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Selfishness In C. S. Lewis Till We Have Faces

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Orual’s selfish actions in ‘Till We Have Faces by C. S. Lewis makes her seem like an immoral person. She is extremely reliant on those she cares about to provide joy in her life, and she selfishly tears others away from their personal happiness to fuel her own. Though she claims she does so for the benefit of the others, she only causes more pain. However, in ‘Till We Have Faces by C. S. Lewis, Orual’s selfishness and possessiveness stems from the love she holds for those in her life, therefore readers can sympathize with her and the consequences of her actions are mitigated. The person Orual undeniably loves the most is her sister, Psyche. When Orual discovers that she is alive and living in the valley, her goal is to bring her sister home. …show more content…

Aside from Psyche, another important person in Orual’s life who she hurts is Bardia. When Orual visits his wife, Ansit, after he is deceased, she is enlightened on how she has worked Bardia to death. Her constant reliance on him has made him too weak to fight off sickness, resulting in his loss of life. Orual selfishly keeps him at work longer than necessary. “Orual even shows a perverted, possessive love in her relationship with Bardia” (Saunders 6). She never considers how the stress she puts on him wears his life away; she only cares about spending time with him for her own enjoyment. She withholds him from going home to Ansit while dreaming about scenarios where she herself is his wife. This again goes back to the idea of Orual’s intense jealousy and possessiveness. However, these fantasies and dreams that she entertains herself with serve to prove how Orual cares about Bardia. She loves him, causing her to try and keep him for herself. This confession of love permits readers to empathize with Orual, and the intensity at which she mourns brings her pity. After taking into consideration all of Orual’s losses, readers become sympathetic and overlook her

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