Date of Award
12-2024
Culminating Project Type
Thesis
Styleguide
chicago
Degree Name
English: M.A.
Department
English
College
College of Liberal Arts
First Advisor
Judith Dorn
Second Advisor
Tim Fountaine
Third Advisor
Kevin Sharpe
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Keywords and Subject Headings
CSLewis, satire, allegory, virtue, vice, Epistolary
Abstract
Abstract
This essay explores the profound literary contributions of Clive Staples Lewis, better known as C.S. Lewis. Although his non-fiction and fiction works were published nearly a century ago, Lewis's influence on readers has only intensified in contemporary times. His seminal novel, The Screwtape Letters, remains highly regarded among literary and theological scholars. While many people remember him for The Chronicles of Narnia, this thesis will demonstrate that Lewis employed allegorical satire to reveal the supernatural and unseen realms of spirits and demons within Christian theology and moral philosophy. Lewis began writing this work the day after listening to Adolf Hitler’s notorious radio address to England in 1941, in which Hitler warned of a military blitz of unprecedented scale. The narrative unfolds through the epistolary exchanges between Screwtape, a senior demon, and his nephew and protégé, Wormwood. Lewis crafts a sophisticated story that critiques the fallibilities and errors of humanity, as well as the moral dilemmas faced from a diabolical perspective. This narrative technique, combined with the satirical inversion of moral constructs and norms, enhances Lewis’s insights into the profound nature of sin. The text's allegorical framework also highlights the absurdity and inherent irrationality exhibited by Screwtape, other demons, and, by extension, the authoritarian regimes of both Hitler's era and our own. Through the diabolical ventriloquism of Screwtape, Lewis exposes the contradictions and complexities of human nature. However, he also underscores the invaluable virtues of faith, perseverance, and ethical decision-making. Lewis's masterful use of allegorical satire ensures the enduring significance of The Screwtape Letters as a sacred text for exploring the human condition and one's morality, spirituality, and psyche.
Keywords: satire, allegory, C.S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters, virtue, vice
Recommended Citation
Case, Craig R., "C.S. Lewis Goes to Hell: A Comprehensive Hermeneutical Examination of Allegorical Satire in the Epistolary Structure of C.S. Lewis's The Screwtape Letters" (2024). Culminating Projects in English. 60.
https://repository.stcloudstate.edu/eng_etds/60
Comments/Acknowledgements
Acknowledgments
First and foremost, to my Lord Jesus Christ: for everything, above and below, visible and invisible, present and future, got started in him and finds its purpose in him. He was there before any of it came into existence and holds it all together right up to this moment.
To my dear wife and best friend, Carrie, and her advocacy for me to write and finish this thesis. She put up with the countless hours of me vocalizing ideas, fears, and sheer adulation whenever I crossed another Rubicon. Love you, Babe!
To my children, Alex and Ally, you are among the great joys in my life. Your undying support and prayers for me to complete this project are among my treasured memories of our experiences together. Love you, AC & Al.
To my indefatigable thesis advisor, Dr. Judy Dorn. In the following pages lies not just nine months of exploring the imaginative world of C.S. Lewis and The Screwtape Letters but a testament to the unwavering belief you instilled in me. Your guidance was the compass that navigated me through the tumultuous sea of research, delays (on my part), ideas, and literary analysis. You read between the lines of my drafts and our conversations, revealing treasures there - like allegorical satire – that I had yet to fully comprehend.
The countless hours you dedicated—pouring over my work, challenging my conclusions, and recommending that “one, right word”— left an indelible mark on both my academic journey and personal growth. You never gave up on me, even when I was on the verge of giving up on myself. You were the “Lewis” to my “Tolkien” in the latter’s ordeal with writing The Hobbit.
To the rest of the thesis committee: Dr. Tim Fountaine, you taught me more about the writing process than you’ll ever know. Your tutelage and friendship over the past two years have meant the world to me and made me a more confident writer and instructor. Dr. Kevin Sharpe, who, at the onset of this project, asked critically important questions that caused me to take a better route on Lewis and the novel.
And to mom. You have been gone now for 20 years but continue to fill my thoughts.
Craig R. Case, M.Div. in Theology, M.A. in Christian Thought & Philosophy