C S Lewis: Great Divorce
“There are only two kinds of people in the end: those who say to God, ‘Thy will be done,’ and those to whom God says, in the end, ‘Thy will be done..”’—C S Lewis, The Great Divorce.
The Great Divorce is Lewis’ classic study of the difference between living in heaven and living in hell. In hell, people become increasingly isolated and separated from each other until they lose all communication. Then, before the great distances develop, there is a bus stop where groups of people in hell can go to heaven on a tour bus ride to decide if they want to live there instead. Spoiler alert! Only one person stays in heaven. The rest return to their life in hell. It is a choice.
With each character, Lewis describes what keeps each of us in hell. My favorite is the bishop, whose intellect holds him in hell, as he must return to hell because he is scheduled to give a lecture he does not want to miss. Other characters remain in hell because they cannot recognize joy. Others see all the difficulties in life as someone else’s fault. Some stay connected to their material goods, which mean the most to them. Some find people “beneath them” in heaven. One sees heaven as a trick. An artist must return to hell to preserve his reputation.
The Great Divorce is an excellent study for a book group, especially in Lent, for people to share which characters they most identify with. Lewis hands us a mirror to see where we fail to recognize we are still controlling the show and living in hell, or where we have forsaken the gifts of heaven on this earth.
Barkley Thompson, the rector of St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, will discuss The Great Divorce at the rector’s book club on Wednesday night, February 1, at 6 pm in the Parish Hall.
