It's a term from Sherlock Holmes fandom. A 'Watsonian' explanation is one that tries to make sense of something in in-universe terms. The opposite is a 'Doylist' explanation, which tries to explain it in terms of what the author was doing, deliberately or not. A Doylist explanation for the change in tone between 'Perelandra' and 'That Hideous Strength' would be that Lewis became friends with Charles Williams and wanted to pay tribute to him.
no subject
It's a term from Sherlock Holmes fandom. A 'Watsonian' explanation is one that tries to make sense of something in in-universe terms. The opposite is a 'Doylist' explanation, which tries to explain it in terms of what the author was doing, deliberately or not. A Doylist explanation for the change in tone between 'Perelandra' and 'That Hideous Strength' would be that Lewis became friends with Charles Williams and wanted to pay tribute to him.