Hello listeners! Thanks for tuning in to my OSP podcast. It’s definitely been prone to fits and starts given other priorities so I will do my best to keep delivering fun, engaging, and hopefully insightful OSP analysis. Stay tuned for more Perelandra content as well - my reading group has had some amazing discussions on that book so I’ve been posting our session notes + short articles to this substack.
All right back to OSP. Ransom and Hyoi are making preparations to hunt the hnakra. Ransom has honed his Malacandran language skills so he is capable of conversing with Hyoi on some deep topics. In this chapter we learn about the hrossas’ views on the marital act, pleasure, and death.
Ransom is initially incredulous that the hrossa are monogamous and engage in sex only a few times in their life largely for the purpose of begetting young. It dawns on Ransom that humans have a completely warped view on sex, pleasure, and procreation. And he is obviously not wrong. Ransom also has a hard time understanding how the hrossa see the hnakra as both enemy and beloved. Referencing a time when he was with Maleldil on the shore of Balki (where the hnakra are born), Hyoi says he “drank life because death was in the pool”. The danger of the hnakra makes Malacandra beautiful. The hnakra is beloved because the creature is a means by which the hrossa can experience death and therefore go to Maleldil.
In short, Ransom begins to understand the hrossa are rightly ordered toward Maleldil’s will. The hrossa long for the day when they will “drink death” and go to Maleldil. Ransom is not so sure he can say the same for humans on Earth. Thus far we have some pretty compelling clues that Malacandra is a potentially an unfallen world. What do you think? There are more answers coming soon as we keep reading.
Episode Roadmap
Chapter quote, intro, & chapter summary: 0:00 - 2:58
Quick discussion on “Religion and Rocketry”
Lesser-Known Lewis podcast - Jordan and Sean rock out to Jack’s essays and lesser-known works. I highly recommend their show!
Chapter 12 Themes Analysis: 5:44- 23:59
Theme 1: Difficulty accepting that Malacandra may be unfallen 5:44
Theme 2: Paradox of beauty and danger 13:20
Theme 3: Starting to see more clearly but not yet completely 21:52
Wrap up 24:00 - end
Episode music - “Live Like You Were Dying’” by Tim McGraw
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