That Hideous Strength: Chapter 4

Spoiler alert: This post is part of an in-depth discussion of That Hideous Strength by C. S. Lewis, which will inevitably reveal key plot points. I recommend you support your local bookseller or public library, and read the book first.

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Mark Studdock, a sociologist and Fellow at Bracton College in Edgestow, left Bracton to take a public-relations position with the N.I.C.E., a scientific think tank that purchased a large parcel of land from the College to set up its institute, including the ancient Bragdon Wood, where Merlin is buried, according to folklore. He travelled to Belbury, the current headquarters of the N.I.C.E., with the influential Lord Feverstone, another influential Fellow and a member of the Institute. There he met several high-ranking members of the N.I.C.E., but none of them seemed to know exactly where Mark fit in the organization or would give him a straight answer about his job description. One interesting character he met was Miss Hardcastle, known as "the Fairy," a burly woman who headed the N.I.C.E.'s police organization. The N.I.C.E. itself wants to re-engineer society along "scientific" lines including eugenics and direct mind conditioning, and Miss Hardcastle was particularly enthusiastic about her job as the enforcers of the Institute's agenda. He also meets another Fellow at Bracton, William "Bill the Blizzard" Hingest, who strongly advises Mark to leave the N.I.C.E. alone and go back to Bracton—as he himself is that night.

Meanwhile, Mark's wife Jane, who is disturbed by clairvoyant dreams, travelled to St. Anne's on the Hill. She was given the address of a Miss Ironwood, whom her tutor, Mr. Dimble, invited her to visit to talk about her dreams. When she spoke to Miss Ironwood, she was disappointed to find out that she could be no help, because there was nothing wrong with her. Jane's dreams are a natural ability inherited from her ancestry in a branch of the Tudor family. She has an ancestor who wrote down an accurate account of the Battle of Worcester despite not being there: he, too, dreamt it. Jane returned home to Edgestow, where she received a phone call late at night from Mrs. Dimble, asking if she could stay the night.

Chapter 4: "The Liquidation of Anachronisms"

First of all, I love the title of this chapter. That's not something I say often about chapter titles. It sounds like the title of a prog-rock album, but in this story, as we'll see, it's literally true.

That Hideous Strength: Chapter 3

Spoiler alert: This post is part of an in-depth discussion of That Hideous Strength by C. S. Lewis, which will inevitably reveal key plot points. I recommend reading the book first. It's short, I promise.

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Mark Studdock is a Fellow at Bracton College in the University of Edgestow. At a meeting of the Governing Board, the Progressive Element, a clique of which Mark is part, succeeded in approving the sale of some College property, the ancient Bragdon Wood, to the N.I.C.E., a scientific research institution. Afterward, Lord Feverstone (aka Dick Devine), another Fellow and an influential politician involved with the N.I.C.E., told Mark what the real business of the think tank is: human advancement through eugenics, environmental manipulation, and ultimately interplanetary travel. He invited Mark to join the N.I.C.E. to write flattering propaganda.

Jane, Mark's wife of six months, is a graduate student. She was disturbed by a nightmare of a recently executed murderer. She visited Mr. Dimble, her tutor, and his wife, and they suggested she talk to someone they knew in St. Anne's on the Hill. When she returned home, thoughts of her nightmare frightened her, and when Mark arrived, he found her sobbing at the door.

The next day, Mark drove with Lord Feverstone to Belbury, headquarters of the N.I.C.E., while Jane rode the train to St. Anne's, to meet with the Dimbles' acquaintance, Miss Ironwood.

That Hideous Strength: Chapter 2

Spoiler alert: This post is part of an in-depth discussion of That Hideous Strength by C. S. Lewis, which will inevitably reveal key plot points. Unless you're the sort of person who likes skipping to the last page, go read the book first.

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Mark and Jane Studdock have been married for six months and their marriage is on the rocks.

Jane Studdock is a graduate student, who was married six months ago, and the marriage was already in trouble. She struggles with her thesis, and she resents the life of a housewife. Jane was recently disturbed by a nightmare involving the disembodied head of a recently executed scientist and murderer. When she visited her tutor and his wife, they offered her the address of someone that she could talk to.

Her husband, Mark Studdock, is a Fellow at Bracton College in the University of Edgestow. Amongst the Fellows he is a member of the Progressive Element. At a College Meeting, they successfully leveraged the College's current financial difficulties to win a motion to sell Bragdon Wood, an ancient forest that legend says is the burial place of Merlin. The buyer was the National Institute of Co-Ordinated Experiments (N.I.C.E.), a scientific research institute.

The Progressive Element are:

• Curry, the sub-Warden: The leader of the clique. He enjoys playing politics and wants to be seen, along with Bracton College, as modern and progressive.
• James Busby, the College Bursar (financial administrator): He sees the sale of Bragdon Wood as a solution to the College's money problems, and allies with the other Progressives to push it through.
• Lord Feverstone: Also known as Dick Devine, he is an influential London politician. He uses his influence at the College to recruit Mark and close the sale of Bragdon Wood to the N.I.C.E.
• Mark Studdock: A Junior Fellow of Sociology, elected five years ago. He is ambitious, wanting to belong to the inner circle. He was elected over his chief rival, a man named Denniston, thanks to the influence of Lord Feverstone.

That Hideous Strength: Chapter 1

Spoiler alert: This post is part of an in-depth discussion of That Hideous Strength by C. S. Lewis, which will inevitably reveal key plot points. If you don't want me ruining the experience for you, put this post down and go read That Hideous Strength now. I promise I won't be offended.

Two weekends ago, I finished a readthrough of Perelandra, the second book in C. S. Lewis's classic Space Trilogy (aka the Cosmic Trilogy or the Ransom Trilogy). Today we continue the series with the third book: That Hideous Strength.

An up-front confession: This was always my least favourite of the three, as indicated by the fact that I have probably read Out of the Silent Planet and Perelandra four times, and That Hideous Strength only twice: the first time in 1992 when I read the trilogy for the first time, and the second around 1998 when I bought my own copy. I particularly enjoyed the style of the first two books, which were a deliberate homage to early science fiction by H. G. Wells and Jules Verne. Wells's The First Men in the Moon was a novel I read frequently as a teenager—I remain a fan to this day—and I have no doubt Lewis borrowed Weston's spherical spaceship from Professor Cavor. But the third book was remarkably different, being more of an earthbound supernatural thriller than a Wellsian or Vernian space fantasy.

That said, it's been nearly 30 years since I last read That Hideous Strength, so this is effectively a blind readthrough. I might very well change my mind about it by the end.

September 11, 2001

Today is September 11, 2026. It's the 25th anniversary of the Islamist terrorist attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people when hijackers flew passenger jets into the World Trade Center in New York City and the Pentagon. A fourth flight crashed in Pennsylvania when passengers resisted the hijackers.

I've talked about people talking about 9/11. I reviewed conspiracy movies like Loose Change and 911: In Plane Sight, as well as Lawrence Wright's book The Looming Tower, about the failure to prevent the attack. But I haven't talked directly about 9/11 on this blog, even in an anniversary year like 2011, although at that time I was hardly writing, anyway. But in this milestone year, it seems apropos.

9/11 is to my generation what the JFK assassination or the moon landing was to my parents': it's that moment when you can remember exactly where you were and you realized you were witnessing world-changing events.

Perelandra: Chapter 17

Spoiler alert: This post is part of an in-depth discussion of Perelandra by C. S. Lewis, which will inevitably reveal key plot points. If you don't want me ruining the experience for you, put this post down and go read Perelandra now. I promise I won't be offended.

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The story so far: Our protagonist, Elwin Ransom, was brought to the planet Perelandra (Venus) by the Oyarsa of Malacandra (Mars), whom he encountered in the previous book, Out of the Silent Planet. His mission to Perelandra was, as yet, unknown.

Perelandra was a warm, overcast, ocean planet with next to no solid ground. What passed for land were floating mats of vegetation, where plants grew for food and friendly wildlife dwelt. Ransom also met a green human woman, who initially mistook him for the King, her male counterpart. She was apparently in close communication with Maleldil, the supreme spiritual ruler of the universe, who helped the Green Lady understand that Ransom was from a different world and his ways were different.

Ransom and the Green Lady visited the Fixed Land, one of Perelandra's few true islands. Maleldil had made a rule forbidding the King or the Green Lady from dwelling there, or even spending the night. They saw an object fall into the sea. It was a spherical spaceship, of the same kind in which Ransom was kidnapped and taken to Mars. In fact, they soon meet his abductor, Weston, on the beach.

Weston's humanistic, scientistic beliefs had evolved into a mystical form of emergent evolution. He now believed in a cosmic Force that directed his actions. When the Christian Ransom attempted to refute this belief, he became angry and was possessed by the Force. His own personality was apparently consumed, and he became the Un-Man. He escaped to the floating islands and attempted to persuade the Green Lady to violate Maleldil's law. While Ransom was there to refute his arguments, the Un-Man was relentless and had no need for sleep, and Ransom realized he could not keep up his side of the argument indefinitely.

Science Fiction-Free September 2026

It's September, and that's the month when I declare a moratorium on reading science fiction, usually in favour of something I wouldn't normally just casually pick up.

This year, though, I left the planning too late, and when it came down to figuring out what I might like to read this month, I didn't find myself too enthusiastic. Besides, there was a list of books on my to-read list that I was looking forward to, and I don't really feel like holding them back.

Perelandra: Chapter 16

Spoiler alert: This post is part of an in-depth discussion of Perelandra by C. S. Lewis, which will inevitably reveal key plot points. You may well have a lot of reading ahead of you.

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In a cave deep underground on Perelandra, Ransom defeated the Un-Man, killing the body of his foe Weston and throwing it into an underground fire. After this, he slowly found his way through the dark, subvenerean caverns, seeing sights there that were not meant for humans. Finally, he fell into an underground river, which swept him back to the surface, depositing him in a pool on the side of a mountain. There, he spent some time recovering from his injuries. One remained: a bite from Weston on his heel that would not stop bleeding.

Once he had recovered sufficiently, Ransom descended to the valley below, then ascended the great mountain on the other side. Though reluctant to continue, thinking himself to be approaching a holy place, he felt himself urged on. At the peak of the mountain was a basin or crater, completely covered in red flowers, with a pool at the centre. A coffin like the one that had brought him to Perelandra lay there, open and waiting to return him to Earth. He also perceived two spiritual presences with him.

Ransom recognizes the two beings as one is the Oyarsa of Malacandra (known here only by "Malacandra"; he explains that "Oyarsa" is a title reserved for one's own sphere) and the other is the Oyarsa of of Perelandra. Today is the day that the latter turns the rule of the planet over to the King and Queen. Such had not been possible on Thulcandra (Earth), but here Ransom has made it possible.

The Oyeresu decide it is time to show themselves, and after a few terrifying manifestations, they settle on humanoid figures, thirty feet tall, expressionless and sexless, and glowing white.

Perelandra: Chapter 15

Spoiler alert: This post is part of an in-depth discussion of Perelandra by C. S. Lewis, which will inevitably reveal key plot points. I recommend you support your local bookseller or public library, and read the book first.

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Ransom's battle with Weston, the Un-Man who came to Perelandra to corrupt it, took place over land, on the sea, and then deep underground, before Ransom finally won, bashing Weston's head with a stone and throwing him into the subterranean fires. Exhausted, he slept.

When he awakens, Ransom starts exploring the caverns, trying to find his way out of them. The sights he sees are indistinct and surreal, as though he is delirious from fatigue and unsure what is real. He sees many strange things underground: a vast, cathedral-like vault with two giant thrones, clearly not intended for Pereldandra's human inhabitants. Deep below him he sees more insectoid creatures like the one that had emerged from the depths with Weston, but there are harnessed to a cart carrying an upright, cloaked form.

After falling into an underground river and being whisked by the strong current through what appears to be a giant ice cave, he finds himself deposited on the edge of a large pool, in daylight. Ranson guesses himself to be atop a high mountain. He finds fruit to eat, and again falls asleep. On this ledge, he rests and recuperates from his fight for what seems to him to be only a day or so, but could have easily been weeks—he is unaware of the passage of time.

Perelandra: Chapter 14

Spoiler alert: This post is part of an in-depth discussion of Perelandra by C. S. Lewis, which will inevitably reveal key plot points. I recommend reading the book first. It's short, I promise.

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The final battle between Ransom and the Un-Man that has possessed the body of Weston began with a brutal fistfight on one of Perelandra's floating mats of vegetation. It continued on the ocean, as the Un-Man escaped on the back of a large fish, with Ransom pursuing. In the midst of the ocean with no floating islands or solid land in sight, Ransom began to have doubts about his mission to stop the Un-Man from corrupting the unfallen Perelandra.

In the dark, Weston approached Ransom again, his own personality apparently having resurfaced. He is terrified: possessed by the malevolent cosmic Force that he served, he had had a glimpse of the afterlife that awaited him, and was utterly terrified. However, when Ransom admonished him to pray to God and set things right, Weston pulled him off his fish and dragged him into the depths of the sea.