Novel Insights Guide To

Till We Have Faces

by C.S. Lewis

Guide - $15.95 Guide On CD - $12.95

Jump to table of contents Jump to Chapter 1 & 2 Review Jump to Suggested Activities

Jump to Chapter Questions Jump to Question Answers

Author Biography	..................................... 1
Background	..................................... 3
Chapter 01 - 04	..................................... 5
Chapter 05 - 08	................................... 10
Chapter 09 - 15	................................... 15
Chapter 16 - 21	................................... 22
Book II, Chapter 01 - 04	................................... 30
Test Questions	................................... 34
Final Project	................................... 38
Vocabulary Crossword Puzzle	................................... 39
Selected Bibliography	................................... 53

Chapters 01 - 04

The first chapter begins with the complaint of Orual, Queen of Glome, who is at the end of her life, and venting her anger against the gods for what she perceives as their unfairness in the way they have dealt with her throughout her life. She then flashes back to her earliest memories, when her mother died and both she and her younger sister's hair was cut. A Greek slave captured in war and nicknamed "the Fox" became the girls' tutor, and Orual came to love him. When her father later remarried, hoping to father a son, the disappointment was intensified when the young wife died in childbirth, leaving another daughter behind. The child, named Istra by her father, was loved and petted by Orual, who took over her care and called her Psyche. Redival, the middle sister, jealous of the relationship between Psyche, Orual and the Fox, began to act promiscuously and was caught, causing the King to make Orual and the Fox Redival's jailers. Orual and Redival finally came to blows over Psyche, until a shaky truce was formed. After a series of bad harvests and political setbacks, Redival noticed that the people were responding to Psyche as a goddess, and blackmailed Orual and the Fox to get what she wanted to not reveal this to the Priest of Ungit (the local goddess). When Glome was stricken by a plague, Psyche was brought out to touch those who were ill, and was stricken herself. Redival suddenly became very close to the priest; events turned decidedly ominous, and the people began to refer to Psyche as "The Accursed." As the Priest of Ungit came to visit, Orual knew that the news he brought would not be good.

Suggested Activities - Chapters 01 - 04

Divide students into two groups to research the story of Psyche and Cupid.
Each group is to prepare a skit portraying the story; one group from the perspective of Psyche and one from the perspective of Orual.
Write a character study of one of the main characters in the story: Orual, Psyche, Trom (the father) the Fox, or Redival.

Review Questions - Chapters 01 - 04

From what point of view is this story told?
What is the setting?
What are the circumstances of Orual's childhood?
What is the main conflict that develops?
Although the story is told in flashback, there is also an interesting choice of verb as Orual begins to describe herself as she was when she was younger. What is it? What does it indicate about her?
What does the reader know about Orual and Redival from the first chapter?
How did the Fox reward Orual for her studying?
How was the Fox's relationship with Orual different from his relationship with Redival?
What was it about the Priest of Ungit that frightened Orual? Does that in any way relate to the worship of the One True God? Why do the religious practices followed by those who worship pagan gods mimic practices God Himself created?
How did the Fox become important to the King?
What kind of relationship did Orual have with her father?
What did the King call the new baby? Why did Orual and the Fox call her Psyche?
What was the story Psyche made up about the Grey Mountain?
How did the Fox compare Psyche to the Greek legends?
What was Orual's response to this?
How did Redival's promiscuity put an end to the happiness that Orual had known with the Fox and Psyche?
What did Redival do that showed she was setting Psyche up to be hurt?
How did the natural calamities of the land play into Redival's hand?
What did the people first believe about Psyche's abilities to help them in their illness?
What was Redival doing in the temple when Orual thought she was praying for a husband?

Review Question Answers - Chapters 01 - 04

First person as told by Orual, sister of Psyche
The story takes place in the fictional kingdom of Glome in ancient history.
Orual, daughter of the King of Glome, grew up in a cold and abusive environment. Her father believed girls were worthless. After the death of her mother, a Greek slave called "the Fox" was bought to teach Orual and her younger sister Redival, as practice for the prince their father believed would eventually be added to the family.
The main conflict develops due to Redival's jealousy of Psyche. This intensifies after she is caught with a lover and Orual is made her jailer.
She says "I was Orual, indicating that she no longer considers herself to be Orual.
Orual is the elder of the two, and is apparently incredibly homely. Redival is younger, beautiful, and has golden ringlets.
When Orual learned her lessons well, he rewarded her by teaching her poetry.
Orual loved the Fox like a father, and he, in turn, gave her the love she never received from her father. She respected him as a teacher, and did not treat him as a slave. Redival, on the other hand, never thought of the Fox as anything but a slave, and put other slaves up to playing tricks on him and mocking him. Redival hated the lessons, and would do anything to distract and disrupt the process.
Orual was frightened by the "holiness of the smell that hung about him - a temple-smell of blood." Hebrews 9:22 states that, "without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sin." The lie of Satan is always that man can find a way to worship God by making his own way of worship - only changing the "requirements" ever so slightly. The pagan recognizes that the life is in the blood; that a holy God requires a blood sacrifice; even to the point of requiring a human sacrifice. However, the pagan overlooks the fact that a holy God will not accept a sinful human as a sacrifice for sin. Only that which is perfect and spotless will be accepted. Heb. 10:10; 14 point out that only Jesus Christ provides the sinless sacrifice required by God.
The Fox became valuable not only as an interpreter, but as a diplomat as the King dealt with neighboring powers. For all practical purposes, although the Fox was still a slave, he was serving in the position of a Prime Minister.
Orual was hated and abused by her father. Until the Fox became ill, she felt that he only hated her because of her ugliness. He was not only physically abusive, but called her a hobgoblin. However, during the Fox's illness, he had to rely on her for her ability to translate, and he gained a certain respect for her. She felt that he "hated her less" during that time - thinking of her more as a man.
The King called her Istra. The Greek was Psyche.
Psyche said that when she was grown up she would be a great queen and would marry the greatest king of all, and he would build her a castle of gold and amber at the very top of the Grey Mountain.
He said she was prettier than Andromeda, prettier than Helen and prettier than Aphrodite.
Orual felt that was a bad omen - the Fox had told them that their goddess, Ungit, was Aphrodite. Orual felt he was going to make Ungit jealous.
As long as Redival was occupied with her own pursuits, Orual, the Fox and Psyche were happy in their lives as well. When Redival was caught with a young man and her father emasculated him, he also made Orual and the Fox responsible for keeping Redival from any further indiscretions. She, in turn, chafed under the enforced bounds, and looked for a way to break out.
Redival had Psyche tell Orual how some of the people were giving her worship due only to a goddess. Psyche, in her innocence, did not understand the threat underlying Redival's desire to draw out her story. Redival lost no time in letting Orual and the Fox know that she would take this information straight to the Priest of Ungit if they did not give her what she asked.
As the land suffered through drought, war, and then a terrible illness, the people were subject to suggestion that Psyche was the cause of all of their turmoil.
Because of her exceptional beauty and her attendance of the Fox during his illness, the people began to believe that Psyche had the power to heal.
She was either negotiating with the Priest of Ungit, to deliver Psyche to him in exchange for something he was to do for her, or she was simply putting it into his head that Psyche was to blame for the current illness, and that the only way to bring an end to the run of calamities they had been facing was to have a human sacrifice.