You are here

FAU Collections » FAU Research Repository » FAU Theses and Dissertations

GLIMMERS OF TRANSCENDENT TRUTH: MYTHIC PHILOSOPHY AND SYMBOLISM IN C. S. LEWIS'S "THAT HIDEOUS STRENGTH"

Download pdf | Full Screen View

Date Issued:
1987
Summary:
That Hideous Strength is a treatise on C. S. Lewis's unique conception of mythology. He believed myths conveyed the inexplicable, transcendent reality existing at the universe's center. Distortions as well as accurate reflections have existed in myth thoughout time. That Hideous Strength symbolically exposes the falsity of distorted myths because the institute that is constructing an "ideal" society, founded on evolutionism and utopianism, is annihilated. The veracity of true myths is exemplified in the triumph of a small insurgent group aided by the Graeco-Roman deities and a revived Merlin. The novel's symbolic core is the "myth which became fact," which Lewis believed is the prime reality accurate myths mirror. Ultimately, denial of that reality condemns those deceived by false myths. But affirmation of the "myth which became fact" ensures victory for those enlightened by true myths.
Title: GLIMMERS OF TRANSCENDENT TRUTH: MYTHIC PHILOSOPHY AND SYMBOLISM IN C. S. LEWIS'S "THAT HIDEOUS STRENGTH".
96 views
46 downloads
Name(s): KELSO, DENISE A.
Florida Atlantic University, Degree grantor
Peyton, Ann, Thesis advisor
Type of Resource: text
Genre: Electronic Thesis Or Dissertation
Issuance: monographic
Date Issued: 1987
Publisher: Florida Atlantic University
Place of Publication: Boca Raton, Fla.
Physical Form: application/pdf
Extent: 61 p.
Language(s): English
Summary: That Hideous Strength is a treatise on C. S. Lewis's unique conception of mythology. He believed myths conveyed the inexplicable, transcendent reality existing at the universe's center. Distortions as well as accurate reflections have existed in myth thoughout time. That Hideous Strength symbolically exposes the falsity of distorted myths because the institute that is constructing an "ideal" society, founded on evolutionism and utopianism, is annihilated. The veracity of true myths is exemplified in the triumph of a small insurgent group aided by the Graeco-Roman deities and a revived Merlin. The novel's symbolic core is the "myth which became fact," which Lewis believed is the prime reality accurate myths mirror. Ultimately, denial of that reality condemns those deceived by false myths. But affirmation of the "myth which became fact" ensures victory for those enlightened by true myths.
Identifier: 14390 (digitool), FADT14390 (IID), fau:11192 (fedora)
Collection: FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection
Note(s): Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters
Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 1987.
Subject(s): Lewis, C S--(Clive Staples),--1898-1963--That hideous strength
Mythology
Held by: Florida Atlantic University Libraries
Persistent Link to This Record: http://purl.flvc.org/fcla/dt/14390
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.