To the surprise of many, C.S Lewis, the author of the timeless Narinia stories, also wrote a rather popular Sci-Fi Space trilogy apart from his other religious writings. The series was written as a challenge underwent by both Lewis and his friend J.R.R Tolkien. Lewis was tasked with writing a space series, and Tolkien was going to write a time-travel series. Tolkien never finished his contribution, but he did create an entire subuniverse, so I think we can cut him some slack. C.S was able to complete his and expanded it into a trilogy featuring a suspiciously familiar philologist as his main character.
Lewis planted Tolkien square in his world in the form of Elwin Ransom, and over the course of three books, he travels to Venus, Mars, and thwarts an earthly takeover. I will be pulling from the third book in this post, which is considerably different than the others in the series. It does not take place on another planet but instead on earth, and while it is considered a childerns book, it contains more adult themes than the other two in the series. With the primary setting being on earth, the parallels are more apparent as there is less of the fantasy aspect to mask them.
Although, That Hideous Strength is the third book in his series, Lewis wrote it so that It could be read on its own. He does not feature Ransom as the main charter. He serves a more auxiliary position supporting the other characters and behaving in a more administrative way.
The third book contains a great deal of politics on top of religion and philosophy. I don’t think that this is entirely coincidental as it would seem that Lewis views strictly political agendas as something quite demonic. So it is not shocking that he would criticize political practices in general.
The portion of that Hideous strength quoted below seems to be incredibly relevant as we are in the midst of an election. It would seem now, more than ever, people are engaged in highly partisan politics. Lewis, true to form, puts his finger on the heart of the issue. Regardless of what you believe, it is never acceptable to lean too far in any direction. You often end up falling over.
The quote below, though it may seem conspiratorial, nevertheless, I think it speaks directly to current political events in America.
A Political Excerpt From That Hideous Strength by C.S Lewis
“I’ve been told so many things that I don’t know whether I’m on my head or my heels,” said Mark. “But I don’t see how one’s going to start a newspaper stunt (which is about what this come to) without being political. Is it Left or Right papers that are going to print all this rot about Alcasan?”
“Both, honey, both,” said Miss Hardcastle. “Don’t you understand anything? Isn’t it absolutely essential to keep a fierce Left and a fierce Right, both on their toes and each terrified of the other? That’s how we get things done. Any opposition to the N.I.C.E. is represented as a Left racket in the Right papers and a Right racket in the Left papers. If it’s properly done, you get each side outbidding the other in support of us — to refute the enemy slanders. Of course we’re non-political. The real power always is.”
“I don’t believe you can do that,” said Mark. “Not with the papers that are read by educated people.”
“That shows you’re still in the nursery, lovey,” said Miss Hardcastle. “Haven’t you yet realised that it’s the other way round?”
“How do you mean?”
“Why you fool, it’s the educated reader who can be gulled. All our difficulty comes with the others. When did you meet a workman who believes the papers? He takes it for granted that they’re all propaganda and skips the leading articles. He buys his paper for the football results and the little paragraphs about girls falling out of windows and corpses found in May-fair flats. He is our problem. We have to recondition him. But the educated public, the people who read the highbrow weeklies, don’t need reconditioning. They’re all right already. They’ll believe anything.”
“As one of the class you mention,” said Mark with a smile, “I just don’t believe it.”
“Good Lord!” said the Fairy, “where are your eyes? Look at what the weeklies have got away with! Look at the Weekly Question. There’s a paper for you. When Basic English came in simply as the invention of a free-thinking Cambridge don, nothing was too good for it; as soon as it was taken up by a Tory Prime Minister it became a menace to the purity of our language. And wasn’t the Monarchy an expensive absurdity for ten years? And then, when the Duke of Windsor abdicated, didn’t the Question go all monarchist and legitimist for about a fortnight? Did they drop a single reader? Don’t you see that the educated reader can’t stop reading the high-brow weeklies whatever they do? He can’t. He’s been conditioned.”
C.S Lewis, That Hideous Strength
Purchase That Hideous Strength
If you enjoyed this post you might enjoy the full book. Click the button below to purchase your own copy of That Hideous Strength by C.S Lewis.
Buy Now!
How true; sad, but true.
Nice insights (and quotes), Mosely. I’m a longtime fan of Lewis’s Space Trilogy.
I’ll have to look into this. I thoroughly enjoyed “Surprised by Joy” and, especially, “The Screwtape Letters” so it would be interesting to see another side of the great C.S. Lewis.