Wonder and wisdom

In The Mirror, the Mask, and the Masterpiece (Word on Fire, 140 pp.), Peter Kreeft recommends that, if you haven’t read Till We Have Faces, you had better drop his new book “like a hot potato” and go read C.S. Lewis’ powerful narrative first. Kreeft believes the novel is an underappreciated masterpiece, capable of transforming “our selfish love into unselfish love” as we follow the protagonist in her case for justice from the gods. The philosophical scope and theological insight of Kreeft’s book make it a masterful work in its own right.

C.S. Lewis described Till We Have Faces as “far and away” his best book, a startling claim for those who know and love his Narnian chronicles. Kreeft acknowledges that many first-time readers are dismayed by this “gloomiest and doomiest of Lewis’s books.” As Kreeft observes, the reason Till We Have Faces does not embody the classic charisma Lewis is known for is that the story is almost entirely told from the perspective of his complicated heroine Orual. Despite the novel’s darker tone, Kreeft reassures readers it is worthy of admiration.

In this Greek myth retold, “Lewis both subtracted (the immoralities ascribed to the gods) and, even more importantly, added (the need for faith) to the myth.” Reframing this dark tale with a Christian lens, Lewis makes Orual “a prophet to speak the pre-Christian truth to our post-Christian culture.” In addition to considering its unique style, Kreeft outlines 10 core philosophical themes. The problem of evil and the knowledge of ourselves and of the divine are most enlightening.

Another joy of Kreeft’s work is the way he highlights how several of Lewis’ favorite recurring themes are present in Till We Have Faces. Careful readers will discover sehnsucht, the argument from desire for God’s existence, alongside the Liar, Lord, or Lunatic trilemma, as well as the tantalizing notion that maybe—just maybe—we have discovered an instance in which myth has become fact.

This is not Kreeft’s first analysis of Christian concepts in a pre-­Christian world. In The Philosophy of Tolkien (Ignatius Press 2005) he evaluated The Lord of the Rings. Readers who appreciated Kreeft’s style and substance in that brilliant consideration will not be disappointed in his treatment of Lewis’ crowning literary achievement. Grounding his themes inside the tapestry of Scripture, illuminated by the wisdom of the ancients (from Socrates to Augustine to Aquinas), Kreeft deftly illustrates why “myth is more popular and more powerful than philosophy.”