Perelandra: Chapter 12

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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Elwin Ransom, Cambridge philologist, has been brought to the planet Perelandra (Venus) by Maleldil, the supreme spiritual ruler of the solar system. Here, he met the Venusian "Eve," a green lady, and his enemy, the physicist Weston. Weston became possessed by a demonic entity, and although his own personality apparently ceased to be, the entity inhabiting his body persistently tried to tempt the Green Lady to break Maleldil's one law, which forbade dwelling on Perelandra's lone fixed island.

Ransom soon determined that his own reason for being on Perelandra was to cofront the Un-Man, the thing inside Weston, and prevent Perelandra's Fall. However, he had neither the persuasive power nor the sheer persistence of the Un-Man, who did not require sleep. Maleldil revealed to him that his only recourse is to kill Weston's body. It was no accident that he was called Ransom: he was the one responsible to stop sin from entering Perelandra.

When Ransom awakens, after bathing and eating, he searches for the Un-Man. He finds him in the act of maiming a bird, and starts the fight by punching Weston's body in the jaw. Though they are evenly matched, man to man, their fighting styles are different: Ransom is a superior boxer, while the Un-Man claws and tears. In his mind, the fight's outcome boils down to whether he could pummel Weston's body to death before losing too much blood.