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TITLE
C.S. Lewis' Critique of Modern Ideologies in That Hideous Strength
DATE:
Tuesday, June 24, 2003
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DESCRIPTION
C.S. Lewis’ (1898-1963) criticism of the ideologies of his time in That Hideous Strength, the third novel of his science fiction trilogy. The N.I.C.E. Corporation embodies many of the specific features of totalitarianism of Lewis’ time, such as scientism, materialism, and eugenics. It even announces the “culture of death”, as it has been called by John Paul II, namely the contraceptive mentality which is practiced by Mark and Jane Studdock, thereby preventing the birth of a child that was supposed to bring peace to England for a thousand years. N.I.C.E. promises Mark power, by joining the “inner circle” of the corporation that is really a caricature of true community. Instead of finding friendship he is manipulated and blackmailed. He is to trample on truth, beauty and the crucified, but is saved the consequences of his refusal. The perverted relationships and the refusal of truth and meaning in the N.I.C.E. lead to the breaking down of all communication in a splendid scene which echoes the fall of the Tower of Babel with its confusion of languages. In contrast, true communion is embodied by the group of St Anne which respects the differences of everyone and allows its members to fulfill their potential. True community, it turns out, depends on truth which is acknowledged by everyone, on values which are respected, on authority as exercised by Ransom, and on charity. That Hideous Strength puts into a fictional form what Lewis already wrote in The Abolition of Man, namely that the acknowledgment of truth and of the moral law are essential to man. Their refusal leads to his auto-destruction. Though some of the ideologies depicted in the last book of the trilogy - such as scientism - are not widely held in that specific form today, this truly apocalyptic novel is still a mirror of our times.
Dr. Marie Cabaud Meaney |
SPEAKER/PERFORMER INFORMATION
Dr. Marie Cabaud Meaney recently defended her dissertation on Literature and Apologetics: Simone Weil=s Christological Interpretations on Ancient Greek Texts in French Literature at Oxford University. She has also completed an MA in Philosophy at the International Academy of Philosophy in Liechtenstein on The Cognition of Beauty in the Work of Art: A Phenomenological Analysis. She has taught German and English and has both directed and tutored at the Phoenix Institute=s Summer Program in Oxford. She has written and lectured on the work of Simone Weil, philosophy, and woman=s issues.
LECTURE PREVIEW
SERIES THEME:
Communitas, 2003 Eichstatt
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