Image
carol
Wardrobian
 
Posts: 3673
Joined: Apr 1999
Location: New Zealand

Postby Leslie » October 31st, 2006, 12:02 am

"What are you laughing at?"
"At myself. My little puny self," said Phillipa.
--Rumer Godden, In This House of Brede
User avatar
Leslie
Wardrobian
 
Posts: 1814
Joined: Dec 2002
Location: Toronto, Canada

Postby Esther » October 31st, 2006, 3:02 am

Member of the 2456317 club
User avatar
Esther
Wardrobian
 
Posts: 208
Joined: Jan 2006
Location: Southern California

Postby jo » October 31st, 2006, 10:26 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

Postby Leslie » October 31st, 2006, 1:10 pm

"What are you laughing at?"
"At myself. My little puny self," said Phillipa.
--Rumer Godden, In This House of Brede
User avatar
Leslie
Wardrobian
 
Posts: 1814
Joined: Dec 2002
Location: Toronto, Canada

Postby jo » October 31st, 2006, 5:30 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

Postby Esther » November 1st, 2006, 2:53 am

When the letters I quoted above were written he was about 18 to 19 years old, and she was in her early- to mid-forties, I believe. This would have been a good 10-12 years before he became a Christian (he was about 30 when that happened, wasn't he?).

While it seems incredibly strange to us that an 18 year old could fall in love with a woman in her forties, I think we should keep in mind that it was a very different time in which young me (especially those who had to fight in the war, as Jack did) grew up much more quickly than youth today (I recently came across a letter in which Jack referred to himself as "middle aged" even though he was still in his early 20's!), and that Jack himself was a very unique teenager to begin with. It is quite plain, both from his letters and from his account of himself in Surprised By Joy that he had a difficult time connecting with most people his age, having no interest in sports or the typical life of public school. In one of his letters he mentions in passing that Mrs. Moore was borrowing a book of his, so perhaps they had similar literary tastes? This, added to the fact that they were bound together emotionally in the loss of Paddy Moore, and combined with a possible subconscious desire to connect with someone in place of the family members they had each lost (Mrs. Moore having lost her son and Jack having lost his mother) could very likely have raised a jumble of strong emotions which they both interpreted, at least for a time, as love.

Purely speculation, of course, but it seems to make some sense.
Member of the 2456317 club
User avatar
Esther
Wardrobian
 
Posts: 208
Joined: Jan 2006
Location: Southern California

Postby Monica » November 1st, 2006, 12:51 pm

User avatar
Monica
Wardrobian
 
Posts: 273
Joined: Oct 1996

Postby A#minor » November 1st, 2006, 3:43 pm

Thankyou for that concise and insightful explanation, Esther. It certainly made me think more deeply about what Lewis' feelings may have been at that time.
"My brain and this world don't fit each other, and there's an end of it!" - G.K. Chesterton
User avatar
A#minor
Wardrobian
 
Posts: 7323
Joined: May 2005
Location: Georgia, USA

Postby rusmeister » November 1st, 2006, 6:29 pm

"Eh? Two views? There are a dozen views about everything until you know the answer. Then there's never more than one."
Bill "The Blizzard" Hingest - That Hideous Strength
User avatar
rusmeister
Wardrobian
 
Posts: 1795
Joined: Dec 2005
Location: Russia

Postby Adam Linton » November 1st, 2006, 9:44 pm

we have not loosely through silence permitted things to pass away as in a dream
User avatar
Adam Linton
Wardrobian
 
Posts: 981
Joined: Jan 2005
Location: Columbia Falls, MT

Postby Esther » November 2nd, 2006, 12:13 am

Member of the 2456317 club
User avatar
Esther
Wardrobian
 
Posts: 208
Joined: Jan 2006
Location: Southern California

Postby Esther » November 2nd, 2006, 12:51 am

Member of the 2456317 club
User avatar
Esther
Wardrobian
 
Posts: 208
Joined: Jan 2006
Location: Southern California

Postby rusmeister » November 2nd, 2006, 2:51 am

I wasn't addressing anyone in particular, and apologize for coming off that way. I just hit reply to the first post to make it clear what portion of the thread I was responding to (unnecessarily). I fired my cannon too strongly. I'm sorry about that.

To try to clarify what I mean, I'll just say this is brought up again and again, and posting on it tends to lean toward prurient interest and 'National Enquirer'-type discussions. I've begun to have knee-jerk reactions at the mere mention of the topic.

However, I strongly question the purpose for which the topic is brought up. In the case of the lives of the saints, such as St Mary of Egypt or anyone at all, only the sketchiest details are generally provided, just enough to understand that the saint was a great sinner. We don't discuss how many partners St Mary had or what their marital status was. The purpose of discussing anyone's sins, dead or alive, should be a good purpose.

Adam, I wasn't saying that everyone here is guilty of that particular sin. You can replace e-m affairs with the sin of your choice. Whatever our skeleton is, we may air it for the sake of confession, but then we want it washed away and forgotten. We have no record of Lewis's confession of this.

I do understand your point, Esther, about how to respond to ill-wishers and it IS a good one - this would be a good direction for the discussion to take. I'm just concerned about how easy it is for this topic to slide back to prurience, particularly since a number of people would have no scruples about doing so, and also concerned that the mere discussion helps keep the rumors alive and tends to assume that they are true. In St Mary's case, the sins were confessed and documented. With Lewis this is simply not the case - the sin is a mere allegation, with some seeming documentational support that people keep digging for. Being dead (as all of us must be) doesn't make for a better case for such discussions.

Does that make my concerns clear?

Again, I'm sorry for broadsiding so hard last night. (cheap defense - I had come home from a long day in Moscow and was really tired)

Wish we had a 'bow' emoticon here like at Christian Forums...
"Eh? Two views? There are a dozen views about everything until you know the answer. Then there's never more than one."
Bill "The Blizzard" Hingest - That Hideous Strength
User avatar
rusmeister
Wardrobian
 
Posts: 1795
Joined: Dec 2005
Location: Russia

PreviousNext

Return to C. S. Lewis

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered members and 22 guests

cron