Volume 9 Number 4 Article 12

12-15-1983

The Fisher King in That Hideous Strength

Ellen Rawson

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Recommended Citation Rawson, Ellen (1983) "The Fisher King in That Hideous Strength," Mythlore: A Journal of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature: Vol. 9 : No. 4 , Article 12. Available at: https://dc.swosu.edu/mythlore/vol9/iss4/12

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Abstract Notes how Ransom’s persona in That Hideous Strength as a modern Fisher King “contributes to Lewis’s idea of Logres versus Britain.” Notes parallels between the legend of the Fisher King and events of That Hideous Strength.

Additional Keywords The Fisher King in That Hideous Strength; Lewis, C.S.—Characters—Ransom; Lewis, C.S. That Hideous Strength; Logres in That Hideous Strength

This article is available in Mythlore: A Journal of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature: https://dc.swosu.edu/mythlore/vol9/iss4/12 page 30 MYTHLORE 34: Winter 1983 The Fishr King in That Hideous Strength Ellen Rawson

Logres, as both an idea and place, is We both like weather. Not this or that brought to life in C. S. Lewis' That Hideous kind of weather, but just weather. Strength. Within the novel is the- conflict (Ibid., p. 113) of Logres versus Britain. Derived from the Welsh word for England, "lloegr”, Logres rep­ The night that Jane, Dimble, and Arthur Den- niston search for Merlin is wild and windy. resents the England of King Arthur. It is a clean, unspoiled, spiritual England. It com- Camilla Denniston wishes that she was on a bines Christian and Celtic ideas. Celtic high hill. This is suggestive of Celtic cel­ ideas and philosophies are "christianized" in ebrations like Beltaine, which normally oc­ this ideal England. Britain, on the other curred on hills, on nights that might seem hand, represents evil. It is personified by wild with the celebration. all that tried to destroy Arthur, for example, Lewis' use of Logres in That Hideous Morgan Le Fay and Mordred. As time went on, Strength lends to its mythic structure, and it came to represent anything that opposed draws a comparison between King Arthur's and traditional England. Ransom's England, Ransom being the director of the Logres group. Adding to both the mythic After every Arthur, a Mordred; behind qualities of the work and the parallels be­ every Milton, a Cromwell, a nation of tween modern and Celtic England is the appear­ poets, a nation of shopkeepers. (That ance of Ransom as Mr. Fisher-King. Ransom be­ Hideous Strength, p. 369) comes a modern Fisher-King, the keeper of the grail, the keeper of a power which is old, The battle between Logres and Britain is spiritual, and true. He can also be seen as heightened in the twentieth century, when the the mythic fisher-king brought to the twenti­ N.I.C.E., a congromeration of all of B ritain's eth century. All in all. Ransom as the Fisher- evil, prepares to destroy Logres once and for King contributes to Lewis' idea of Logres ver­ a l l . sus Britain, as well as finalizing the Fisher- King story. Logres in That Hideous Strength is a des­ cendant of Arthur's Britain. Lewis has mod­ Basically, the Fisher-King legend is as ernized old ideas and applied them to our own follows. The young knight Perceval meets a violent world by "christianizing" them. He fisherman who invites him to rest at his takes away their wildness. An example is castle. He accepts, and upon entering the Jane's dream of the Titian painting come to castle, is greeted by his host, the fisherman. life. In the dream, there was a wild woman He is crippled, reclining on a couch in front who resembled Mother Dimble. Ransom explains of a fire. He presents Perceval with a sword. her presence to Jane: Perceval then sees a bleeding lance, but he does not ask about it. Later, a radiant gold­ Mother Dimble is friends with all that en grail is carried in. As each course of world as Merlinus is friends with the woods the dinner is served, the grail is passed be­ and rivers. But he isn't a wood or river fore them. Perceval is curious, but does not himself. She has not rejected it, but she ask about the grail. The next morning, Perce­ has baptized i t .. .You have put yourself val is unable to find anyone in the castle. w h ere you m ust m eet t h a t O ld Woman and After he departs, he meets a hideous lady who you have rejected all that has happened tells him that he spent the night with the to her since M aleldil came to Earth. So Fisher-King, a half human, half godlike figure you get her raw—not stronger than Mother who had been crippled by a wound through his Dimble would find her, but untransformed, thighs. She scolds Perceval for not having demoniac. (Ibid., p. 314) asked about the lance or grail. Because he did not, the Fisher-King w ill never have any S till, the natural essence of the old ways is peace. Total destruction and devastation w ill maintained. The Logres people can relate dir­ strike his lands. Perceval, however, does ectly to animals. An example is Ivy Maggs' gain something from this tragic experience. He attitude towards the bear, Mr. Bultitude. She finally realizes that his name is Perceval, and treats him as she would another human being. that the Fisher-King is his uncle, or in some They are all more at ease with the elements versions of the story, his grandfather. He had than are most modern people. As the Dennis- never known God prior to th is. He now becomes tons explain to Jane: a Christian. MYTHLORE 34: Winter 1983 page 31

Jane's first meeting with Ransom is sim ilar appearance and disappearance that many C eltic to Perceval's meeting the Fisher-King in his dwellings have. It does, however, seem to castle. Both Ransom and the Fisher-King are hide from passersby. crippled and are reclining on couches, in front of fires. Perceval sees the fisherman as a There were no houses on her (Jane's) left king, just as Jane ...She was on the highest ground in all that region. Presently, she came to a high tasted the word King itself, with all wall on her right that seemed to run on linked associations of battle, m arriage, for a great way: there was a door in it priesthood, mercy, and power. and beside the door an old iron bell-pull. (Ibid., p. 143) (Ibid., p. 51)

On his last journey. Ransom's heel was se­ Jane exits by the main gate, which she had not verely wounded. He cannot walk and is often seen when she approached the manor. The sec­ in great pain. The Fisher-King is also fairly ond time she comes to the manor, it almost immobile, although his wound is in the thighs, seems to be rising out of the fog. rather than the heel. Bran, in the Welsh Mab- inoqion, is believed to have been the precur­ A few yards further and luminous blue sor to the Arthurian Fisher-King. In a battle was showing overhead, and trees cast against the King of Ireland, Bran is wounded shadows, and then all of a sudden the enor­ in the heel. The direct consequence of the mous spaces of the sky haid become v isi­ wound upon B ritain is its devastation. The ble, and the pale golden sun. king's health is directly linked to the land's (Ibid., p. 138) fertility . If he is not healed, the land w ill suffer. If Perceval was to have asked the It seems fittin g that the dwelling place of right questions, he could have healed the land Ransom, the modern Fisher-King, is situated and the king. He would have been declared the above the fog. rightful heir. The land would once again have a healthy heir. Both it and the Fisher-King Perceval is an outsider to A rthur's court, would be healed. the place generally considered to be the cen­ ter of Logres. He has only recently come to Ransom's wounds can only be cured once his court. According to most stories, he is sent land, Logres, is safe. When he refuses Mer­ on the grail quest to prove that he is capable lin ' s ^offer of'a cure, he says: of being one of A rthur's knights. Unlike the other knights, Perceval is not a C hristian, We have drugs that could cheat the pain and does not become one u n til after he meets as well as your earth magic or better, if the Fisher-King. Sim ilarly, Jane is a non- it were not my business to bear it to the C hristian, as well as an outsider to the Logres end. (Ibid, p. 288) group and the very idea of Logres. She becomes a C hristian only after she has met Ransom and Only after Logres is restored may Ransom re­ learned more about Logres. Jane, like Perce­ turn to the Third Heaven, Perelandra, to be val, is searching for a grail. For Jane per­ healed. According to some of the grail stor­ sonally, the grail represents a cure for her ies, the Fisher-King is only healed after Per­ problems with Mark and her dreams. She can ceval finds him again and asks him the quest­ find the cure through Ransom, its guardian. i o n s . The heir to the Fisher-King would have Part of Perceval wants to ask about the been Perceval. According to M erlin, Jane would grail, but there is yet another part telling have borne (or may s till, according to Ransom) him not to ask. Jane also finds an "inner Ransom's heir, the new Fisher-King and head of commentator'1 (Ibid., p. 146) tellin g her not L o g r e s . to say certain things to Ransom. Both "in­ ner commentators" are tellin g Jane and Perce­ It was the purpose of God that she and val not to speak honestly with their hosts. her lord should between them have begot­ Rather than asking questions, Jane's purpose ten a child by-whom the enemies should is merely to speak with Ransom. She must te ll have been put out of Logres for a thous­ him about her dreams in order to help save and years. (Ibid., p. 278) Logres. Unlike Perceval, Jane overcomes her interfering inner commentator, and speaks open­ The legend of the .Fisher-K ing, as used by ly w ith Ransom. Lewis, adds to the fictionality of the work. It helps to create a desperate situation. This The Fisher-King’s castle is not always vis­ is Logres' last chance. If the Fisher-King's ible. Even with explicit directions, Perceval lands cannot be restored this tim e, then all has trouble finding it. The Manor at St. of Logres w ill fall to the N.I.C.E. and be de­ Anne's does not have the magic qualities of stroyed. This desperateness adds to Ransom's page 32 MYTHLORE 34: Winter 1983

need to find M erlin. According to some of the grail stories, it was M erlin who helped The University of Otherwhere Perceval find and cure the Fisher-King the Announcement of Course O fferings second tim e. M erlin must once more p artici­ pate in the deliverance of the Fisher-King DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY (Ransom), and Logres. M erlin's existence is more plausible because of the Fisher-King. If H istory 201. The Kingdom of Narnia, from the Fisher-King, or one of his descendents is Frank to Tirian. A survey course with spec­ alive in tw entieth century England, why could­ ial emphasis on. the reign of Caspian the Sea­ n 't M erlin be walking the Earth? The whole farer. Dr. Cornelius. idea of the Fisher-King leads to M erlin's wak­ ing, which leads to the awakening of the spir­ H istory 141-2. Hobbits in the Third Age. its, such as St. Charity. Guided research in the Red Book of Westmarch and other documents. There in the fall sem­ The Fisher-King is finally healed this ester, Back Again in the spring. Instructor, tim e. In the grail stories, he sometimes is Mr. Bilbo Baggins. healed, but more often is not. Only now is he fully healed and the enchantments (in twen­ DEPARTMENT OF MAGIC tieth century England, the influence of the N .I.C.E.) are removed from England. Logres Applied W izardry 201-2. Simple spells, read­ seems to be permanently restored. Jane, act­ ing the runes, and fancy fireworks, taught by ing as Perceval in some instances, fu lfills Gandalf the Grey. Note: Candidates for more her part in the resurrection of Logres. The advanced study w ill be subjected to piercing child she may later bear w ill eventually be s c r u t i n y . the new Pendragon, the heir to Ransom, the Fisher-King. The Fisher-King legend has been Gramarye 1 and 2. Lore of Logres, taught by c o m p le te d . Master M erlinus Ambrosius. Field research in Broceliande, spring sem ester. Quenti Lambardillion, continued from page 19 Gradalogy 606. De Retz and other reputations rim S great number, host (coll.pl.); Allen, 88;U_, re-examined? medieval darkness probed. Prof­ 318; S, 363; essor G iles Tumulty. Laboratory experiments PNH-65, 66 with selected volunteers. Allen, An Introduction to Elvish The Sil mar i l l ion COMBINED MAJOR IN WOMEN'S STUDIES: U_, Unfinished Tales Road, The Road Goes Ever On Philosophy 3. The Platonic Ideas as they en­ PHN, Computer derived glossary, Appendix A, L in g u istic Techniques Used to Develop Character in the Works ter the world of reality. Dr. Damaris Tighe. of J.R.R. Tolkien, Purdue University (1982) English 215. The M ystical M arriage: Donne's poetry re-examined in the light of practical The M ythopoeic Fantasy Award experience. Mrs. Jane Tudor Studdock. Christine Lowentrout, the Steward in charge of the Mythopoeic Fantasy Award, would like to thank last LINGUISTICS AND PHILOSOPHY year's selection committee, and to announce that mem­ bers of the Society who wish to nominate a book (fan­ Introduction to Old Solar, I and II. Hressa- tasy in category, published in 1982) for the 1982 Award, Hlab as spoken by the various rational beings or who wish to serve on this year's selection commit­ w ithin the Field of Arbol, with an excursus on tee, should write to her by March 1, 1983, at 115 5th the dating of Surnibur. Dr. Elwin Ransom. St. #2, Seal Beach, CA 90740. Committee members must be willing to read all five of the final runners off. The nominations received by March 1 will be sent to Logic 123. The im possibility of a credible the committee within ten days. . Committee members contemporary angelology is conclusively demon­ will have until April 15 to select five books from the strated. Mr. McPhee. list and to mail their choices back to her. We realize that this is the weak link in the system Philosophy 01. It's all in Plato; why look --expecting the committee to be familiar with a list of further? Professor Digory Kirke. books before the final reading period, but most of the committee last year assured us (when we first tired DEPARTMENT OF PHYSICAL EDUCATION this system) that they were indeed familiar with most of the new works in the genre, which was why they volunteered to serve on the committee in the first place! Water Sports 509. Messing about in boats, Within ten days after April 15 the committee will taught by two experts. receive a list of the five works with the most nomina­ tions. They will have until July 15 to read (or reread) Self-R ealization 1. Motor Mechanics, M artial the five works, and to return the list with the five list­ A rts, and Singing. BY MR. TOAD. ed in order of preference. The book with the most points will be announced at the August Conference. Mary M Stolzenbach