Scott Freeman

Reading C.S.: The Pilgrim’s Regress

After his two poem’s Lewis would not have another work published until after his conversion.

The Pilgrim’s Regress would make the literary debut of Lewis as Christian writer and would display his greatest style of writing: allegory.

Written as his own re-visioning of Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress this would would follow the protagonist, John, through his journey to faith.

Many have criticized this work as being needlessly obscure but if you have had any background in legalistic religious environments and philosophy then you will find a delightful read. I found out after the fact that some publications of the work have helpful headers that will help the reader to make the necessary allegorical connections. Alas, mine did not. However, I did not struggle too much as many of the names are usually straight-forward.

John is born in the land of Puritania, a strict environment set on following “the rules” instigated by “The Landlord.”

The Steward said, ‘Now I am going to talk to you about the Landlord. The Landlord owns all the country, and it is very, very kind of him to allow us to live on it at all– very, very kind.’ He went on repeating ‘very kind’ in a queer sing-song voice so long that John would have laughed, but that now he was beginning to be frightened again. The Steward then took down from a peg a big card with small print all over it, and said, ‘Here is a list of all the things the Landlord says you must not do. You’d better look at it.’ So John took the card: but half the rules seemed to forbid things he had never heard of, and the other half forbade things he was doing every day and could not imagine not doing: and the number of the rules was so enormous that he felt he could never remember them all. ‘I hope,’ said the Steward, ‘that you have not already broken any of the rules?… Because, you know, if you did break any of them and the Landlord got to know of it, do you know what he’d do to you?’ ‘No, sir,’ said John… ‘He’d take you and shut you up for ever and ever in a black hole full of snakes and scorpions as large as lobsters– for ever and ever. And besides that, he is such a kind, good man, so very, very kind, that I am sure you would never want to displease him.’ ‘No, sir,’ said John. ‘But, please, sir…’ ‘Well,’ said the Steward. ‘Please, sir, supposing I did break one, one little one, just by accident, you know. Could nothing stop the snakes and lobsters?’ ‘Ah!…’ said the Steward; and then he sat down and talked for a long time, but John could not understand a single syllable. However, it all ended with pointing out that the Landlord was quite extraordinarily kind and good to his tenants, and would certainly torture most of them to death the moment he had the slightest pretext. ‘And you can’t blame him,’ said the Steward. ‘For after all, it is his land, and it is so very good of him to let us live here at all– people like us, you know.’

But John dreams of being set free from such a mindless following of inexplicable rules and dreams of an island that is free of such restrictions. At first it is equated with lust but soon he sets off to find all that his heart desires.

Much of Lewis’ work deals with desire and John is intent upon finding fulfillment. But upon the route to find the island he will meet such diverse characters as Enlightenment, Reason, Wisdom, The Spirit of the Age, Mr. Broad, Mr. Sensible and Mother Kirk (The Church).

Without divulging too much of the storyline eventually John will eventually realize his need for something other than himself. Through his journey he will ultimately find a Helping Hand that will make all the difference.

Rather than delve into a fuller synopsis and review let me excerpt a few (of the many) passages that stood out to me.

From Mr. Broad:

…as I grow older I am inclined to set less and less store by mere orthodoxy. So often the orthodox view means the lifeless view, the barren formula. I am coming to look more and more at the language of the heart. Logic and definition divide us: it is those things which draw us together that I now value most–our common affections, our common delight in this slow pageant of the countryside, our common struggle towards the light.”

Upon arriving at Theism and prior to conversion:

…with his first waking thought the full-grown horror leaped upon him. The blue sky above the cliffs was watching him: the cliffs themselves were imprisoning him: the rocks behind were cutting off his retreat: the path ahead was ordering him on. In one night the Landlord–call him by what name you would–had come back to the world, and filled the world, quite full without a cranny. His eyes stared and His hand pointed and His voice commanded in everything that could be heard or seen, even from this place where John sat, to the end of the world: and if you passed the end of the world He would be there too. All things were indeed one–more truly than Mr. Wisdom dreamed–and all things said one word: CAUGHT–Caught into slavery again, to walk warily and on sufferance all his days, never to be along; never the master of his own soul, to have no privacy, no corner whereof you could say to the whole universe: This is my own, here I can do as I please.

And from my favorite chapter of the book, Securus Te Projice (Throw yourself away without care):

‘I have come to give myself up,’ he said.
‘It is well,’ said Mother Kirk. ‘You have come a long way round to reach this place, wither I would have carried you in a few moments. But it is very well.’
‘What must I do?’ said John.
‘You must take off your rags,’ said she, ‘as your friend (Vertue) has done already, and then you must dive into this water.’
‘Alas,’ said he, ‘I never learned to dive.’
‘There is nothing to learn,’ said she. ‘The art of diving is not to do anything new but simply to cease doing something. You have only to let yourself go.’
‘It is only necessary,’ said Vertue, with a smile, ‘to abandon all efforts at self-preservation.’
‘I think,’ said John, ‘that if it is all one, I would rather jump.’
‘It is not all one,’ said Mother Kirk. ‘If you jump, you will be trying to save yourself and you may be hurt. As well, you would not go deep enough. You must dive so that you can go right down to the bottom of the pool: for you are not to come up again on this side. There is a tunnel in this cliff, far beneath the surface of the water and it is through that that you must pass so that you may come up on the far side.’

All in all this is a tremendous read. Do yourself a favor and pick this up for here is where we see the greatness of Lewis’ writings begin to emerge. Grade: A

Next: The Allegory of Love (depending on when it arrives in the mails.)