Random CS Lewis question

[tree_and_leaf]

I was thinking - mid washing-up - about Voyage to Venus, specifically about the way in which the plot requires Ransom to kill Weston, or at least to kill his body if we assume that Weston's soul really is gone and not capable of being restored.

Why isn't some kind of exorcism a possible solution, and why doesn't it even occur to Ransom that it might be?

I mean, yes, the series is full of plot holes, even if you prefer to pretend that That Hideous Strength didn't happen, or alternatively that the Director isn't actually Ransom at all given that he isn't actually all that much like him, Symbolic Wounds aside*, and could have benefited from a rigorous beta reader. But that one seems particularly odd.


* In the immortal words of Dorothy L Sayers, "I liked Ransom better before he took to lying on sofas like the Heir of Redclyffe", though I think she was actually being a little unfair to Yonge there.

Comments

[tree_and_leaf]

I'd forgotten that bit; on reflection I think you're right, though it is a bit too convenient.

Mind you, I'm not sure how Ransom knows he's dealing with a zombie/ed corpse - the swallowing broken glass bit might merely prove that the Forces of Evil don't care what state Weston's body winds up in as it's not their long term problem.

I also, from a theological standpoint, see no reason why you can't exorcise a possessed corpse, and have been worth at least giving it a go. Though I suppose since Ransom is convinced God wants him to deal with the problem on a purely physical plane, it's plausible that he wouldn't.

I do think that aspect of the plot's a mess, though.

[legionseagle]

Every time I attempt to read Milton I get hopelessly bogged down, but I keep suspecting that Perelandra makes more sense if one is familiar with Paradise Lost and Comus.

But the whole setup sounds hinky from the start. Why Ransom?

[tree_and_leaf]

Other than the fact he speaks Old High Solar, I'm not sure.

I did read Paradise Lost as an undergraduate, but I've forgotten most of it, except the bits that irritated me. I couldn't face Comus.

[nineveh_uk]

I rather liked Comus, though I can't remember any of it beyond that fact.

[tree_and_leaf]

I think I was just Miltoned out at that point. Maybe I should give it a go.

[nineveh_uk]

That may be the crucial difference - it was my first (with Areopagitica).

[cheyinka]

From a theological standpoint you'd think exorcising a possessed corpse would be easier than exorcising a possessed person, much like exorcising, I don't know, a possessed cupboard.

[tree_and_leaf]

Well, yes, that's my feeling.