Welcome to Tumnus’s Book Shelf where we review any and all books related to Narnia and CS Lewis! For this weeks review, we will be looking at The Pilgrim’s Regress by CS Lewis
Title: The Pilgrim’s Regress.
Author: CS Lewis
Publisher: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company (January 1992)
ISBN-10: 0802806414
ISBN-13:978-0802806413
Summary of the book ( some possible spoilers. Please highlight to read:
Once in the land of Puritania there was a man named John. In this land he was brought up in fear of the Landlord, the ruler of Puritainia .Like every one else John was one of the Landlord’s many tenants and he had to follow His rules. As a young boy he had a hard time following these rules so his mother took him to see one of the Landlord’s Stewards. The Steward enforced the Landlord’s rules by telling him of the harsh punishments that awaited him, such as the Blackhole, where all who disobeyed the Landlord were sent. Ultimately, he was told not to worry about the Landlord.
Sometime after this, he was out walking and trying to memorize the rules of the Landlord. His studies were interrupted by beautiful music. He peers through a crack in the wall and hears the singing of some enchanters. His mind is suddenly cleared of all his worries and he was given a vision of a beautiful island.
Later his parents and his Uncle George are with a steward. The Landlord had given George notice to leave. He is saddened by this news, and afraid that his uncle will be put in the Black Hole but he is unable to show it as everyone puts on masks and quotes little platitudes. John grew to resent the Landlord for doing something like this to his uncle. John never forgot the island of his youth, or the music he once heard and longed for it.
Some time after all of this he left the town and meet a brown girl. She told him that it was not the music or the islands he longed for, but her. He was persuaded by her charms to be with her in an intimate way. As he was with her, she’d flatter him and he grew to hate her and realized he didn’t want her. She sends him away with the children they had together that he never knew about. He fled from them to the road and went home quickly.
Life in his home grew hard, the children seemed to follow him every where and he couldn’t shake his guilt. He had to get to the Island. At last one night he made his escape from Puritania. Along the road he meet Mr. Enlightenment who filled his mind with worldly knowledge and told him there was no Landlord. Mr. Enlightenment invited John to the city of Claptrap. John refused as he had to find his island.
He traveled along the road, overjoyed at the news that he need not fear the landlord or His wrath and believes that maybe Enlightenment was right. He encounters Mr. Vertue and Ms. Media Halfways. Vertue insisted that they follow the path as it is a rule, albeit one he made up. Media persuades John to come with her. John is at a crossroads but ultimately decided to follow Media and ignore Vertue.
Media introduces him to her father, Mr. Halfways. They fill his head with nonsensical poems and he falls in love with Media. She claims that they are the island and he is at his final destination. This lasts until a strange man comes and insults her and her father.
The young man, who was Media’s brother, Gus Halfways, informs John that she is just a brown girl. Gus invites him aboard his bus to the city of Escrapolis. John accepts the invitation, and discovers the Clevers and their art. If any one were to speak of traditions or claim something isn’t “art” by the terms of the Clevers, they were attacked for being puritanical. They ended up chasing John out of Escrapolis for such thoughts.
John escaped and begs a passer buy, Mr. Mamnon, owner of Escrapolis. He begged him for help but Mamnon refused. John continued on, alone, and was arrested by two guards and taken to Mr. Sigismund Enlightenment who informed him that the island was really a representation of his primeval desires. John wound up a prisoner of the Giant known as the Spirit of the Age who is disguised as a Mountain.
John was rescued by the Lady Reason who defeated the Sprit of the Age with riddles that the Giant could not comprehend, the Giant was destroyed and toppled down. While the other prisoners refused her offer for freedom, John asked to go with Reason. He was deeply troubled by his time in the dungeon, and Reason set his mind at ease. However she would answer none of his questions as he had to find those answers himself. They parted company at an inn and John continued on his way.
John was reunited with Vertue at a spot known as the Grand Canyon that no one could cross. Suddenly a stranger offered to help them. It was Mother Kirk. Mother Kirk was the Landlord’s Daughter-in-law, and knew a great deal about the Landlord, and told them how this chasm came to be when the first two tenants chose to eat from the forbidden wild apples of the mountain.
After hearing her story, they declined her offer and decided they would search the canyon for another way to cross. The two of them arrived at the home of Mr. Sensible and received food and lodging. He told them many philosophical things and spoke fluent Latin. The next day at breakfast, they discover that Sensible’s servant Drudge is gone. Vertue offers to stay with Sensible but Sensible told him there would be no need for it. The two departed from Sensible’s home and discovered that Drudge was traveling with them now.
Drudge had lived along the canyon for some time and offered to lead them, which they accepted. John soon grew tired and Vertue and Drudge carried him. They come to the home of the Three Pale Men, Mr. Neo-Angular, Mr. Humanist, and Mr. Neo-Classical. They are the sons of Mr. Enlightenment’s first wife and former students of Mr. Halfways. They only offer food and lodging to them out of duty not kindness.
The next day John stayed with the Pale Men while Vertue and Druge sought a way across the canyon. Later Vertue returns with food and wine to thank the three pale men for their help. He announced that they must all leave as they were in danger. Drudge had taken in with the giant Savage who wished to feed on the likes of Humanist and Neo-Classical.
John and Vertue continued on the next morning. Vertue was torn about whether or not the Island or the Landlord were real as he was deceived by the lies of Savage. He was tempted to return to the giant. In his weakness, Vertue fell ill and it was up to John to lead them.
They arrived at the home of Mr. Broad who was very hospitable, but didn’t speak of anything that interested John. After tea with Mr. Broad, John and Vertue journeyed to the house of Wisdom, a neighbor of Mr. Broad. Wisdom and his children agreed to tend to Vertue while John rested.
In the night, Contemplation, the daughter of Wisdom appears to John. She taught him how to fly across the canyon by moon light and told him that in time he could not only fly across the canyon but to the Island. John awoke the next day and learned more of Wisdom’s ways. He learned that through Wisdom he won’t lose desire, but hope as he is in the Valley of Humiliation. After another lesson from Wisdom at dinner about the Landlord, the Island and the rules, Wisdom announced that Vertue was nearly well.
As soon as Vertue was well, he and John set out on the road .The two had a sharp disagreement and separated.SPOILERS! A Man came down from the cliff that Vertue had gone down and urged John to follow Vertue. The Man told him the only way he’d make it is if he stuck with Vertue. John contemplates the Man’s words as he travels and he soon becomes lost and afraid.
He begins to wonder if maybe the Landlord is just a metaphor. The Man appears to him again during the night while he rests and assures him that the Landlord is real. After a disturbing dream where he was caught in slavery John continued on . He starts to not only realize that the Landlord is real but sees that the Island has been obstructed as it is the Landlord he wants.
John arrived at the cave of an old hermit named History. He inquires of History about the Landlord and the Island. History tells him that John’s vision of the Island came from The Landlord as it was the Landlord’s way to give such visions to those who didn’t know him so they’d come to him. History cannot give him what he seeks, that can only come from Mother Kirk. John must not only return to her, but become a blood brother with Vertue. John resolved that he would do this.
In the night Contemplation comes to him in a dream and takes him to the Landlord who he is still afraid of. He awakened and saw Reason who forced him out of the cave. John left the cave and came to the edge of the canyon. A dark voice spoke to him. This voice, which was Death, had been the one who haunted him since his uncle was taken.
This Voice gives him a choice he can be thrown in and possibly die, or surrender himself. John chose surrender. Because John surrendered, Death no longer had power over him and let him go as he choose surrender. John headed for Mother Kirk.
Mother Kirk bid him to cross the river. He wasn’t sure at first and became afraid. As he wrestled with the choice before him the Wraiths of Humanist, Media, Sigismund and Mr. Halfways and others came before him and tried to talk him out of it. At as Vertue came to him and told him to dive. He listened to Vertue and took the plunge.
Once he has crossed the river, the two travel through the caverns. Wisdom appeared to him and tries to dissuade him. The Landlord’s voice overrode wisdom and John was able to continue on until he and Vertue joined a band of Pilgrims. The two of them are given a Guide for their journey.
Their guide, Sliksteinsauga, leads them along the road. As they travel they saw all the places they visited had become desolate shadows. They now saw them as thy really were. They learnt the true nature of the black Hole and that it is only there for those who do not wish to serve the Landlord and accept His help as He cannot enforce His will upon them. They discover that the Landlord is in fact benevolent as they once believed.
After passing through the village of Luxuria John and Vertue were forced to contend with Dragons on there own as it was their battle to fight, not that of the Guide. The guide returns to them when the dragons are vanquished and continues leading them to their destination: Puritainia. John returns to the place he had left having found the true Island in the Landlord.END SPOILERS!
Review of the book:
There is an old cliché that goes “imitation is the most sincere form of flattery.” CS Lewis was no stranger to this concept. All of his works have similarities to others in the genre and at the same time, helped define it. One of Lewis’s earliest works of fiction was an “imitation” of John Bunyan’s The Pilgrim’s Progress. The book had been one of his favorites and it was only natural for him to emulate it.
However, while Bunyan sought to tell the tale of one persons journey to Heaven, Lewis sought to tell a different tale. That of his own journey of faith, going from faith, to agnosticism and back to faith again. Pilgrim’s Regress is in every sense of the word an allegory.
The term “allegory” has been misinterpreted at this point to not only include all seven Narnian Chronicles, but JRR Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings, and Robert Louis Stevenson’s The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Even the film and the book Jurassic Park is labeled as an allegory of technology and nature and humankinds abuse of both. It is often assumed just because a story has some abstract concepts to it that it must be an allegory. While the stories I have just mentioned are not true “allegories”, ( keep in mind that Lewis himself said Narnia was not an allegory but a “let us suppose” story) Pilgrim’s Regress, like Pilgrim’s Progress is an allegory.
One of the defining aspects of a “true” allegory is that everything in the fictional book will have some kind of analogue. Narnia for example fails in this regard as while there is Aslan the Christ figure, The Emperor Beyond the Sea is God the Father , Peter Pevensie for the apostle Peter, Edmund for Judas Iscariot, Susan for Martha and Lucy for Mary, where are analogues for the rest of Christ’s followers, and why doesn’t Edmund die as Judas did?
In Pilgrim’s Regress, much like a true allegory, the story follows the format of the traditional morality plays of the Middle-Ages such as Everyman. Each character, save the protagonist is not given a real “name” as much as an attribute that they represent. For example one of the children of Enlightenment, Mr. Sigismund is clearly meant to be in the way he talks and looks an analogue for Sigmund Freud, a thinker who Lewis clashed with, especially in terms of religion and literary analysis.
Traveling the road is John, the protagonist. John is simply an “everyman”. His name itself is one of the most common forenames in the English language. Coincidentally the name “Jack”, which was Lewis’s own preferred name, is a commonly used nickname for those named John. This name is one of the many key indicators that “John” is meant to be CS Lewis.
The friend of the protagonist, Mr. Vertue, is clearly meant to represent virtue. He is often led astray and deceived by the clever sounding arguments of the world. He falls ill and is susceptible to these worldly lies, and it is only when the two of them have completely been given over to the Landlord is he of any use. This is representative of how Virtue, unless given over to God, can be misused for other means and that sheer virtue alone won’t save you.
Representing God is The Landlord. In Pilgrims’ Regress the world is represented as a great tract of land owned by a ruler who leases it out to tenants. The Landlord is desired as being “benevolent”, but his followers end up disfiguring his image and he seems terrible, remote and even cruel to John. Several figures, called Stewards stand in for religious leaders who at times offer no help to the tenants except for Platitudes. This is drawn from Lewis’s own experience as a child. Like the character of John, Lewis lost a very dear relative of his at a young age which led him to not believing. It is possible that he found the “platitudes” of the clergy to not be of any comfort to him as a child. It is ultimately to the Landlord, and his daughter in law, Mother Kirk or Christianity that he must return as they are what he truly seeks.
Along the road John encounters many figures who represent key movements in the fields of literature, art, politics, philosophy and psychology in the late 19th and early 20th century. Each one clamors for his attention and tries to lead him into the fold, but John ends up leaving disgusted as they don’t offer the one thing he is searching for.
Often times he gets trapped by these thought movements. His key rescuer is Lady Reason a lady clad in armor who wields a powerful sword and an incredible mind. At the time Lewis wrote this it would have been unheard of to depict a woman being a war-like heroine ( this was not the time of Xena Warrior Princess, but the none Grimm depiction of Cinderella.) However, she is not meant to be a feminist archetype, but rather is part of a deep literary legacy. Traditionally in literature, wisdom, or reason have always been personified as women. Solomon used his imagery in the Proverbs ( complete with the female figure coming to the rescue or the male), and the Greeks had Athena who was not only the goddess of wisdom but of offensive warfare and aided such heroes as Odysseus. Reason, much like Athena or Wisdom in the Proverbs rescues John and serves to give him aide when he needs it.
Even JRR Tolkien’s role in Lewis’s conversion shows up in the character of History. It is History with John, much like Tolkien with Lewis, who reveals to John that this island was a way of the Landlord getting to him, much like Tolkien said it was fantasy and mythology that God used to get to Lewis. This talk with History gives John much to think about and soon helps lead him back to the Landlord.
One of the hard parts of a “true” allegory, unlike Narnia, is that you have to reread every page you pass as each one is steeped in even more imagery and metaphors that you may have missed. Also with so many of the allegorical figures representing a different philosophy it is almost necessary to stop, reread the text, find the footnote and briefly look up what is being talked about in a dictionary or encyclopedia. This book can be hard to follow upon a first dry reading so multiple readings are required to fully understand and appreciate it.
If readers come across difficult words and terms, one thing is for sure: do not skip over it, as most reading comprehension classes will teach you now. You will be lost in this book even more if you do so.Pilgrim’s Regress is not really a summer beach read or a take it on the airplane and read it during your flight book. This is a book that you have to spend several hours of quality time with. It may seem like a lot, but it is well worth it at the end, especially since the book is a very entertaining fantasy story as well as a complex allegory. And guess what? In the process you might just learn something too!
Like Pilgrim’s Progress, Pilgrim’s Regress is told “in the similitude of a dream,” Every so often, Lewis the narrator will intrude and describe more what’s going on, as though he were actually telling us of a dream. This helps to keep the pace flowing amidst the ideas presented in the book, much as if one were actually telling some one of a dream they had.
The book does contain some very difficult metaphors and at times it has some rather disturbing imagery. For example when John is trapped by the Spirit of the Age John is made to see his internal organs. Because of the metaphors and imagery, this would not really be a book for young readers to hear as a bed time story. It would be much more suitable for High School Students and above.
Readers can expect to understand not only how Lewis came to faith, but how many people may make their own journey of faith. Containing an interesting depiction of the faith journey of one of the 20th Centuries greatest Christian thinkers in an epic fantasy setting, Pilgrim’s Regress is worth the journey.
5 out of 5 shields.