Perelandra, cont.

I read chapters 5 through 8 today; I have to speed up to get this done before Monday night class! Here we see the cosmic importance of the Incarnation on Thulcandra, when Maleldil took on human form; no longer will hnau be created in a variety of form; all will follow the same pattern. Though of course the Green Lady of Perelandra is quite different from her terrestrial counterparts, but most of the difference is in her experience of living on an unfallen planet--and her close communication with Maleldil. She tells Ransom she is the Mother of her children to come--and Ransom begins to get an idea of his mission though he doesn't know what his role will be in helping to prevent a catastrophic fall on Perelandra. At first he thinks the eldila will aid him as on Malacandria, but he later learns that the eldila are not communicate with the "new" worlds.

The Green Lady is already "growing older" from her conversations with Ransom; she says, "I thought that I was carried in the will of Him I love, but now I see that I walk with it" (60). The concept of free will is one that Weston/Unman will work to develop.

She and Ransom see a flash of light as something falls from Deep Heaven into the sea; Weston has arrived.

The Lady and Ransom spend the day on the Fixed Land, looking for the King; Ransom now thinks that the King will be the key to the preservation of Perelandra, but he's nowhere to be found. Instead they encounter Weston; this scene always makes me smile--he's traveled through space dressed as a 19th c. explorer complete with a pith hat! What was he thinking? Of course he has a gun and his old superiority complex--though now his thinking has "evolved" and he no longer believes in the mere continuation of the human race. Now his faith is grounded in "emergent evolution": "The forward movement of Life--the growing Spirituality--is everything" (78). His goal is "pure Spirit" (79); Ransom asks if this spirit is personal, and Weston's demeanor changes to give us a hint of what is going on. He makes some pretty creepy comments about being "guided" and a "force" rising up in him (80). He is completely overcome with his megalomania and calls the force into himself; "Then horrible things began happening" (82). We get one frantic plea for help from the "real" Weston and then that terrifying scene of the black Perelandrian night descending on Ransom and Weston's body.

In chapter 8, the true battle begins with the Unman's conversation with the Green Lady; he tells her about the women of our planet whose minds "run ahead of what Maleldil has told them"; they are like, he says, "little Maleldils" (91). The chapter ends with Ransom feeling something in the air--some airy suggestion of victory, and he concludes that he has come merely as a witness to the battle, which will end with victory for the Lady and her race. He's in for a rude awakening . . .

It's so convicting to listen to the Unman's arguments--to recognize the various elements of our sin and rebellion; it's so disheartening to realize that our nature is truly bent--even our understanding of and seeking after "good"; and it's so encouraging to realize the extent of God's love and mercy in re-establishing communication and communion with us.