Mere Christianity - Overview

In 1941, during WWII, in the midst of the London Blitz, the BBC asked C.S. Lewis, an Oxford don, to deliver a set set of broadcasts.  He agreed.  His talks riveted Britain, and the BBC expanded them.  His talks later formed the basis for the 1952 book, Mere Christianity, which combined three books already published based upon those talks.  The first book was published in Britain in 1942, simply called, Broadcast Talks. It contained his first 10 talks.  A year later it was published in the United States under the title, The Case for Christianity.  In Mere Christianity, the first five broadcast talks became Book I. Right and Wrong as a Clue to the Meaning of the Universe.  The second five talks became, Book 2. What Christians Believe.

The second book based on the BBC talks was published in Britain in 1943, called Christian Behavior.  It included eight more talks Lewis delivered in 1942, and expanded into 12 chapters in the book.  In Mere Christianity, those 12 chapters became Book 3. Christians Behavior.

Lewis delivered the third set of seven talk in 1944 - and the BBC first published them in its weekly magazine, The Listner.   It was then published in 1944 as 11 chapters in a book called Beyond Personality.  In Mere Christianity, it became Book 4. Beyond Personality: or First Steps in the Doctrine of the Trinity.

In 2006, Christianity Today, considered evangelicalism's flagship by the Washington Post, placed Mere Christianity third on its list of most influential books among evangelicals since 1945.  While many books tend to decline in sales over time, Mere Christianity increased in sales over time.  Many non-Christians tend to read it.

I am currently leading a group of men in studying this book.  I plan to post a separate blog post summarizing one chapter of this book, and provide a link to each summary of each chapter in this post.  I hope this helps you if you decide to read the book (or already have read the book).  If you have not read it, and plan not to, I hope this will help you in understand the book.

The links below will lead you to each post on each chapter (at least as far as I have gotten).  Below that, I will provided a link to some other books where I posted a chapter by chapter summary. (The link will lead to the Overview post, which contains links to the chapter postings.)

Preface
Bk.1 Ch. 1 - The Law of Human Nature 
Bk 1 Ch 2 - Some Objections
Bk 1 Ch 3 - The Reality of the Law
Bk 1 Ch 4 - What Lies Behind the Law
Bk 1 Ch 5 - We Have Cause to be Uneasy

Bk 2 Ch 1 - The Rival Conceptions of God
Bk 2 Ch 2 - The Invasion
Bk 3 Ch 3 - The Shocking Alternative
Bk 3 Ch 4 - The Perfect Penitent

That Hideous Strength by C.S. Lewis

The Confessions by St. Augustine

That Hideous Strength - Character List

This lists many (not all) of the characters which appear in That Hideous Strength by C.S. Lewis.

• Mark (Gainsby) Studdock - A Fellow in Sociology for 5 years at Bracton College.  He talks with Sub-Warden Curry and discovers, to his delight, he is now part of the inner circle.  He married his wife Jane six months ago, and they are drifting apart.  Lord Feverstone recruits Mark to join the NICE, where Mark delights in reaching another inner circle before discovering how horrendous it is.  He has to pretend to go along before he can finally leave it.
• Jane (Tudor) Studdock - Jane Tudor married Mark 6 months ago, and left the job she enjoyed.  Since then, she works on her doctoral thesis, but makes no progress.  Before marriage, they had endless talks, but since marriage, she feels alone in solitary confinement.  She has nightmares of a man beheaded by having his head twisted off.  A picture in a newspaper reminds her of this dream.  Out shopping, she runs into Mrs. Dimble, who invites her home to lunch with her husband, Dr. Dimble.  She eventually joins a fellowship at St. Anne's where she plays a key role in overturning the evil forces assembled at the NICE.  She continues to have strange and scary dreams, which eventually turn out to be true since she has a gift for seeing the future in her dreams.
• Dr. Cecil Dimble - used to be Jane's tutor at Northumberland College.  Knows a lot about Arthurian scholarship and pre-Norman Britain.  He notices Jane does not look well, and she tells the Dimble's about her dream.  They send her to see Grace Ironwood at St. Anne's, where Dr. Dimble plays a central role in the fellowship there, especially after the Dimbles move in full time after losing their home to the expansion of the NICE.
• Margaret "Mother" Dimble - Married to Dr. Dimble, she takes on a motherly role to all his current and former students, like Jane, as well as to everyone in the fellowship at St. Anne's.
• Grace Ironwood - A psychologist.  Jane tells her her dreams, and worries if anything is wrong with her.  Grace, who is kind, but tough, tells Jane nothing is wrong with her - instead, Jane is a visionary who sees things in her dreams ahead of time, a gift she inherited from a Tudor ancestor who wrote about it in his autobiographical book.  She urges Jane to use her gift in service for the fellowship at St. Anne's, and warns others will want to use her gift for subversive purposes.
• Sub-Warden Curry - Curry serves as the effective head of Bracton College, who thinks the NICE "marks the beginning of a new era - the really scientific era."  Curry wants Mark to support the sale of of Bragdon Woods to the NICE.  At dinner, he introduces Mark to Lord Feverstone.
• James Busby - the Bursar at Bracton College.  Busby is also enthusiastic about the NICE.
• Lord Feverstone - His real name is Dick Divine, who has appeared in the prior stories of the Space Trilogy as a villain. At the dinner, Mark discovers Feverstone as the person responsible for getting his position at Bracton College over another prospect, Denniston.  Once Curry and Busby, the Bursar, leave, Mark discovers Feverstone holds them in disdain, but finds them useful in running Bracton College for the benefit of the NICE.  He believes Mark would fit in well at the NICE and invites him to meet the leaders there, which Mark accepts with some reservation.
• John Withers - the Deputy Director of the NICE, who masters double-talk.  He says a lot without saying anything, or says something while meaning something else.  Mark can never seem to get a a straight answer out of him.
• Bill Hingest - also known as "Bill the Blizzard."  A prominent chemist at Bracton, he left to work at the NICE, but now informs Mark he plans to leave it immediately, and advises Mark to do the same.  Bill winds up dead later that evening.  Later, Mark is falsely accused of murdering Bill.
• Professor Filastro - advises Mark to stay with the NICE and not worry about a job title - the work of the NICE is too important to pass up.  Later, Filastro reveals he would like to do away with the messiness of organic life.  He only wants to preserve the mind and clean metal.  He likes to talk about the cleanness of the moon.  He believes the real purpose of the NICE is the conquest of organic life.  He tells Mark the real head of the NICE is Francois Alcasan.
• Francois Alcasam - An Arabian radiologist who poisoned his wife.  He was beheaded for this crime.  However, before his execution, Jane sees him in a dream being beheaded by twisting his head off.  Somehow, Filastro has obtained his head, attached it to a machine with many tubes and dials, and believes he is keeping it alive, and it speaks.  To see it, select visitors must strip to their underclothes, wash, put on white clothes, gloves, and a surgical mask, and go through an air lock.  Jane saw in a dream, three of them, including her husband Mark, approach him, speak with him in French (which she did not understand).  
• "Fairy" Hardcastle - head of the internal police of the NICE.  She also later advises Mark how to get along at the NICE, by not bothering Withers (the Deputy Director) about his position. Later she gives Mark an assignment which gains him passage into an inner circle.  Still later, she attempts to arrest Mark's wife, Jane, and does torture her in the process, though Jane manages to get away and goes back to St. Anne's.
• Reverend Straik (also known as the "Mad Parson).  He believes the NICE program must be carried out with violence - as the means of bringing about the Kingdom of God through science.  He believes himself a prophet (who actually reveals the nature of the NICE).
• Professor Frost - A member of the inner circle at the NICE, who has nez-pierce glasses and a pointed beard.  He works closely with the Deputy Director, Withers, in managing the NICE.
• Mr. Denniston - an old friend of Mark (who now lives at St. Anne's).
• Camilla Denniston - wife of Mr. Denniston.  They reveal they live at St. Anne's in a society run by a Mr. Fisher-King, who recently received an injury to his foot which won't heal (which ties into Arthurian legends - Mr. Denniston also refers to him as the Pendragon - another Arthurian reference.  They urge Jane to join the society at St. Anne's and use her gift for good before the forces of evil force her to use on their side.  (Which goes against Jane's independence - so she resists.)
• Pendragon (Fisher-King - Dr. Ransom) - A title held by Arthur's uncle, which passed to Arthur's father,Uther, and then which passed to Arthur.  In Welsh it roughly means the dragon-head - the leader.  This title has passed from person to person down through the years, and now applies to the Director (Dr. Ransom) at St. Anne's.  When Jane met him, "her world was unmade."  Though he appeared as a 20 year old golden boy, his beard and strength made it clear he was much older.  One of his foot bore a bandaged wound, so that pain came and went on his face.  His voice seemed like sunlight and gold.  The Director wants Jane to join the fellowship, but she hesitates while Mark belongs to the NICE.  Dr. Ransom was a philologist before he began his adventures in outer space.
• Mr. Bultitude - a bear who peacefully lives in St. Anne's.
• Mr. McPhee - Part of the fellowship at St. Anne's who insists on empirical evidence to support any belief.  (The resident skeptic.)
• Logres - a name for ancient England, which recalls a more romantic and earthy past.
• Merlin - from Arthurian days, yet we find that though Merlin has a pagan past - he is much more aligned with Christianity than we knew.  He has been asleep for many years and has now awakened.  Both sides seek him and his assistance, though he finds his way to the Pendragon to whom he offers his assistance and loyalty.
• Macrobes - Frost reveals they are the true source of direction for the NICE.  He says they exist above animal life, including humans.  Apparently, through their influence, Frost believes most of the human population is dead weight, and only about ten percent need survive.
• The tramp - a street person whom the NICE mistake for Merlin.

That Hideous Strength - Conclusion

Though That Hideous Strength can be read alone, it's important to keep in mind it's the last book in Lewis' Space Trilogy, and it helps to read the first two books, which sets forth the cosmology background as well as important character background.

It also helps to understand the publication history of the Space Trilogy, as well as some other books Lewis published around this time, along with some broadcast talks he gave around then.

• Out of the Silent Planet - 1938
• BBC Broadcast talks about Christianity (1942-1944)
• The Case for Christianity -1942 (a pamphlet based on the BBC talks)
• Perelandra - 1943
• Christian Behavior - 1943 (a pamphlet based on the BBC talks)
• The Abolition of Man - 1943
• Beyond Personality - 1944 (a pamphlet based on the BBC talks)
• That Hideous Strength - 1945

By the time Lewis wrote That Hideous Strength, these other writings, talks, and pamphlets all influenced it,

especially The Abolition of Man.  In fact, some have identified the theme of That Hideous Strength, as a fictional treatment of the dystopian (opposite of utopian) project to carry out The Abolition of Man.  The final chapter of The Abolition of Man describes a distant future where a small group rules the majority by rejecting any moral system in favor of their whims and their "perfect" understanding.  They surrender rationality and thus give up their humanity.  They seek to convert mankind into essentially robots, and thus destroy their humanity.

In That Hideous Strength, much of this gets reflected in the NICE (The National Institute of Coordinated Experiments), a small group who seek to control mankind, who set aside any moral system to reach this goal, and who believe their understanding justifies their whims.  Mark gets sucked into this organization, and soon takes pride in writing articles which manipulates the public to achieve the NICE's goals.  It takes him awhile to learn what a hideous organization it really is.

To oppose the NICE, Lewis draws upon not only Christianity, but the richer world of Old England - of Logres, which always stands ready to keep modern Britain from straying too far.  So Merlin appears, ready to take action on behalf of the Pendragon, a successor to Arthur.  In addition, the other main angels of the different planets, the Oyeresu (often confused with the gods of mythology), descend to earth to assist and oppose the Oyarsa of Earth, the "Bent One" (Satan), who assists and secretly guides the NICE in its destructive behavior.  These forces assemble under the leadership of Ransom at St. Anne's who has a small collection of loyal followers, including Mark's wife, Jane.  Ransom is the current Pendragon, and though his actions, or inaction, often confuse his followers, they learn he knows exactly what he is doing (since the Oyeresu instruct him).

The story begins with Mark and Jane drifting apart - apparently heading towards divorce.  It ends with their drawing together again under the influence of Venus, who descends over St. Anne's.

That Hideous Strength, written as a dystopia novel, can be difficult to follow and read.  It helps to think of other dystopian novels when reading it, such as Gulliver's Travel (1725) by Johnathan Swift, or Brave New World (1932) by Aldous Huxley.

Ch. 17 - Venus at St. Anne's

That Hideous Strength - Overview

Character List

That Hideous Strength - Ch 17 - Venus at St. Anne's

Birth of Venus - Sandro Botticelli - 1483-85

Mark gets a ride from a truck driver near St. Anne's.  But Mark takes his time because he feels shy - he's going to see Jane in her proper world, but not his - admitted out of kindness to Jane - but otherwise viewed suspiciously.  He also now saw that he assumed marriage gave him the power to take the freshness he saw in Jane.  He now understood all that must change, but how?

The ladies at St. Anne's wandered through a Wardrobe upstairs full of robes of state, and helped each other select elegant, sumptuous dresses for each other - then something shook.

Lord Feverstone tried to get back to Edgestow, only to encounter one difficulty after another, and to find everyone leaving it, since it was falling apart.  When he finally got there, he decided to leave, but couldn't.  Instead, the earth, destroyed as it was, swallowed him up.

Meanwhile, back at St. Anne's, Dimble explains to the group that Logres (Old England) has always struggled against Britain, and seeks to prod it out of its stupor.  He briefly explains its history from this perspective.  He goes on to explain how the last in a long unbroken Pendragons passed the office on to Ransom, who will soon pass it on to someone else before leaving for Avalon (where Arthur still lives by legend).

Back at Edgestow, Curry had difficulty with the train, which stopped moving, and he came to be informed that all of Bracton College had been destroyed.  Suddenly, he looked forward to being the founder of a new Bracton College, and all the prestige that would bring him.

At St. Anne's, Ransom declares Venus herself was over St. Anne's;  for Mr. Bultitude (the bear) had returned with Mrs. Bultitude, and after the Director laid hands on them, they blundered out together into the warmth and wetness of the fragrant midsummer night.  Other animals paired off in a similar manner.  Ransom, laid his hands on the Dimbles, and they went off arm in arm.  He sent Ivy off to be with her husband released from jail, Tom.  Finally he sent Jane off to be with her husband (Mark) waiting for her at the lodge.

Mark reflected on all his failings as a husband, and expected Jane to send him away.  Suddenly, he noticed someone like a woman woman divinely tall, inhumanely beautiful, opening a door for him.  He went in and found a place of sweet smells, bright fires, food and wine, and a rich bed.

Jane went into the liquid light and supernatural warmth of the garden - across the wet lawn, going down to the lodge.  She thought about what if Mark did not want her?  Then she noticed the bedroom window was open - Mark's clothes lay all over the chair, the sill, and the outside wall.  She thought it was high time she went in.

Chapter 16 - Banquet at Belbury

That Hideous Strength - Conclusion

Overview - That Hideous Strength

Character List

That Hideous Strength - Ch 16 - Banquet at Belbury

The scheduled dinner party commences at Belbury, with Jules, the figurehead Director, as the scheduled speaker, with the tramp (whom they believe to be Merlin) sitting at the high table and the interpreter priest (the real Merlin) standing behind him.

Jules begins speaking, but the Deputy Director, Withers, soon noticed that everything Jules said seemed utterly nonsensical.  He noticed the others, who usually only minimally listened to the speaker so they could laugh or applaud when customary, were all staring agog at Jules.  Withers debated whether he should interfere, but when he did, though he thought he said perfectly sensible words to calm everyone, they stared at him agog, and then panic began to set in as no one could understand anyone else - everything everyone said sounded like gibberish.

We learn that Merlin uses the power Viritrilbia (Mercury) - the master of language - gave him to confuse their speech - similar to the confusion at the Tower of Babel.  He then sneaks out of the banquet room and releases the animals the NICE confine for their experiments.  These animals find their way to the banquet room where they cause more panic, mayhem, and even death, especially at the feet of the elephant who breaks in through the front door, causing sheer terror.  In the confusion, Miss Hardcastle, the head of the NICE police, shoots Jules (the figurehead Director) who dies.  She keeps shooting again and again which furthers the wild terror.  Soon Miss Hardcastle herself turns up dead.

Mark blacked out during the commotion.  Merlin woke him with a splash of cold water in his face.  Mark noticed an empty room filled a hideous confusion of mangled people awash in food, filth, and spoiled luxury. Merlin handed him a note which informed him his wife awaited him at St. Anne's and to come quickly.  Mark went outside, Merlin struck him on the back, and Mark found himself running as never before - his legs would not stop.

Meanwhile, Withers somehow escapes the dining room.  He understands all is lost, the powers of Deep Heaven reached the Earth (Tellus) - despite the assurances of the dark Masters they could not.  He, Straik, and Filostrato went before the talking head (actually the voice of dark Masters), worshiping him.  The talking head demands a further sacrifice, to they killed Filostrato - and then demands a further sacrifice - so Withers kills Straik.  Then Mr. Bultitude (the bear) shows up, also released by Merlin, and upset at his captivity.  He kills Withers, and thus Belbury practically ends defeated in one evening.

Feverstone decides to escape Belbury by car.  However, he finds his car follows an old Roman road between Belbury and Edgestow apart from his control.

Frost, who denies everything, including his own emotions and self, goes into the room adjacent to the talking head (the voice of the dark masters).  Seeing his close companions mutilated, but denying the reality and his own emotions, he pours out petrol and lights it, killing himself and only realizing at the last moment everything he believed in was wrong.

Ch. 15 - The Descent of the Gods

Ch. 17 - Venus at St. Anne's

Overview - That Hideous Strength

Character List

That Hideous Strength - Ch 15 - The Descent of the Gods

Lewis titles this chapter "The Descent of the Gods," but as you read it, it's clear he's not promoting multiple gods (polytheism), but instead referring to the chief angels of each planet, which the ancient world considered gods (which Lewis clearly rejects).  Instead, in this chapter, Lewis, a medieval scholar, brings out the medieval beauty and majesty view of the cosmos.

Medieval planet names 

This chapter begins with the chief angel (oyarsu) of each world known to the medieval age descending to St. Anne's.  Though they specifically descend to the Blue Room where the Director (Ransom) and Merlin await them alone, still their descent affects all others at the household. First descended Viritrilbia (Mercury, also known as Thoth or Hermes), accompanied by the doubling, splitting, and recombining of thoughts, which they only endured with some knowledge of poetry. Second Perelandra (Venus, also known as Aphrodite) descended, accompanied by a summer breeze England never had and Charity such as no one on Earth had ever experienced.  Third Malacandra (Mars, also known as Ares, Mavors, and Tyr) descended accompanied by a sense of the ordered rhythm of the universe, sharing in a processional pomp, and a readiness for action.  Fourth Lugra (Saturn) descends accompanied by incredible pressure, freezing cold, and sorrow.  Finally, Glundandra (Jupiter, also known as Jove and Zeus) descended accompanied by Kingship, power, festivities, and music, which dispelled the sorrow of Lurga.  These Oyarsus (often confused by men with the "gods") empowered Merlin for his task.  Finally, clean shaven, MacPhee drove Merlin down near Belbury and dropped him off.

Merlin appears at Belbury responding to their ad for someone familiar with obscure languages (so they can speak with the tramp they believe to be Merlin).  Frost and Withers mistake Merlin for a priestly type wearing a rusty cassock and a wide brimmed black hat.  Merlin speaks to the tramp in a strange language which the tramp recognizes and responds to (likely a language empowered by Viritrilbia - the master of languages).  Thus, Merlin can control Frost and Withers, since they are eager to please engage Merlin, whom they believe to be the tramp, and they believe Merlin to be a true interpreter of whom they believe to be Merlin.  Though privately and when alone, they have their doubts, they do not wish to challenge, and risk the displeasure of Merlin (the tramp) or the interpreter (the real Merlin).

Merlin says the tramp demands a tour of Belbury by Withers, and demands robes.  Withers dresses him with robes as a Doctor of Philosophy and begins the tour.  Mark remains with Frost, who demands that Mark trample a large crucifix on the floor and otherwise insult it.  Frost hopes this will confirm Mark is with them.  Though Mark does not believe in Christianity, the demand disturbs him, and after much consternation, he emphatically states he will not do so.

The NICE figurehead Director, Jules, shows up for a scheduled dinner party.  However, Jules does not know he is a figurehead, and believes he directs affairs.  He wonders why Withers (the Deputy Director) is not in attendance.  Withers soon shows up with the tramp (as Merlin) and Merlin (as his interpreter) in tow.  Jules is unimpressed with their appearance.  Mark tries to speak to Jules, but Withers and Frost interfere.  Jules expresses his displeasure at how things are being run.  Withers sympathizes and introduces the tramp (Merlin) as Dr. Ambrosius.  Jules doesn't like him, and even more dislikes his interpreter (the real Merlin).

Ch 14 - Real Life is Meeting

Ch 15 - Banquet at Belbury

Overview of That Hideous Strength

Character List

That Hideous Strength - Ch 14 - Real Life is Meeting

Martin Buber (1878-1965) lived as an influential existentialist philosopher, who also exerted a prominent role in theology.  He emphasized an "I and You" personal relationship with God, which deeply affected all our other relationships - making them more personal.  He contrasted it with an "I and It" impersonal relationship with God, which tended to affect all our other relationships - making them more impersonal.  He summarized these views in his saying, "All real life is meeting."  (I won't go into his theology here.)  C.S. Lewis seemed to have picked up on some of this as indicated in his title for this chapter, "Real Life is Meeting."

Mark remains in a cell at Belbury, visited at times by Frost, who seeks to remove all emotions from him (all humanity and the personal), and replace it with complete objectivity (the impersonal and inhuman).  Though Mark inwardly resists, he outwardly plays along, thinking he will only eventually gain his freedom this way. As part of this process, he had to endure exposure to art intended to offend him in an effort to numb his human emotions.  Instead, they produced an opposite effect of reinforcing his determination to resist this sort of training, and instead more determined to choose the opposite - the normal, all wrapped up in his wife, Jane.  At this point, Frost led Mark to a bedroom with a roaring blaze and an old man in the bed.  Frost told Mark he was to remain on duty here until relieved, and that if the old man said anything, to call the Deputy Director, but not to speak to him since the old man did not speak English.  However, soon after Frost left, the old man awoke - and he did speak English.

Song of Songs

Meanwhile, Jane helps Mother Dimble prepare a bedroom for the reuniting of Ivy Maggs with her husband, Mr. Maggs, who is being released from prison for a petty theft crime he committed before their marriage, but which was discovered six weeks later.  Jane reflects on the "solemn, yet roguish, company of old women who had been tucking young lovers into beds since the world began," who could "kneel devoutly at alters" one moment, but at the next moment cheerfully make ribald comments about young lovers.  Jane begins to wonder how her relationship with Mark will develop when he returns.  When Jane sits alone, she sees an enticing woman in a flame colored robe, who reminds her somewhat of Mother Dimble.  She soon notices a group of five fat dwarfs accompany her - who mock Jane.  The woman holds a torch, but when she touches items, instead of burning, it causes ivy, honeysuckle, red roses, and lilies to grow.  Meanwhile, the dwarfs tore up the room.  Suddenly, Jane realized she was dreaming - yet the room was empty but for the bed which had been pulled to pieces.  She decides to see the Director at once.

Mr. Bultitude (one concept)

Mr. Bultitude, the bear, unattended by Ivy Maggs, his caretaker, who left to meet her husband being released from prison, climbed a tree over the walls of St. Francis, and landed on the other side.  Len and Sid from Bebury see Mr. Bultitude, and wonder if he's the bear they keep there escaped.  Anyway, they were out to purchase a wolf from someone who backed out upon learning how Belbury uses animals.  They are worried their boss at Belbury might fire them for not returning with the wolf.  They decide its better to return with a bear rather than empty-handed, whether or not its the bear from Belbury.  They throw Mr. Bultitude a drugged sandwich, which he eats, and which soon knocks him out.  They tie him up - throw him in the van - and take him back to Belbury.

Meanwhile, Mark got to spend more time with the tramp, and got to know more about him, though the tramp always acted elusively.  From time to time, Withers and Frost brought someone else in who tried to speak to him in another foreign language.  Each time, the tramp would not respond, with an expression of tranquil indifference.  Mark felt that he achieved a special secret and strong circle with the tramp.

Back at St. Francis, the Director explains to Jane that as long as Merlin remains with them, they are not exactly in the 20th Century, they have entered into an overlap.  Besides, as a seer, Jane was bound to run into the Old Woman, who resembled Mother Dimble, a Christian woman, but since Jane is not a Christian woman, she encountered a version that existed before Christ (before Maleldil), untransformed, demoniac, which reflected the history of Jane's life.  Jane begins to realize that the Director stands on the side of Mother Dimble.  While she hoped for a world where all differences of sex were taken away, she begins to suspect that a deeper reality may exist where the differences run all the way up the ladder.  The Director reinforces this view by saying, "What is above and beyond all things is so masculine that we are all feminine in relation to it."  The Director ventures the Huge Woman was the earthly Venus in anticipation of Oyarsa of Perelandra (Venus), since Director planned to bring Merlin before the various Oyarasas of the various planets - Vitribula (Mercury), Perelandra (Venus), Malacandra (Mars), Glund [or Glundandra] (Jupitar), and Lurga (Saturn) so they can empower him.  Then, since Belbury advertises for experts in archaic Western dialects, they will send Merlin in that capacity and so empowered.  At the last moment they find out Mr. Maggs has been sent to Belbury for "remedial treatment."

As Jane thinks about what the Director said, at first it seems nonsensical to her as a view of religion.  But as she reflects further, she realizes the Directors and others at St. Francis never spoke about religion, instead they talked about God.  Instead of steam rising upwards, they pictured strong, skillful hands thrusting downwards to make someone into a truer version of what that God had designed them to be.  She experienced a profound change.  She came into the presence of a Person who demanded everything right.  The "Me" she centered on vanished.  In its place, something new molded.  She found the experience resulted in the largest thing that ever happened to her in the shortest time possible.

Obviously, the title Lewis chose had to do with meeting with the personal God.

Ch 13 - They Have Pulled Down Deep Heaven on their Heads

Ch 15 - The Descent of the Gods

That Hideous Strength - Overview

Character List

That Hideous Strength - Ch 13 - They Have Pulled Down Deep Heaven on Their Heads

Medieval heaven - Thulacandra
is the Earth.  Sulva is the Moon.
Malacandra is Mars.  Perelandra
is Venus.  Arbol is the the Sun.

Merlin stands at the door of St. Francis.  The Director (Ransom) addresses him in Latin, but Merlin insists on speaking to the master of the house.  Since the Director is dressed in modern clothes, Merlin mistakes him for a slave, and it takes some convincing before Merlin believes the Director is the Pendragon whom he must obey.  Merlin only believes in the Director after a series of three questions, which only the Pendragon would be able to answer, and which the Director correctly answers.  (Look at earlier chapters if you want reminding about the role of the Pendragon.)

Meanwhile at Belbury, Frost and Withers distress about their inability to communicate with the person they believe to be Merlin (actually a simple tramp).  They wonder who they have who can communicate with him, and after much pondering, decide upon both Mark and Straik, even if that means bringing them into the inner circle sooner than they had planned to do later, rather than sooner.

Merlin puts most members of the St. Francis house asleep.  Once they awaken, they go looking for him, only to find him and the Director (Ransom) clothed in full robes (the dress of his office) talking intimately with Merlin.  They begin to suspect the Director - who earlier referred to Merlin as the enemy.  However, the Director assures them Merlin adheres to their position.  Suddenly, Merlin loudly objects to Jane.  Apparently, she and Mark should have had a son who would have saved Logres (England).  The Director assures Merlin that Jane adheres to their position and she and Mark have plenty of time to have their child.

The members of St. Francis have a long conversation about Merlin and his times.  They conclude that considering everything, Merlin must be on their side and against the forces at work Belbury, even though it might appear to be otherwise (which is why, apparently,  the folks at Belbury seem to assume Merlin must be on their side).

Merlin hails from a much earlier time in Britain, and finds himself confounded by modern England.  He wants to use magic and his old relationship with nature to fight against the modern forces.  The Director says those methods were never very lawful, and quite ineffectual these days.  Merlin considers the Director (the Pendragon) the King, and does not understand why he does not simply command things to be as they should be, or command others to follow his edicts.  The Director takes pains to explain he is not the king, and he cannot command others.  Instead, he explains their battle engages spiritual reality, and involves angelic beings with supernatural powers.  Merlin wonders how the Director knows the password (about the Oyeresu as Masters).  The Director explains he did not know this was a password, he simply knew it's truth from his experiences (as explained in the first book of the Trilogy).  Merlin seeks help from other quarters, but the Director explains no other help can be found but through elildels.  "The Hideous Strength holds all this Earth in its fist to squeeze as it wishes.  But for their one mistake, there would be no hope left."  And later, "They have gone to the gods who would not have come to them, and have pulled down Deep Heaven on their heads."

Ch 12 - Wet and Windy Night

Ch 14 - Real Life is Meeting

Overview of That Hideous Strength

Character List

That Hideous Strength - Ch 12 - Wet and Windy Night

Jane, Dimble, and Denniston continue to tramp through the wet countryside looking for Merlin, unsure if they are following a tramp and his trail.

Meanwhile, the Deputy Director of the NICE (Withers) hardly ever sleeps.  He learned to withdraw his mind from the task of living.  He had achieved a detachment of the spirit, which pursued its own life, while his body carried out routines on an independent basis.

He spoke with a Mr. Stone selected to head up a search party.  Stone reported they found the chamber, but it was empty.  They followed a long tunnel leading out of it upwards, and found the end of the tunnel appeared to have been blasted open.  Stone reported they split into parties, and continued searching for an old man with a very long beard and unusual clothes.

At the same time, Jane, Dimble, and Denniston continue their search for Merlin.  Suddenly they saw a horse passed close to them  with a man on his back and streaming garments.  They tried unsuccessfully to shout out to him, and before they knew it, the horse leaped over a hedge, and they were gone.

Over at Belbury, Frost greets Mark in the prison cell by telling him he is great danger, but also within reach of a great opportunity.  The danger lies in that the NICE may decide to kill him (as they have done with others).  The great opportunity lies in the NICE allowing entry for Mark into their most inner circle.  To gain admission, Mark must learn to be completely objective, and to ignore any emotions, which only result from chemical phenomena.  Objectivity is the only basis of unity for the inner circle.

Frost also reveals the true source of direction for the NICE.  He says that while Filastro thinks it's Alcasan's head, Frost explains its macrobes that speak through Alcasan's head.  These macrobes exist above the level of animal life, including mankind.  They have influenced mankind in the past.  The inner circle cooperates with the macrobes to achieve their goals.  Frost discusses how society no longer requires a large population, it only requires about ten percent of the current population, the technocrats, those who can achieve objectivity and ignore the chemical phenomena of emotions.  The rest are dead weight well rid of by wars, other disasters, and possibly government action in the future.

Though Mark stands by his prior decision to not to trust anyone at the NICE any longer, he goes along with this discussion to keep his options open, especially by avoiding the NICE killing him.  However, he also felt the pull, like a tide, of joining this inner circle.  After some loud noises outside, Frost is handed a piece of paper.  When he reads it, he immediately leaves the jail cell, with Mark still in it.

Meanwhile, back at St. Anne's, the company anxiously awaits the return of Jane, Dimble, and Denniston, especially given the strength of the storm outside.  Suddenly, they hear a loud noise outside, and the Director and MacPhee go downstairs to open the door and investigate.  They saw a huge horse at the door, and a very tall man lept off his back.  His reddish-grey hair and beard were blown all about his face.  He wore a ragged ill-fitting khaki coat, baggy trousers, and boots that had lost the toes.

Back at Belbury, four men brought in an unconscious naked man in a blanket on a stretcher, and transferred him to a bed.  Withers stares at him, and soon Frost joins him.  The man regains consciousness, but doesn't talk or respond - staring blankly at his surrounding.  Frost tries to address him in Latin as Merlin.  But the man seems not to even listen.  They bring him wine, but  he indicates he prefers beer, which he eagerly drinks down.  They bring him all kinds of food, but he prefers simple food which he devours.  They again try to address him in Latin, but the man took no notice at all, and seemed ready to fall back asleep.  Frost and Withers leave to the next room to discuss.

When Frost left his jail cell, Mark soon realizes he must align with Jane and all those at St. Anne's against the NICE at Belbury, in fact he must take up the front lines.  The approval of his own conscience greatly relieved him.  He began to realize the pull to be part of the inner circle was similar to  the sin of lust.  He began to understand he had suffered some sort of attack.  Though he had been a materialist, he began to understand there were spiritual forces at work which could forcefully bend his free will, which he thought unfair, but he determined he wanted Jane and her companions.

Ch 11 - Battle Begun

Ch 13 - They Have Pulled Down Deep Heavens on their Heads

Overview of That Hideous Strength

Character List

That Hideous Strength - Ch 11 - Battle Begun

Jane, Dimble, and Denniston try looking for what Jane saw in her dream about finding Merlin.  However, it's dark, it's raining, making it difficult to see out in Bragdon Woods.  Besides, it feels scary.  As they go tramping about the countryside, exploring hill and dale, they start to feel like they experience an Ancient Britain.  Jane began to think about her childhood religion, something she left long ago, and began to wonder if there was a deeper, truer religion she might need to face all this.  They think they see a man, but are not sure if he is simply a tramp in modern clothes.

Meanwhile, Fairy Hardcastle tries to convince Withers (the Deputy Director) to let her try to use her methods to get Mark to disclose Jane's location (though Mark doesn't know).  But Withers resists, saying the worst thing in this situation would be to use torture.  Even if this obtained Jane's location, and they brought her to Belbury, her shock at discovering Mark had been tortured might be enough to dislodge her gift, which would render her useless to them.  Professor Frost (with the nez-pince glasses) concurs.  They dismiss the Fairy and begin their own private conversation about this.  Frost reminds Withers that "the authorities had access to the woman's mind for only a very short time," inspecting only one of her dreams.  They (the authorities) warn that if Jane falls into the wrong hands, she could pose a grave danger to them.  Since then, they cannot read Jane's mind, which means she has fallen into enemy hands.  They agree they must induce Mark to bring his wife to Belbury, and they agree the best means of achieving this comes by inviting Mark into a deeper unity with their deepest inner circle.  As they discuss this, Withers and Frost sit so close that they finally embrace each other swaying to and fro.

During this conversation, Frost reveals that though Filostrato really believes they are keeping the Head (Alcasan's) alive, this is not the case.  (More about this later.)

They also reveal they are interested in Mark and Jane for eugenics purposes.

Meanwhile, Mark despairs of life, sitting in a cell, facing a charge of murder, and facing the death penalty.  It slowly begins to dawn on him he might be a Belbury.  He begins to believe all there are his enemies and he was a fool for every having trusted them.  He also began to clearly see his folly at always seeking inclusion in the most inner circle he could find.  He looked back upon his life with "disgust at its dreariness."

His thoughts turned to Jane.  He began to recognize what a deep person she truly was.  He began to think his death would be lucky for Jane since she would be free to someone worthy of her.

Finally, Professor Frost entered his cell, which confirmed to Mark he was at Belbury.  But Mark saw something about Frost he never noticed before - he appeared more frightening than death itself.

Ch. 10 - The Conquered City

Ch. 12 - Wet and Windy Night

Overview of That Hideous Strength

Character List