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

Till We Have Faces In Till We Have Faces, C. S. Lewis retells the myth of Cupid and Psyche from the hint of view of Psyches sister, with powerful insight into the nature of human affection and the relationship between human and divine. In the original myth, Psyche is the youngest of three princesses, so lovely that men begin to worship her instead of Venus. The goddess avenges herself by commanding that Psyche be exposed on a mountain to die, but her son Cupid on the QT rescues her, having fallen in love with her. He hides her in a rook where he visits her nightly, but he forbids her to see his face for fear of his mother. After a time Psyche is granted a visit from her sisters seeing the splendor of her palace, they be jealous. They tell her that her husband must be some horrible monster, and they express 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 rebukes her, and she goes into exile to be tested un til worthy of her husband. Lewiss retelling makes the gods palace invisible to mortal eyes thus Psyches sister Orual, the narrator 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 find her face, for as she learns, the gods cannot meet us face to face till we have faces--until we know our own selves. Faces are thus a strong source of imagery and symbolism in the book. Ones face is a reflection of ones soul and true character. It is, symbolically, ones identity. The faces of Orual and Psyche, of Ungit and her son the God of the gray-headed 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 innate(p) nearly divinely beautiful, becomes even m ore so when she is married to the god, and her brightface appearance reflects the new joy and maturity created in her character by that union. Oruals character emergence takes longer, for she fights it she is unwilling to believe in the god, and even when she sees his face she becomes bitter against him for her loss of Psyche. Yet through great suffering and a long time of facelessness, she in addition 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.