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"SEHNSUCHT" AND THE ISLAND MOTIF IN C. S. LEWIS' "OUT OF THE SILENT PLANET" AND "PERELANDRA."

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Date Issued:
1978
Summary:
Sehnsucht is a term used by C.S. Lewis to describe the immortal longing imparted to each soul by the Creator. The design of this longing is to draw one to a place of absolute surrender to the truth of God's preeminence. In Lewis' own life, as well as that of his fictional characters, the result of this longing is a relentless quest. In Out of the Silent Planet and Perelandra, the quest follows a structural pattern I have identified as the island motif. Elwin Ransom moves toward an island physically and spiritually. He is drawn by slowly intensifying encounters with Sehnsucht, occasioned by his sensory perceptions of the bizarre landscapes. Ransom's journey is allegorically related to the Christian's pilgrimage in Out of the Silent Planet. The quest becomes a reenactment of the Redeemer Myth in Perelandra. Both stories culminate in the hero's mystic union with the numinous.
Title: "SEHNSUCHT" AND THE ISLAND MOTIF IN C. S. LEWIS' "OUT OF THE SILENT PLANET" AND "PERELANDRA.".
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Name(s): DENNIS, SHERRY KAY.
Florida Atlantic University, Degree grantor
Greer, Allen W., Thesis advisor
Type of Resource: text
Genre: Electronic Thesis Or Dissertation
Issuance: monographic
Date Issued: 1978
Publisher: Florida Atlantic University
Place of Publication: Boca Raton, Fla.
Physical Form: application/pdf
Extent: 71 p.
Language(s): English
Summary: Sehnsucht is a term used by C.S. Lewis to describe the immortal longing imparted to each soul by the Creator. The design of this longing is to draw one to a place of absolute surrender to the truth of God's preeminence. In Lewis' own life, as well as that of his fictional characters, the result of this longing is a relentless quest. In Out of the Silent Planet and Perelandra, the quest follows a structural pattern I have identified as the island motif. Elwin Ransom moves toward an island physically and spiritually. He is drawn by slowly intensifying encounters with Sehnsucht, occasioned by his sensory perceptions of the bizarre landscapes. Ransom's journey is allegorically related to the Christian's pilgrimage in Out of the Silent Planet. The quest becomes a reenactment of the Redeemer Myth in Perelandra. Both stories culminate in the hero's mystic union with the numinous.
Identifier: 13913 (digitool), FADT13913 (IID), fau:10739 (fedora)
Collection: FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection
Note(s): Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 1978.
Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters
Subject(s): Lewis, C S--(Clive Staples),--1898-1963--Out of the silent planet
Lewis, C S--(Clive Staples),--1898-1963--Perelandra
Held by: Florida Atlantic University Libraries
Persistent Link to This Record: http://purl.flvc.org/fcla/dt/13913
Sublocation: Digital Library
Use and Reproduction: Copyright © is held by the author, with permission granted to Florida Atlantic University to digitize, archive and distribute this item for non-profit research and educational purposes. Any reuse of this item in excess of fair use or other copyright exemptions requires permission of the copyright holder.
Use and Reproduction: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/
Host Institution: FAU
Is Part of Series: Florida Atlantic University Digital Library Collections.