If you found yourself in Hell and then were offered a chance to leave and spend an eternity in Heaven, you'd jump at it, wouldn't you? …….. Or would you …….??
The Great Divorce tells of a journey of souls from the grey town, which we soon see represents Hell, to a wide open space of meadows, rivers and mountains. Yet when the people disembark they are dismayed. They now appears as Ghosts and all the vegetation is dense and tough in a way that makes movement difficult and, at times, dangerous. And who are these shining Solid People coming towards them, and what do they want? Full of joy and laughter, it appears that they only wish for the "Ghosts" to shed their prejudices and grudges and self-absorption and "rights", to accept help and rescue from their troubles. 'Come to the mountain', they say, yet most are unable to, so firmly have these detrimental traits taken root within them, to the exclusion of anything good.
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| The Assumption of the Virgin by Francesco Botticini shows three hierarchies and nine orders of angels source Wikipedia |
Yet while analogous in structure, the Hell of The Great Divorce is very different than that of Dante's Hell. It is not a world of men trapped in flaming tombs, immersed in rivers of blood and fire, whipped by demons or eaten by foul creatures. In The Great Divorce, Hell looks surprisingly like Earth, but a corruption of earth, holding only the negative components of greed, envy, self-worship, revenge, jealously, grudges, etc. The setting mirrors the emotions, being bleak, desolate and lacking any human goodness. Rain and dingy twilight permeate the town, and a perpetual feeling of hopelessness is ever-present. Yet while the souls of this dreary place, recognize intellectually what they live in, and practically understand their actions, they have become drowned in them through excuses, trends, weakness of character, reliance on intellect only, and have become blind to their effects. In life, they allowed their choices and actions to carry them in the wrong direction and now have little desire to escape. They have chosen Hell and are unable to conceive of anything outside of it. Similar to the dwarves in the The Last Battle, ignorance has overcome them and they cannot escape it.
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| A vision of Hell from Dante's Divine Comedy source Wikipedia |
On the other hand, the Bright or Solid People of Heaven did not get there through moral perfection. One had been a murderer and confessed to doing worse than that, while another was hardly known on Earth but the people and animals that came into her presence were enriched by her love and charity. And again, we have another echo from The Last Battle, that Heaven is much more real than earth, exemplified by the tough grass, the hard rivers and terrain that the Ghosts experience and would only have a change of perception if they chose to accept the invitation to become more real.
While Lewis states in his preface that this book is an answer to William Blakes' The Marriage of Heaven and Hell, he makes if very clear that it is not a story that is meant to be taken in a literal sense; like his Narnia Chronicles, it is a supposition. More, it is a work that explores human biases, perceptions and attitudes that either allow us to or prevent us from getting closer to God.
C.S. Lewis Project 2014
I had no idea what The Great Divorce was about. As soon as I started reading your review, I thought: Dante.
ReplyDeleteThen I felt like I was reading about Augustine's Confessions regarding his own behavior. I guess I have Augustine on the brain right now.
Yes, you're completely right! Augustine is there too (not literally, of course, but in spirit). He would be one of those who accepted the invitation to come to the mountain, in spite of the difficulties at the beginning. In fact, one of Lewis' sources is supposed to be the writings of Augustine, so there you go! You're making important connections! Excellent!
DeleteI love The Great Divorce. I don't know how many times I've read it, but Lewis is so good at knowing what people are like. Every time I read this or Screwtape, I see myself.
ReplyDeleteI'd only read it half-way previously; I can't believe that I waited this long to read it completely. Lewis is brilliant. And you're right …… I was reading a particular scene and thinking, wow, I can be a little like that sometimes. It does encourage introspection in a good way.
DeleteNever read this one (never even heard of it!), but looks very interesting. Have to confess if it wasn't for you, I'd only know CS Lewis for Narnia and The Screwtape Letters (I haven't read the latter, did used to have ti but foolishly let someone borrow it and I have NO chance of getting it back).
ReplyDeleteIt's a pretty neat concept. Dante's Hell is physical and Lewis' is emotional, and honestly, I think Lewis' might be more tragic and definitely closer to the reader's experience.
DeleteThe Screwtape Letters is fun. I've skipped over it (based on my C.S. Lewis Project schedule), so I'll have to go back and read it before year end.
Thanks for the great post! I read The Great Divorce a while ago and I would say it definitely warrants a re-read. I had not yet read The Divine Comedy at the time and I didn't know much about George Macdonald, either.
ReplyDeleteYou definitely get shades of Dante and Augustine in this book. And I was also thinking of Paradise Lost when I was reading it. I admire any author who attempts to portray Heaven. It's almost an impossible task yet I think Dante, Lewis and Milton all did a brilliant job, even though their portrayals are all very different.
DeleteI have loved George MacDonald's children's books but I didn't realize that he's a very prolific author. His influence on Lewis was great, so I plan to read more of his works.
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ReplyDeleteI've not read this one, but it does sound quite interesting conceptually. I'll have to add it to my "one of these days" list...
ReplyDeleteIt is very interesting. And it's a very short read, Amanda, so it's one of those books that don't take up too much time. Good to slip in here or there among all your other reads.
DeleteGood review! It just re-enforces that in reading one classic, one will inevitably be led to reading others by a sort of literary symbiosis that seems so present in the past.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for stopping by! Lewis includes so many allusions in his works that it's staggering. The man was brilliant ~~ I wish I had half his brain!
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