Satire and Social Criticism in C. S. Lewis' That Hideous Strength

Abstract:

The essay at hand is a New Historicist reading of C. S. Lewis’ dystopian fantasy novel That Hideous Strength. According to New Historicist theory it is informed by many disciplines, namely, philosophy, history, literary theory, theology, social science, and psychology, and it attempts to lessen injustices of race and class. The essay examines how satire operates in the novel, focusing on its societal targets: totalitarianism, laboratory animals, and education. Lewis’ philosophical idea expressed in his “The Abolition of Man” – that a society that averts from what he calls universal, timeless, objective values will eventually lead to a loss of that which is truly humane – is a main theme of the novel as well as for this essay. Another, complementary, main theme is that a cultivation of the heart is necessary for individuals of society since childhood if society is going to stay humane.