Many love C. S. Lewis because of the heartwarming world of Narnia and the logical precision of Mere Christianity. But Lewis considered his true masterpiece to be Till We Have Faces, his dark retelling of an ancient pagan myth.
The book presents the Greek myth of Cupid and Psyche from the perspective of Psyche’s sister, Orual. Set in the grim city of Glome, the story is both unusual and heavy. Polytheism is normal, and suffering is everywhere. The novel is Orual’s accusation against the gods for allowing so much injustice. The story ends with her realizing her own depravity and then dying.
Though the novel was published 70 years ago, it remains relatively unknown among Lewis’s works. I see why after reading it and attending Peter Kreeft’s lectures, which have since been published as a commentary on the novel. At times the novel reads like a bizarre narrative based on an equally obscure myth.
And yet, despite the book’s eccentricities—or perhaps because of them—it speaks clearly into our modern dilemmas. The novel offers Lewis’s best answers to two questions: the problem of evil and the problem of divine hiddenness.
Problem of Evil
Lewis wrote often about the problem of evil. His most popular response is found in Mere Christianity:
My argument against God was that the universe seemed so cruel and unjust. But how had I got this idea of just and unjust? . . . In the very act of trying to prove that God did not exist . . . I found I was forced to assume that one part of reality—namely my idea of justice—was full of sense.
While this answer is logically consistent, Till We Have Faces offers something more experiential. Pain and loss define Orual’s life in Glome. She’s mistreated by her father, loses the sister she loves, and falls in love with Bardia, the married captain of her palace guard, whom she can never be with. Orual buries her pain and masks it, literally. She is never as beautiful as her sisters, so once she becomes queen, she always veils her face. She becomes a symbol of power, authority, and intimidation.
But Orual realizes that her love for Psyche and Bardia is a selfish, devouring love. In her desire to have more time with her sister, Orual separates Psyche from her husband. And because of her longing to be with Bardia, she works him to death. By loving people selfishly, her affection consumes them.
Lewis shows that sin is disordered love. Every human love becomes an idol when not directed by God’s love. Only through the self-giving love of God are we able to become people who love selflessly.
Lewis shows that sin is disordered love. Every human love becomes an idol when not directed by God’s love.
This redefinition of evil makes Orual reconsider her complaint against the gods. When she asks her mentor if the gods are unjust, he replies, “Oh no, child. What would become of us if they were?” Lewis shows that evil isn’t only a reality outside us but also a disease within every heart. If the gods completely eradicated evil, they’d also have to eliminate Orual because of her sin. God doesn’t fully remove evil, because of his love and mercy for us.
Problem of Divine Hiddenness
Realizing her inner brokenness shows Orual why the gods tolerate evil, but it doesn’t explain their silence. Like Job, she wants to talk with the divine to receive an explanation for her suffering. If the gods won’t disappear, they might as well reveal themselves and tell us what they want.
What Orual raises is the problem of divine hiddenness. Why is God so hard to find?
Today, this is one of the most popular and fundamental objections to theism. As we read Till We Have Faces, it’s evident that Lewis wrestled deeply with this question. He originally began writing the book when he was an unbeliever struggling with God’s apparent absence. He was only able to finish the novel after becoming a Christian.
Similarly, Orual only realizes why the divine nature has been hidden from her after having a kind of conversion. As she stands before the gods, she recites all her complaints. After the gods stop her, they don’t speak. But their silence is mercy, not punishment. Orual explains, “I saw well why the gods do not speak to us openly, nor let us answer. . . . How can they meet us face to face till we have faces?”
The reason we don’t meet with God face to face is because our faces, not his, are hidden. We wear masks to hide our faults, and we can only meet with God when the veils fall off. Our true faces, with all their flaws, must be revealed before we can see God’s face.
The reason we don’t meet with God face to face is because our faces, not his, are hidden. We wear masks to hide our faults, and we can only meet with God when the veils fall off.
Lewis originally titled the book Bareface. The title is fitting. The core controversy of the human soul is the slow and painful process of removing our masks. The veil of self-justification has to be replaced with repentance. Orual first had to realize her own inner ugliness before she could see God’s beauty.
The darkness and obscurity of Till We Have Faces give the novel its enduring power. Lewis shows we must admit our sin before we can truly encounter God. We can only see his face after confessing our flaws. Lewis concludes his novel with these words: “I know now, Lord, why you utter no answer. You are yourself the answer. Before your face questions die away. What other answer would suffice?”
The Gospel Coalition