Perelandra

On the other hand, all those doubts which I had felt before I entered the cottage as to whether these creatures were friend of foe, and whether Ransom were a pioneer or a dupe, had for the moment vanished. My fear was now of another kind. I felt sure that he creature was what we called ‘good’, but I wasn’t sure whether I liked ‘goodness’ so much as I had supposed. This is a very terrible experience. As long as what you are afraid of is something evil, you may still hope that the good may come to your rescue. But suppose you struggle through to the good and find that it also is dreadful? How if food itself turns out to be the very thing you can’t eat, and home the very place you can’t live, and your very comforter the person who makes you uncomfortable? Then, indeed, there is no rescue possible: the last card has been played.

C.S. Lewis ~ Voyage to Venus (Perelandra) (Ch. 1)

3 comments:

Emmy said...

This seems to be a rather troubling passage...still, I would love to be able to read the entire novel...

Arborfield said...

Hi Emmy... very much in line with Jack Lewis' thinking on good and evil in his other works. Have you read anything else by him?

Love,

RR

Contemplative Monk said...

This book changed my whole world view. It is so refreshing to visit it again!!!
Thanks Roger!