Till We Have Faces Essay -- Till we Have Faces Essays

Till We boast Faces In Till We Have Faces, C. S. Lewis retells the myth of Cupid and learning ability from the point of view of Psyches sister, with powerful incursion into the temperament of human affection and the relationship between human and divine. In the original myth, Psyche is the youngest of three princesses, so beautiful that men begin to idolization her instead of Venus. The goddess avenges herself by commanding that Psyche be exposed on a mountain to die, moreover her son Cupid secretly rescues her, having fallen in love with her. He hides her in a palace where he visits her nightly, but he forbids her to construe his face for fear of his mother. After a succession Psyche is granted a visit from her sisters seeing the splendor of her palace, they ar jealous. They tell her that her husband must be some horrible monster, and they act upon her to disobey the gods command and light a lamp while he sleeps, to see if it is not so. This she does, but he wakes and rebu kes her, and she goes into exile to be tested until worthwhile of her husband. Lewiss retelling makes the gods palace invisible to mortal eyes thus Psyches sister Orual, the fabricator of the tale, can insist it is not jealousy but concern for Psyche that motivates her to act as she does. Told from Oruals point of view, the story shows her journey to self-discovery and understanding--her quest to fuck off her face, for as she learns, the gods cannot meet us face to face till we wealthy person faces--until we know our own selves. Faces are thus a strong computer address of imagery and symbolism in the book. Ones face is a reflection of ones psyche and true character. It is, symbolically, ones identity. The faces of Orual and Psyche, of Ungit and her son the God of the Grey Mountain, give us insight into their ... ..., both beautiful. The faces of the gods do not change but those of Psyche and Orual do, and in their developing we see the developing of character--the search for identity. Psyche, who was born nearly divinely beautiful, becomes even more so when she is married to the god, and her brightface appearance reflects the new delight and maturity created in her character by that union. Oruals character development takes longer, for she fights it she is nonvoluntary to believe in the god, and even when she sees his face she becomes bitter against him for her loss of Psyche. soon enough through great suffering and a long time of facelessness, she alike finds her face--her identity--and becomes beautiful in the end. She is finally able to meet the gods face to face, when she has a face of her own. Work ConsultedLewis, C.S. Till We Have Faces. Harcourt Brace New York, 1980.