Theme Of Heaven And Hell In C. S. Lewis The Great Divorce

Born in Belfast, Ireland, Clive Staples Lewis, also known as C.S. Lewis, was a Christian-based author who wrote over thirty books in the twentieth century. Lewis was raised in a Catholic home, converting to Christianity later in his life. On January 14, 1946, Lewis published The Great Divorce; soon after publishing, he was awarded the honorary Doctor of Divinity from the University of St. Andrews. The Great Divorce transcribes C.S. Lewis’ interpretation of Heaven and Hell and the ‘great divorce’ between them. A common and essential theme in this book is the contradiction between Heaven and Hell. Throughout The Great Divorce, Lewis exemplifies the difference between Heaven and Hell through symbolism with the Grey Town, the Valley of the Shadow

Lewis envelops Biblical philosophies and theories about the afterlife into his book, The Great Divorce; one of these symbolic relationships is the Valley of the Shadow of Life. The name Valley of the Shadow of Life is first presented in Chapter 8 when the narrator is speaking with George MacDonald, a spirit in the area. "‘And perhaps ye had better not call this country Heaven. Not Deep Heaven ye understand. Ye can call it the Valley of the Shadow of Life. And yet, to those who stay here, it will have been Heaven from the beginning.’" (Lewis 68) From this quote, it can be presumed that the Valley of the Shadow of Life is only the beginning part of Heaven and is not yet Heaven itself. The Valley of the Shadow of Life is the place where phantoms from Hell journey, to try and be saved, as they could not do so on Earth. This setting is first introduced as a "dark and smooth...cliff…like a thin line of emerald green stretched tight as a fiddle-string." (Lewis 19) The area is filled with nature, and the sky is still dark, like "early morning, a minute or two before the sunrise…" (Lewis 20); the narrator realizes that this region seems to be greater and more real than Earth, with everything being almost too tangible. In the Bible, Heaven is described as having the Garden of Eden restored, and this is illustrated in Revelation 22:1-2: "Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of

Lewis include symbols that are seen as settings, but he also creates symbols that are living beings. The particular organism he chooses to include in this book that stands out the most is the Lizard. The Lizard is "a little red lizard, and it was twitching its tail like a whip and whispering things in his ear." (Lewis 106) Noting the activity observed by the narrator of the Lizard, one can already begin to imagine what this strange creature might be; a devilish being that wishes to corrupt a soul is perhaps the correct assumption. The phantom the creature seemed to be resting on was a dark, oily color, much different from the other ghosts whose complexions had been white, airy, and transparent; this inspection could mean that the Lizard is poisoning or tainting the phantom’s soul. Here it seems the critter is also trying to convince the phantom to do its bidding: "It wagged its tail and continued to whisper to him. He ceased snarling, and presently began to smile. Then he turned and started to limp westward, away from the mountains." (Lewis 106-107) The Lizard is a parasite to the phantom and is slowly destroying him; this Lizard can relate to the devil. The devil is the root of all evil, and as said in John 8:44, "You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar