J.C. Comeau #5, Walking with Orual

To a degree greater than most of Lewis’ works, we learn alongside Orual in Till We Have Faces.  Told from the first person narrative, Orual’s story is one of deception, selfishness, and love battling within.  In this myth retold, Lewis has brought us into the mind of a woman amidst the growing pains of life, amidst loss, fear, and ambition.  In light of Walter Fisher’s essay, Narration as a Paradigm of Human Communication, Till We Have Faces truly works to teach us through the actions of Orual.  Lewis’ fascination of myth must have played a role in choosing this story, but what is intriguing is the way in which he sought to show Orual’s growth.  Rather than focusing on Psyche’s loss, Lewis’ weaves a new narrative in which Orual must come to terms with the wrong she bore against her sister, a narrative in which Orual comes to see who she is and what she’s done.  The structure of the book, with Orual’s complaint brought forth in the beginning, and her eventual repentance in the end, frames a journey that Lewis asks us to go on.  Lewis encourages his reader to completely reverse his judgment of Orual and the gods in the course of the narrative, all while walking through it with the characters.  It is this complete reversal of opinion within the book that must be artfully weaved for the narrative to move the reader as well.