littlemanpoet
New member
Time I came back to this forum after a long, long absence. Sorry if this topic has been hashed over already, my search did not reveal anything along these lines.
So I'm rereading "That Hideous Strength" (3rd time) and I come across this fascinating quote, which Jane Studdock absently thinks, then reads in the only book in the room.
"The beauty of the female is the root of joy to the female as well as to the male, and it is no accident that the goddess of Love is older and stronger than the god. To desire the desiring of her own beauty is the vanity of Lilith, but to desire the enjoying of her own beauty is the obedience of Eve, and to both it is in the lover that the beloved tastes her own delightfulness."
Lewis has been accused of misogyny of a typical mid-20th century variety. Or was he right, and modern Western culture wrong? He did call himself a Dinosaur for a reason, right? Or is the truth somewhere in between?
So I'm rereading "That Hideous Strength" (3rd time) and I come across this fascinating quote, which Jane Studdock absently thinks, then reads in the only book in the room.
"The beauty of the female is the root of joy to the female as well as to the male, and it is no accident that the goddess of Love is older and stronger than the god. To desire the desiring of her own beauty is the vanity of Lilith, but to desire the enjoying of her own beauty is the obedience of Eve, and to both it is in the lover that the beloved tastes her own delightfulness."
Lewis has been accused of misogyny of a typical mid-20th century variety. Or was he right, and modern Western culture wrong? He did call himself a Dinosaur for a reason, right? Or is the truth somewhere in between?