by alcuin » November 7th, 2008, 1:43 pm
A very helpful book in understanding the Space Trilogy, and especially Perelandra, is C.S. Lewis' Introduction to Paradise Lost. Perelandra, is of course, Paradise Retained. Lews discusses the nature of evil and sin in the book, but he also takes about the differences between nature and will. The nature of Lucifer in Milton's epic retains its angelicness, as it were, but it is the will which is corrupted. So there is something of the power of God's creation still present within the corrupted demonic angelic rebels. The smile of the Unman, and indeed, everything about the corrupt possession of the of the Unman shows this. Likewise in nature, Weston, the vehicle of the Unman, as it were, is also human and has the nature of human.
The corruption of the will is the distinction. Ransom is the agent of Maleldil through Oyarsa Malacandra, but he has the choice of using his will to obey or not. It is the same basic problem with the Green Lady: willing obedience. And that choice of will is free. Whatever happened to Weston to cause him to choose to will himself under the the eldila of Thulcandra, once having done so, there is no freedom. Ransom is not sure whether the pleading voice of Weston really is him, or a further perversion of his Enemy in Weston-Unman. Will here is obviously also linked to reason, because reason and rationality are just a tool for the Unman and it will resort to the torture of animals and irrationality, unwilled behaviour when it does not need to use it.
The smile is angelic and powerful, because that is of the nature of the controller of the Unman.