63 pages • 2 hours read
C. S. LewisThat Hideous Strength
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1945A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Themes
Obedience
Obedience is sought by both sides in That Hideous Strength. For Mark Studdock, the desire to be accepted and brought in to the inner circle—any inner circle—is a drive that forces him into obedience to the N.I.C.E. Mark sees many of the red flags of the Institute, including the Institute’s desire to cull the population, control the press and reeducate humankind. Mark doesn’t attach morality to these actions, at least not in the beginning, for two reasons. The first is that he understands these actions as a sociologist. The second reason, however, is that Mark wants to be liked and accepted. He pledges allegiance, and thus obedience, to the nefarious edicts of the N.I.C.E. so that he can improve his social standing at the Institute. For Mark, obedience is a means to an end.
When he’s faced with death, however, and when Jane herself is threatened, he begins to realize what his obedience to the N.I.C.E. has (and might still) cost him. He reflects on his life and realizes that, from childhood, he has always wanted to be accepted into a social group, especially a popular and powerful one. He’s left friends and family behind for this goal. His obedience to the new rules of a new circle, however, always came at a price. When he stopped reading what he considered kid’s books so that he’d appear grown, he realized that the kid’s books were far more interesting. He also realizes that being a part of the Progressive Element at Bracton College wasn’t all he thought it would be. His obedience to the N.I.C.E. was orchestrated so that he would fall in line. Mark comes to realize that his obedience has rendered him a tool—an expendable tool. When he has a change of heart, he determines to be obedient to Jane and the “right” side.
Janestruggles with being obedient in her role as wife. The narrative, especially through the conversations that Jane has with the Director, explains that both husband and wife must be obedient to one another, and obedience is far more important to a relationship than equality. Jane thinks her marriage doesn’t work because she is not equal to Mark when in fact it doesn’t work because she refuses to allow herself to be obedient. Jane also has a hard time being obedient to any higher power. She conflates obedience to God with obedience to Mark (and therefore man), though the Director tells her that obedience to God is obedience to the Masculine, and not to man. Everyone must be obedient to God and, therefore, everyone is feminine in the face of God’s masculinity. Jane eventually has a religious experience and, later, determines to be obedient in her role as wife.
Obedience is also seen in central characters on both sides. The N.I.C.E. operates as it does because there are initiates that know who the bad eldils are and are obedient to their dark whims. These people on the top then demand obedience of those under them, with their hold on the papers and seats of local government demanding obedience from the general populace in turn. For those at St. Anne’s, they are obedient to the Director because they have been chosen by the good, celestial eldils to aid him. They have not been asked by the Director but are offering their support because they are obedient to the Director and to a higher power. In this sense, obedience can be seen as a natural part of greater nature, and when this obedience is upheld, both nature and humankind benefit from it.
Good Versus Evil
The simplest—and the most prevalent—theme in the novel is good versus evil. The Director and those at St. Anne’s do not necessarily talk about their battle in these terms, but this is the easiest way to conceive of it. There are bad eldils that are earthbound, such as the eldil that communicates with the N.I.C.E. These eldils wish to have dominion over the earth. They can be viewed as demons. There are also good eldils, or celestial eldils, that are described by the Director as angels. These eldils do not have a distinct interest in Earth, but they must intervene when people from Earth (the N.I.C.E.) break rules they aren’t aware of and reach into the heavens. Humankind wants the power of God, and it enlists the help of bad eldils to achieve this. This is why the curse of Babel is so symbolic as a device of destruction for Belbury. The N.I.C.E. attempted to reach too high and so they were cursed for their evil.
Good versus evil is also seen in the battle between Logres and Britain. Dr. Dimble describes them both as being in England, but that the two sides have been fighting for some time. The Director is the Pendragon of Logres, and the Pendragon is tasked with restoring the good whenever England and Earth are threatened. Britain is representative of an ancient power at odds with Logres. Merlin himself is a character that seems to be evil in that he comes from this Britain and has communicated with daemons and other powerful beings. Interestingly, Merlin chooses the side of the Director. Dimble also explains this confusing persona of Merlin as neither good nor evil. In the modern world, people are quick to categorize things into good or bad, good or evil. Merlin lived in a time when there was more of a grey area as to what was truly evil and what was good. The lines were more blurred than now. This is why Merlin is able to aid the celestial eldils. He is a vessel that walks the line between various sides, though he’s ultimately considered “good.”
Love
Love is a theme that is seen in many guises in the narrative. There’s love of one’s fellow man, love of a spouse, love of a higher power, and love for those less fortunate, among other types. All of these types of love are present in some characters or appear in others later in the book.
The Director is the most relevant example of a person in tune with all the types of love mentioned above. For starters, the Director was kidnapped in a previous book and brought to Venus, the planet aligned with love. Venus is also one of the celestial eldils that comes down to earth and imbues Merlin with power. The Director, once his task of saving the earth is completed, will return to Venus. It is mentioned that many others, such as Arthur and Uther (other Pendragons), are on Venus as well. In other words, these great men who served Logres are now in the abode of love. They loved on earth and now reside in love in heaven.
The Director also explains the importance of obedience as love when he speaks to Jane. He allows her to see that love doesn’t mean equality of the sexes but obedience of both sexes toward each other and toward their station of marriage. This action is present regardless of how high one goes up the hierarchy of beings, so that love between God and man and love between man and his fellow animals work in the same way.
Love also means forgiveness. By forgiving himself, Mark is able to feel worthy of Jane’s love again. He can honor her by being obedient and loving her as his wife. Likewise, Jane can forgive both herself and Mark and love him as her husband. This love will then bring about the childthat Jane has been running from throughout the narrative.
Love as an emotion is also a powerful force. It’s when Mark is faced with death that he realizes how much he loves life. Jane, too, turns to love when faced with death. She has a religious experience while ruminating on what it means to love a higher power and to be obedient. By the novel’s end, Venus is so close to earth that the animals begin mating and everyone is filled with love. It is suggested that Mark and Jane will conceive their child, and other couples like the Dimbles, the Dennistons and the Maggs go off to their own devices under the sign of love.
The Fall of Man
The fall of man works as a background to much of the novel’s plot. It begins, however, with the fall of bad eldils. These eldils are earthbound, and they try and bring about their own aims by using fallen man to do so. People like Wither and Frost, initiates in the N.I.C.E., don’t believe that humankind has any redeeming qualities. As such, they are comfortable enacting genocide on humankind to bring about their own end. It is seen time and again that the N.I.C.E. wants to obtain the power of the gods to bring about their own ends, which are actually ends that are being controlled by bad eldils. This theme of “forbidden knowledge” is central to all stories of the fall of man. Humankind always wants what it shouldn’t have, and the battle between Logres and Britain is essentially a battle between a fallen power trying to obtain what it isn’t supposed to have: complete knowledge and dominion. The existence of the N.I.C.E. and their dogmatic drive to obtain such powers underscore the fallacy of man that led to the fall and that continues to keep man in a perpetual state of fallenness (which can be viewed as sin).
The fall of man is also symbolized in the curse of Babel that destroys Belbury. In the Bible, the tower of Babel literally falls, with everyone in it dying. This is shown in the deaths of nearly everyone in Belbury’s dining room, and it is also highlighted when everyone begins speaking gibberish and cannot understand one another.
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