At first when I was reading the story, I felt very sorry for Orual. I pitied how others treated her and found her to be loving when she didn't focus on pitying herself, but instead on loving Psyche. This was a short-lived feeling though. I found Orual's love to be very selfish.
She is willing to give up Psyche even for her own good and happiness. And then once she realized what she had done, she does all she can to survive. She goes back to her castle and goes into survival mode. Instead of her possessive love ruling her, she is consumed with survival. For instance, she walls up the chains, and thus, walling up her memory of Psyche--burying it deep within. Her veil is another aspect of her survival. She must bury her true-self, her emotions, and her past; hiding them from herself and everyone else. So she doesn't have to face herself for what she did and how she feels. All the time she convinces herself that it was all to be blamed on the gods.
I really started to dislike Orual, and instead of pitying her, I looked down on who she had become. However, I would be lying if I said I haven't been "Orual" in the past, present, and certainly in the future. I think Lewis intended Orual to be all of us in one way or another. We all have our moments of selfish love. Of burying the truth away and just learning to survive. And of veiling our true selfs.
I realize that our souls all have ugly faces at times, and we too like Orual need to acknowledge this before we can be transformed.
No comments:
Post a Comment