The Great Divorce a launching point for Lenten reflection

Lent is right around the corner; a time for prayer and penance with the purpose and hope of deeper union with God. Often, one of the first great trials of Lent is choosing “what to do for Lent.” There are an overwhelming number of books and guides made to help the faithful reflect and grow during this season. Many are quite good, using guided questions to structure one’s Lenten reflections and sacrifices.

Personally, I find it difficult to engage in some of these books, and while it could be part of the sacrifice, I will admit I more often sink into boredom rather than rise to the heroic task of reading it. Then I fall behind, and the whole endeavor is given up for something more within my abilities.

Mercifully, there are works of fiction that can act as excellent mirrors for the soul and can be especially effective in keeping a wandering mind more attentive. One such book is The Great Divorce by C.S. Lewis. 

C.S. Lewis, known for his many fruitful allegories about Christianity and the spiritual life, originally titled the book Who goes home? when it was published in an Anglican newspaper in 1944. The final title is a reference to William Blake’s poem The Marriage of Heaven and Hell. In the preface, Lewis explains: “Blake wrote of the Marriage of Heaven and Hell….in some sense or other the attempt to make that marriage is perennial. The attempt is based on the belief that reality never presents us with an absolutely unavoidable ‘either-or;’ that…some way of embracing both alternatives can always be found…” (Lewis, vii).

Lewis places himself and the moral of The Great Divorce in opposition to this lie that we don’t need to choose between Heaven and Hell but have what we like from both. 

To illustrate this, Lewis creates a fictional version of the afterlife. Through the eyes of the unnamed narrator, Lewis shows the reader characters and patterns of life we might recognize (either in others or ourselves). The story begins in the “grey town,” a joyless city whose inhabitants live out their day-to-day lives just as they did on earth. This “grey town” is a representation of Hell. In a Catholic understanding, this place also represents a type of Purgatory, for there is a way out. The narrator finds a bus that flies through the sky to take the “ghosts” from the grey city to the foothills of Heaven. There, the ghosts have the chance to meet with spirits from Heaven and choose to stay in that new country. 

The narrator wanders around this beautiful place and witnesses the meetings of several ghosts. One interaction is between a ghost who struggles with lust and the angel of God sent to meet him. The ghost wants to enter Heaven, but the lizard on his shoulder (representing his sin) whispers lies in his ear. The angel asks repeatedly, “May I kill it?” This question is an elegant example of how God is willing to work in our lives, but he will never force his goodness upon us. The soul must choose to offer everything to God. Finally this ghost agrees, and the angel crushes the lizard. In a dramatic transformation, the ghost becomes a solid spirit and the lizard becomes a white stallion. On this stallion, the soul is able to ride off towards the hills, deeper into Heaven and closer to God. 

This theological fantasy is packed with even more images and symbols, and yet it is Lewis’ shortest book. At only 118 pages, this little book is a quick read. To have it as a starting point of reflection, reading two to three chapters a week would be a good pace. The characters and symbolism are so layered in their implications that taking a chapter and rereading it would also be a fruitful practice.

Ask yourself where you see likenesses of your own story. Use Lewis’ story as a mirror for yourself this Lent, and see where God is calling you to come deeper into his country.