53 pages • 1 hour read
C. S. LewisTill We Have Faces
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1956A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Symbols & Motifs
Veil
Veils, masks, and obscured identities recur throughout the novel. The most obvious example is the veil that Orual chooses to wear on her second return from the mountain. In one sense, the veil represents her attempt to erase her identity as Orual—and with it, Orual’s grief—and become, simply, the Queen. In another sense, it represents the fact that, in light of her newfound knowledge of the gods’ existence, she is no longer sure who she is or what she believes in. In the novel, a person’s face comes to define their identity, as suggested by the section from which the novel’s title is taken: Orual asks, how can the gods “meet us face to face till we have faces?” (138)
Psyche’s Palace
The visibility or otherwise of Psyche’s palace represents the “central knot” (116) of Orual’s complaint. She argues that if she had been able to see the palace—as the Priest of Istra claims she could—then she never would have acted as she did. If she had had tangible proof of the god’s existence and Psyche’s comfort, then she would have been satisfied. As the novel makes clear, however, the onus is on Orual to have faith in the gods’ existence, not on the gods to reveal their existence to her. Indeed, the story of the goddess Istra, which accuses Orual of acting out of jealousy, provokes Orual to write her own version of the story and, in doing so, enables a process of self-reflection that leads to her eventual understanding of what Lewis refers to as Divine Nature.
Pulling out the Thorn
Both Orual and Psyche recall an incident in which Psyche had to have a thorn removed from her hand. When Psyche tells Orual about her journey to the mountain she reminds her of the time she had a thorn in her hand, how her sister held her and told her that it would all be over in a moment. Remembering this, she “felt sure I’d better do whatever I was told” (50). In Psyche’s telling, it illustrates the trust she has in other people—especially Orual—as well as her obedient nature. When Orual refers to this incident, however, it has a different connotation. Before she returns to the mountain for a second time, Orual wonders if her plan to “rescue” Psyche is the right thing to do; she doesn’t want to cause her sister any pain. Then, she remembers how it “had hurt me, long ago, when I made the barber pull out the thorn” (73). She knows that pulling out the thorn was the right thing to do and, in comparing the two situations, she resolves to take Psyche away from the valley. The different uses of this image, then, highlight the positive attributes of both sisters—such as the care Orual takes towards Psyche—as well as the differences between them. It also suggests the ways that the same story can be used for different ends, foreshadowing the way that Psyche’s story will be changed into the story of the goddess Istra.
Related Titles
By C. S. Lewis
