The Manifestation of Pride in The Great Divorce by C.S. Lewis

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The Manifestation of Pride in The Great Divorce by C.S. Lewis The Great Divorce by C.S. Lewis suggests that choices made on earth have a consequential effect towards our acceptance into heaven or our plummet into hell. In this book pride manifests itself in a hundred subtle ways as souls whine about perceived injustices or irrational motives. Thankfully, a few tourists do humble themselves, become transformed into marvelously real beings, and remain in heaven. But most don't, about which the great Scottish author George MacDonald, Lewis' heavenly guide, says, “They may not be rejecting the truth of heaven now. They may be reenacting the rejection they made while on earth”. George MacDonald the narrator/teacher, from whom Lewis found inspiration for his book, is the guide in the journey through the gates of heaven. This provides great wisdom throughout the book which is not understood without reflection. MacDonald in essence presents Lewis with a choice while journeying in the gates of heaven. The stories of lost ghosts in the heavenly gates only provide reflection for Lewis’ own choice. This choice is not revealed by Lewis, rather it is up to the reader to make his/her own choice. MacDonald gives guidance towards our choice, “The choice of every lost soul can be expressed in the words, ‘Better to reign in Hell than serve in Heaven.’ There is always something they prefer to joy....” (71). At one point in the book McDonald observes a ghost with Lewis and suggests that truth is a lifelong process, our life longs for this truth. Although we may not all realize truth because of lack of time, Lewis suggests it’s just a matter of obtaining the truth through good use of time. “Evil can be undone, but it cannot ‘develop’ into good. Time does not heal it” (Preface: VIII). Time is in essence, if perhaps used in the way of authentic leisure, a God given tool for overcoming evil and obtaining the truth of heaven. The women in chapter eleven loves her son so much that she has no love left to give and no room for love to be received. The spirit offers to open love to her, when she replies by requesting to see her son. This love has perhaps prevented her from receiving intellectus (receptivity of knowledge), and in my mother’s case, even the ratio (reasoning) is affected. The saying “love conquers all things” is true, even if it is not also conquering for the goo... ... middle of paper ... ...tellectus. However, while painting in the ratio he noticed some things were more beautiful to paint than others. Ratio is what caused him to not enter through the gates of heaven. He had not preserved his intellectus or true beauty of things. He had lost intellectus through realization of time, of time slowing. So, instead of letting time go he grabbed it which brought him to reason his paintings through the mind rather than the spirit. “Reality never presents us with an absolutely unavoidable ‘either-or’; that, granted skill and patience and (above all) time enough, some way of embracing both alternatives can always be found” (Preface:VII). Lewis suggests here that time if spent right can bring us to self-realization of our journey, and in effect influence our choices. These choices are dependent on time. As wrong choices are made only in time, no truly rational choices can be made will out of the realm of time. Time is the evil that surrounds us. It is the letting go of this time when we truly feel void of problems. Only by letting go of our problems we will be able to communicate with God, while in the essence of being one with ourselves and finding our true inner self.

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