Chapters 3 and 4. Here we get the account of Ransom's arrival on Perelandra and first encountering its ultra-sensuous nature. The prevailing color, as he is nearing the surface, is "golden or coppery" (31); I think I remember reading that the metal copper (and probably gold as well) was associated with the goddess and the planet Venus, but I can't find that reference at the moment. I'm sure it's somewhere in Michael Ward's book--but that will have to wait for another day.
Lewis's narrative and descriptions in this book are full of allusions to the goddess; in ch 3 the planet itself is described as a "warm, maternal, delicately gorgeous world" (32), in which "excessive pleasure" is "communicated to [Ransom] through all his senses at once" (33). And yet it is all pleasure with no accompanying feelings of guilt.
Here we get the descriptions of the floating islands, the balloon fruit, and the bubble trees. The only fear Ransom has is that his reason may be in danger because of the overwhelming nature of his sensory experiences (37). Lewis sets up a dichotomy between reason/rationality and the senses/desire; when reason prompts Ransom to enjoy the balloon fruit a second time, he refrains from doing so: Lewis, the narrator, tells us ". . . something seemed opposed to this 'reason.' It is difficult to suppose that this opposition came from desire . . . " (38). It may be difficult to suppose . . . but it looks like this is exactly what Lewis is proposing. Does this have some connection to the fact that our reason is as "bent" as our other faculties? Do our senses and intuitions sometimes point us to the truth or toward integrity? What is the desire that directs Ransom's actions? A desire for moderation or to acknowledge satiety? Well, this chapter has given me plenty to think about.
In chapter 4 we begin to meet the inhabitants of Perelandra--the dragon, the dolphin-like fish--and we get our first glimpse of the Green Lady. And Lewis asks, "Were all the things that appear as mythology on earth scattered through other worlds as realities?" (40). After bathing under the bubble trees, Ransom "had a sensation not of following an adventure but of enacting a myth" (42).
Perhaps living as a Christian is both an adventure, which it frequently is, and an enactment of the True Myth, as Tolkien described the Gospel story of Christ's death and resurrection. And if Lewis is right here, it isn't reason--or at least not merely reason--that ought to guide our behavior. We need a cleansing and heightening of our perceptions and desires in order to respond with integrity to our surroundings and circumstances. Ransom got this from the bubble fruit; how do we access it?
I'm really intrigued by the point you brought up about Lewis suggesting that our desires and intuitions may sometimes be less "wrong" than our reason. When I studied Shakespeare last semester the dichotomy he presents between reason and passion was a continual source of frustration to me. I could never put my finger on solid lines of moral definition between the two. When is it right to listen to your reason and ignore your emotions? When is it right to "listen to your heart," as the world so often puts it? Especially in relationships, this gets tricky....when do you give up on someone you love who your reason tells you isn't worth your concern, who will never come back to the straight and narrow path you long to see them on? Do all Anne Elliots who hold out for Captain Wentworth live happily ever after? Or like Marianne in Sense and Sensibility, is it better to move on from the caddish Willoughbys and marry the more sensible Colonel Brandons?
ReplyDeleteOn another note, the reason vs. passion tension also connects with the idea of us "enacting a myth," because really, we so often desire to live in the great myths we read about, but at least for me, I can never entirely bring myself to acknowledge that there is nothing foolish or heretical in secretly wishing there were dragons to slay and elves to speak to. I think sometimes we long for the spiritual without being really willing to acknowledge its reality. We talk about being "led by the Spirit" and the power of Satan and his minions in the world, but when the rubber meets the road, and we see the evidence of the Holy Spirit or the devil working in our life or someone else's, we excuse it with something rational, rather than simply acknowledging that there is a level of existence outside the laws of this universe.
Sorry if this is too long of a ramble, but I am glad you brought this up about Perelandra, because it may help me with my paper!
Glad it's got you thinking :^) It is tricky, because we're fallen. But it's also true that we're redeemed as whole people--not just our "reason."
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