Till We Have Faces

Summary from the Publisher...

This tale of two princesses - one beautiful and one unattractive - and of the struggle between sacred and profane love is Lewis’s reworking of the myth of Cupid and Psyche and one of his most enduring works.

Discussion Questions

1. In what ways has Lewis changed the original myth? To what purpose?
2. How does Orual's point of view differ from Apuleius's?
3. Is her's a traditional point of view?
4. What is the nature of Orual's (pronounced, OR-RULE) relationship to Psyche?
5. Express Psyche's experience and perceptions at the temple of Cupid in terms of Eliade's argument that "Myth is seen rather as a narrative 'considered to reveal the truth par excellence' (Quest, 73; see Myths, Dreams and Mysteries, 23 on his opposition to myth as "untrue").
6. Think about Orual's growth as a "progression" through archetypal positions--a transformation through mythic models (i.e., the implacable mother, the wandering hero [sic]). How does her self-understanding change?
7. In what way, in the end, does "Orual also become Psyche"?
8. What are the strongest mythological borrowings in this novel? (List at least three)
9. What does Till We Have Faces have in common with other versions?
10. "Why must holy places be dark places?"
11. How does the story of Psyche constitute Orual "existentially"? (Remember Eliade's that "Myth teaches [humanity] the primordial "stories" that have constituted [them] existentially)
12. What is the meaning of the novel's last paragraph (p. 308)?
13. How does Lewis draw upon the mythic element of the magical/invisible helpers in framing his minor characters?
14. What mythic character does Fox suggest?
15. Apuleius's "Cupid and Psyche" is a pagan story, which Lewis has Christianized. Bearing in mind Eliade's notion of myth as the 'true story,' what does Lewis's adaptation suggest about the relationship between myth, belief, and truth?

Links

Till We Have Faces--Focus Questions

Focus questions (listed above) for the book designed to complement a graduate-level course, In Search of Cupid and Psyche: Myth and Legend in Children's Literature. It was put together by Michael Joseph, Rare Book and Jerseyana Catalog Librarian, Rutgers University Libraries.

Till We Have Faces: A Myth Retold, (1956)

Entry in theLiterary Encyclopedia by Peter Schakel of Hope College.

Into the Wardrobe: A C.S. Lews Web Site

Lots of biographical info, writings, and essays on C.S. Lewis, including a quote-of-the-day. Today's quote (that I thought was intriguing): "It is a good rule, after reading a new book, never to allow yourself another new one till you have read an old one in between. If that is too much for you, you should at least read one old one to every three new ones." --On The Reading Of Old Books (God in the Dock)

A Book Review

By Elisabeth Carey of the New England Science Fiction Association, Inc.

An Annotated Bibliography to C.S. Lewis: Till We Have Faces

Provides a large list of resources relating to the work (including mentions in Lewis's own correspondence), and summarizes some reviews/criticisms.

Cupid & Psyche

The wikipedia entry (also be sure to check out their entry on Till We Have Faces).

F.A.Q. C.S. Lewis

Interesting information and summaries.

Other Resources

• Glover, Donald E. "The Magician's Book: That's Not Your Story." Studies in the Literary Imagination Fall 1998: 217.
• Wood, Ralph C. "The Baptized Imagination: C.S. Lewis's Ficitonal Apologetics" Christian Century 30-6 Aug.-Sept. 1995: 812.
• New York Times Book Review 13 Jan. 1957: 5.