Book in Review: "That Hideous Strength"
Then there is this Space Trilogy. I read Out of Silent Planet several years ago and found it, well, interesting. I enjoy Lewis’s prose and style of writing, but it was unlike the others. I read Perelandra soon after, and I enjoyed it a bit more than the first, but it seemed to drag in the endless back and forth dialogue. The series seemed just so different from everything I had previously read from Lewis. Upon finishing That Hideous Strength (the third in the series) and, after thinking about it, and after some added internal dialogue—I think it is one of my favorites.
Now, this is a book that demands another reading. It is the kind of book that makes you long for a reading group to bring to light hidden insights and subtleties. I have a feeling that it is a sort of book, following the Dostoyevsky model, where the reader should concern himself less with the intricacies of the very complex plot, and more with the truth represented in the characters and their interactions with one another. Without giving too much away there is just too much going on for the reader to have a fool-proof understanding of the plot. It is an unquestionably “weird” book with an extraterrestrial / supernatural dimension, which is sure to make any book weird.
But this book is also profound. Relevant to our times today perhaps more than it was for Lewis’s. The story follows married couple Mark and Jane Studdock in their various revolts against the created order. They do not see themselves this way, of course. Both are young, budding progressives in their ideas and aspirations. Jane is about breaking free from archaic shackles of what it means to be a woman, and she is continually trying to set herself apart as unique and important. Mark is about getting on the inside of the inside at the progressive group at the local college; and then on the inside of the inside of the friendly neighborhood Marxist organization: N.I.C.E. He starts out as a progressive, then becomes a propagandist, and further goes to find that he has almost lost himself in an entirely dark, spiritual power at the center of the evil organization. What begins as seemingly innocent, through the slippery slope of desire and capitulation, does not remain there.
But there is an opposition, led by the celebrated philologist Ransom. His community is strikingly different than the one portrayed in the NICE. This story provides a continual back and forth between each community which has a way of accentuating the contrasts. At the N.I.C.E we see continual “self-actualization”. The members are “self-makers”, doing everything within their power to make a name for their individual selves in the spirit of Babel. With militancy they try to undo the natural order; false faces and back stabbing are commonplace occurrences from its members.
But, Ransom’s community is characterized by submission to the created order. And in his community we see roles and distinctions. We see personality. We see sacrifice. We see frequent, good-natured humor. We see a love for the organic and the natural; and, perhaps most importantly, we see identity formed, not by self, but by the Creator and with the help of the community. It is in submission to this identity that we see real joy and meaning achieved! The difference between the two communities are night and day; and this continual compare and contrast from Lewis helps show us what the correct model of humanity is and which is the one that has terribly gone wrong.
The more I think about this book, the more I love it (though I can see that stylistically it is not for everyone). I would recommend a prior reading of the other two books to help clarify the broader plot; but such background is not necessary. This is a bizarre book in many ways, but it is also an awesome book. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
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