Our protagonist (we never learn his name) finds himself walking in a sprawling city with no people. The dim light state sunset is only minutes away, but after hours, evening never comes. After a flying bus-ride, he finds himself in completely new country, a place so real he appears as a ghost in comparison. This solid place is Heaven. The Gray Town is Hell. While the ghostly people spread over the field, several solid people arrive with one mission: to convince the ghosts to remain in Heaven instead of returning to Hell. |
Format & backstory
The loose story is a backdrop for character studies through conversations between the ghosts and spirits. (Spoiler) While the characters we meet are deceased humans, our narrator isn’t actually dead, but only dreaming.
‘The Great Divorce’ is a response to ‘The Marriage of Heaven and Hell’ by Blake. Heaven and Hell are distinct places, and yes, reality does present us with ‘either/or’ choices. We can’t have everything and must reject evil. Not all roads lead to the same destination.
Lewis begs his readers to remember this book is a fantasy. While it does have a moral, his depictions of the afterlife are not his guess at what may actually await us.
Theme: Wanting to stay in Hell
The mission of each of the solid people is to convince the ghosts to stay in heaven, but most ghosts return to the bus for the trip back to Hell.
Some only come as tourists or waiting to take solid objects to Hell for economical reasons. Some can’t let go our their self importance or understand heaven’s shift in priorities.
Entering heaven requires letting go of self and flawed desires. Your talents are not needed, your loved ones don’t pine for you, for all is complete in Christ. All are welcome to receive Christ’s forgiveness and be in Him. Then they will find perfect joy. Since many ghosts can’t release their self-importance, they choose to remain in Hell. One chooses to stay, but must kill the lust-lizard on his shoulder first. Once dead, both are transformed.
Spiritual Content
While we meet two angels, we never see demons. However, there is fear that when night finally comes to the Gray Town, ‘they’ will come and eat the inhabitants.
Both heaven and Hell are in the ‘almost, but not yet’ phase. Heaven is minutes away from morning while Hell is moments away from evening. Until the night and day come, spirits from Hell may come up into Heaven (at which time, Hell becomes purgatory for them). All who desire it will find the bus, the only transport between the two.
While Hell turns out to be tiny in comparison to Heaven, God entered into hell and preached the gospel to its inhabitants.
No one is a ‘good-person.’ All deserve Hell, but through God’s forgiveness are granted Heaven if they will take it. A character is told he's in Hell because he's an apostate.
Christianity, ultimately, is about the person of Christ and he must not be forgotten.
We're done condemned souls will visit earth to haunt their old home or to play tricks on mediums.
Drugs/alcohol
A solid person refers to a drunkard believing that another glass will do him no harm.
Language
6-8 uses each of “Hell” and “d*mn” as curses. (These words as also used by their correction definitions at other times).
“the devil” and "bleeding charity" appears a few times. Someone is called an “*ss”
“G*d” one ghosts says, which a real person answers “God what? In our grammar, God is a noun.”
Sexual Content
One ghost moves provocatively in order to attract the solid people. All her conversations are a means to ‘that’ end.
When the solid spirts come, some are naked, including a lady (though our character can’t remember if she were clothed or not.) We learn that the person’s virtues manifest themselves as clothes and are apart of the person’s body like hair (so technically, all of the solid people are naked.)
A spirit talks about how emotional pity has cheated many a woman out of her virginity.
A comparison is made between free-play inquiry/intelligence and masturbation/marriage.
Violence
While exploring the solid world, our character is washed down a river, climbing out with several bruises. He fears that falling dew from the leaves may hit him like bullets.
An angel appears with a fiery swords comes to kill a lizard on a man’s shoulder.
A ghost recalls his unfair earthly life that drove him to throw himself under a train.
Other negative elements
We get a vivid metaphor for our flirting ghost: “If a corpse already liquid with decay had arisen from the coffin, smeared its gums with lipstick, and attempted a flirtation, the result could not have been more appalling.”
Final Thoughts
‘The Great Divorce’ has captured the idea that heavenly beings having a completely foreign mindset to ours. A few concepts seem wrong at first glance (like a wife feeling perfectly joyful while her husband refuses Heaven) but once explained, makes sense. When we are in Christ, Christ is all we need. If our desires and joys are complete in Him, we don’t need our earthly families. The book promotes us to ask ‘Is Christ truly enough for us?’
The loose story is a backdrop for character studies through conversations between the ghosts and spirits. (Spoiler) While the characters we meet are deceased humans, our narrator isn’t actually dead, but only dreaming.
‘The Great Divorce’ is a response to ‘The Marriage of Heaven and Hell’ by Blake. Heaven and Hell are distinct places, and yes, reality does present us with ‘either/or’ choices. We can’t have everything and must reject evil. Not all roads lead to the same destination.
Lewis begs his readers to remember this book is a fantasy. While it does have a moral, his depictions of the afterlife are not his guess at what may actually await us.
Theme: Wanting to stay in Hell
The mission of each of the solid people is to convince the ghosts to stay in heaven, but most ghosts return to the bus for the trip back to Hell.
Some only come as tourists or waiting to take solid objects to Hell for economical reasons. Some can’t let go our their self importance or understand heaven’s shift in priorities.
Entering heaven requires letting go of self and flawed desires. Your talents are not needed, your loved ones don’t pine for you, for all is complete in Christ. All are welcome to receive Christ’s forgiveness and be in Him. Then they will find perfect joy. Since many ghosts can’t release their self-importance, they choose to remain in Hell. One chooses to stay, but must kill the lust-lizard on his shoulder first. Once dead, both are transformed.
Spiritual Content
While we meet two angels, we never see demons. However, there is fear that when night finally comes to the Gray Town, ‘they’ will come and eat the inhabitants.
Both heaven and Hell are in the ‘almost, but not yet’ phase. Heaven is minutes away from morning while Hell is moments away from evening. Until the night and day come, spirits from Hell may come up into Heaven (at which time, Hell becomes purgatory for them). All who desire it will find the bus, the only transport between the two.
While Hell turns out to be tiny in comparison to Heaven, God entered into hell and preached the gospel to its inhabitants.
No one is a ‘good-person.’ All deserve Hell, but through God’s forgiveness are granted Heaven if they will take it. A character is told he's in Hell because he's an apostate.
Christianity, ultimately, is about the person of Christ and he must not be forgotten.
We're done condemned souls will visit earth to haunt their old home or to play tricks on mediums.
Drugs/alcohol
A solid person refers to a drunkard believing that another glass will do him no harm.
Language
6-8 uses each of “Hell” and “d*mn” as curses. (These words as also used by their correction definitions at other times).
“the devil” and "bleeding charity" appears a few times. Someone is called an “*ss”
“G*d” one ghosts says, which a real person answers “God what? In our grammar, God is a noun.”
Sexual Content
One ghost moves provocatively in order to attract the solid people. All her conversations are a means to ‘that’ end.
When the solid spirts come, some are naked, including a lady (though our character can’t remember if she were clothed or not.) We learn that the person’s virtues manifest themselves as clothes and are apart of the person’s body like hair (so technically, all of the solid people are naked.)
A spirit talks about how emotional pity has cheated many a woman out of her virginity.
A comparison is made between free-play inquiry/intelligence and masturbation/marriage.
Violence
While exploring the solid world, our character is washed down a river, climbing out with several bruises. He fears that falling dew from the leaves may hit him like bullets.
An angel appears with a fiery swords comes to kill a lizard on a man’s shoulder.
A ghost recalls his unfair earthly life that drove him to throw himself under a train.
Other negative elements
We get a vivid metaphor for our flirting ghost: “If a corpse already liquid with decay had arisen from the coffin, smeared its gums with lipstick, and attempted a flirtation, the result could not have been more appalling.”
Final Thoughts
‘The Great Divorce’ has captured the idea that heavenly beings having a completely foreign mindset to ours. A few concepts seem wrong at first glance (like a wife feeling perfectly joyful while her husband refuses Heaven) but once explained, makes sense. When we are in Christ, Christ is all we need. If our desires and joys are complete in Him, we don’t need our earthly families. The book promotes us to ask ‘Is Christ truly enough for us?’