Out of the Silent Planet
Chapter Summaries and Key Quotes
Image Credit: Iron Maiden, Out of the Silent Planet | wallpapercave.com
Out of the Silent Planet | Chapter Summaries & Key Quotes
We read Out of the Silent Planet in July & August of 2023. Given vacation schedules and the fast-approaching school year, we unfortunately had to cram this book into six sessions. Despite our brisk pace, we had some incredible conversations and went pretty deep into the novel. For things we did not fully cover or completely understand, well, the seroni would know…
Since Jack does not give us chapter titles, I thought it would be fun to name each one after a song. Our friends at Pints with Jack did the same except using movie titles.
OSP Chapter 1: Where the Streets Have No Name (U2)
Chapter Quote
“There was something about the whole scene suspicious enough and disagreeable enough to convince him that he had blundered on something criminal...”
Chapter Summary
Cambridge philology professor, Dr. Elwin Ransom, is on a walking tour in the Midlands of England. With the approaching night he inquires about lodging with a woman he meets outside of a house. She tells Ransom that her son, Harry, works at a house down the road but he has not yet returned home. Ransom begrudgingly accepts her request to inquire after him. Upon reaching the house, Ransom witnesses two men wrestling a boy into submission. The scuffle stops as Ransom announces himself. One of the men, Dick Devine, recognizes Ransom as an old schoolfellow. Ransom remembers strongly disliking Devine. The other man, a physicist named Professor Weston, is not pleased with Ransom’s visit. Devine invites Ransom to stay for dinner and a drink. Though Ransom knows what he witnessed is criminal, his desire for food and comfort crowd out his misgivings about staying.
OSP Chapter 2: Whiskey Glasses (Morgan Wallen)
Chapter Quote
“The boy was ideal,” said Weston sulkily. “Incapable of serving humanity and only too likely to propagate idiocy. He was the sort of boy who in a civilized community would be automatically handed over to a state laboratory for experimental purposes.”
Chapter Summary
While preparing a whisky laced with a strong sedative for Ransom, Devine gently probes Ransom about whether he has family or friends who know where he is. Ransom, unaware of Devine’s ulterior motives, shares that he is alone on a walking tour and that no one knows where he is. The drug puts Ransom into a deep sleep. He then has a strange dream about straddling a wall with a garden on one side and complete darkness on the other. As the drug wears off, Ransom wakes up and hears Weston and Devine discussing what to do with him. Ransom makes a desperate attempt to attack his captors but they give him a blow to the head which knocks him out. He vaguely recollects being dragged into a dark passage and the sound of a closing door.
OSP Chapter 3: Bad Moon Rising (CCR)
Chapter Quote
“Ransom was by now thoroughly frightened – not with the prosaic fright that a man suffers in a war, but with a heady, bounding kind of fear that was hardly distinguishable from his general excitement…he might at any moment pass into delirious terror or into an ecstasy of joy...”
Chapter Summary
Ransom awakes hours later in a bed and almost completely undressed. The room is unbearably hot and he senses that the heat is coming from the walls. He hears and feels low vibrations and realizes he is on some type of moving transportation vessel. The skylight above reveals stars in the night sky and what appears to be the moon; only much bigger and brighter than he had ever seen before. Terror sets in as he realizes that he has been kidnapped, but Ransom also admits some excitement and lightness of heart. A door then opens, letting in bright and dazzling light, and Weston enters the room. Overcome with emotion and terror, Ransom asks if the bright object is the moon. Weston replies that it is the Earth.
OSP Chapter 4: Philosophy (Ben Folds 5)
Chapter Quote
“My only defense is that small claims must give way to the great…we are doing what has never been done in the history of man…infinity and therefore perhaps eternity is being put into the hands of the human race. You cannot be so small-minded as to think that the rights or the life of an individual or of a million individuals are of the slightest importance in comparison with this.”
Chapter Summary
Weston tells Ransom they are taking him to a planet called Malacandra. Weston explains the importance of what he is trying to accomplish; stating that any human costs pale in comparison to what he is doing. Weston alludes that a great sacrifice will be demanded of Ransom. Ransom rejects Weston’s philosophy and Weston accuses Ransom of being small minded at not being able to recognize the importance of Weston’s mission. Weston then gives Ransom a tour of the ship. The ship is filled with light that is so bright the three passengers must wear sunglasses. The light gives Ransom new vitality and vigor. Ransom muses at his previous perceptions of space as being dark and cold compared to the present perpetual light. As Ransom asks Weston more questions, Weston admonishes him that speaking is forbidden, unless absolutely necessary, to preserve oxygen.
OSP Chapter 5: A Sky Full of Stars (Coldplay)
Chapter Quote
“The Earth’s disk was nowhere to be seen; the stars, thick as daisies on an uncut lawn, reigned perpetually with no cloud, no moon, no sunrise to dispute their sway. There were planets of unbelievable majesty and constellations undreamed of…Space seemed a blasphemous libel for this empyrean ocean of radiance in which they swam. He could not call it dead; he felt life pouring into him from it every moment.”
Chapter Summary
Ransom’s terror abates as he witnesses the beauty and majesty of space. Experiencing intense joy, Ransom no longer sees space as cold, vacuous, and dead but as the “womb of the worlds”. His joy quickly reverts to terror as he overhears Weston and Devine discussing their plans for him when they get to Malacandra. Ransom learns that he is to be offered as a human sacrifice to Malacandran creatures called “sorns”. Ransom learns that Devine has other purposes on Malacandra; reminding Weston about fulfilling his end of the bargain. Horrified at being given as a human sacrifice, Ransom steals a knife from the kitchen by which he intends to kill himself. We learn that Ransom is a “pious man” and hopes his suicide will be forgiven. He then falls into a heavy dreamless sleep.
OSP Chapter 6: Skyfall (Adele)
Chapter Quote
“Suddenly the lights of the universe seemed to be turned down. As if some demon had rubbed the heaven’s face with a dirty sponge, the splendor in which they had lived for so long blenched to a pallid, cheerless, and pitiable grey...They were falling out of the heaven, into a world. Nothing in all his adventures bit so deeply into Ransom’s mind as this.”
Chapter Summary
Ransom awakes feeling refreshed. While basking in the light, he accepts that he will never see Earth again and that his fate is in the hands of monsters. He also realizes the knife can be used for self-defense on Malacandra. As the ship begins its descent into Malacandra, the intense penetrating light diminishes though Ransom notes it is still more intense than any light on Earth. As they make their final approach, all three passengers experience disorientation, discomfort, and vomiting. Weston remains quiet and sulky. Devine drinks heavily and utters various blasphemes and appears to be losing his mind. Ransom prays for it all to end. The bright dazzling light of the heavens finally gives way to pallid gray. The ship falls into the Malacandran atmosphere and lands.
OSP Chapter 7: Man on the Run (Little River Band)
Chapter Quote
“He saw nothing but colors – colors that refused to form themselves into things. Moreover, he knew nothing yet well enough to see it: you cannot see things till you know roughly what they are.”
Chapter Summary
Upon exiting the ship, Ransom immediately notices intense vivid colors but it takes some time for him to understand what he is seeing. Covered by Weston’s revolver, Ransom assists with unloading equipment from the ship and storing it in a hut that Weston and Devine built on a previous trip. Ransom realizes that Malacandra is beautiful and laments how his ideas of other planets were mal-formed by science fiction books. He observes they are on a peninsula, and, gazing further into the distance, notices the purple mountain-like spires. During lunch and whisky, Weston and Devine see tall creatures moving towards them in the water. Overcome with terror, Ransom attempts to flee but Weston and Devine restrain him and force him into the water. Suddenly, a large shark-like creature darts towards them. In the commotion, Ransom breaks free and runs into the nearby forest.
OSP Chapter 8: Here I Go Again (Whitesnake)
Chapter Quote
“For all he knew he was wandering on the Moon’s outer side; and, irrationally enough, this idea brought about him a bleaker sense of desolation than he had yet felt.”
Chapter Summary
Exhausted from physical exertion, the sounds of voices and gunshots fade away. Fearing pursuit by sorns, Ransom seeks the protection of higher ground by walking uphill. Ransom notices the trees and plants are very tall, “perpendicularly” oriented, and have large protrusions at the top. He speculates he is on Venus, Mars, or the moon. Desolation sets in at the thought of being on the dark side of the moon. The growing darkness intensifies his fear. He finds a stream which gives off heat from the warm water. Thinking about the shark-like creature, his fear grows to paranoia. Bordering on madness, he imagines being with another person and begins talking to himself. He finally settles near a small cataract. He is terribly thirsty but does not drink because the water gives off a phosphorescent glow. Kneeling beside the stream, he washes himself and lays down to sleep while talking to himself.
OSP Chapter 9: You’ve Got a Friend In Me (Randy Newman)
Chapter Quote
“The creature was talking. It had language...In the fraction of a second which it took Ransom to decide that the creature was really talking, and while he still knew that he might be facing instant death his imagination had leaped over every fear and hope and probability of his situation to follow the dazzling project of making a Malacandrian grammar.”
Chapter Summary
Awakened by intense thirst, Ransom drinks from the stream, goes for a walk, and attempts to eat tree bark. Ransom sees giraffe-like creatures eating from the tree-tops. Looking up, Ransom again sees the mountains and again observes the perpendicularity of Malacandra. He feels a sudden lightening of the heart. He then sees a sorn and runs downhill until he reaches a large river. Stooping to drink, Ransom sees a long otter-like creature emerge from the water. The creature makes noises that Ransom immediately recognizes as language. His fear shifts to curiosity. As they cautiously regard each other, the creature offers Ransom a drink. The two succeed in basic communication: Ransom learns the creature is a “hross”, the ground is “handra”, and Ransom is a “hman”. The hross takes Ransom to a boat. Ransom becomes suspicious when he realizes that he does not know this creature’s relation to the sorns.
OSP Chapter 10: Downeaster Alexa (Billy Joel)
Chapter Quote
“The thought of parting from the hross could not be seriously entertained; its animality shocked him in a dozen ways, but his longing to learn its language, and, deeper still, the shy, ineluctable fascination of unlike for unlike, the sense that the key to prodigious adventure was being put in his hands – all this had really attached him to it by bonds stronger than he knew. He stepped into the boat.”
Chapter Summary
The creature motions for Ransom to step into a boat. Ransom, still somewhat fearful and wary, hesitates for a moment. He wonders whether the hross are the dominant species on Malacandra, and whether there’s a relationship between the hrossa and sorns. Wanting to get further away from the sorns, desiring to learn the hross language, recognizing the opportunity for adventure, Ransom climbs into the boat. Thus begins a long journey into open water. Ransom is seasick for most of the time. Throughout the journey, Ransom notices the mountains of the harandra. Ransom learns from the hross that the “seroni” live in the harandra. Ransom reasons that “seroni” is plural for sorns. The boat lands and the two are greeted by many hrossa. Ransom, disheveled and exhausted, longs for human companionship. The hrossa children lift his spirits. After more eating and drinking Ransom falls asleep in peace and comfort.
OSP Chapter 11: If God Would Send His Angles (U2)
Chapter Quote
“Ever since he had discovered the rationality of the hrossa he had been haunted by a conscientious scruple as to whether it might not be his duty to undertake their religious instruction; now, as a result of his tentative efforts, he found himself being treated as if he were the savage and being given a first sketch of civilized religion.”
Chapter Summary
Living happily among the hrossa, Ransom develops habits and learns their language and culture. He learns about the rational species or “hnau” on Malacandra (hrossa, seroni, and pfifltriggi) and the spiritual beings (eldila, Oyarsa, Maleldil, and the Old One). Struggling with the question of “who rules who”, the hrossa explain the sorns would know. Ransom tries to explain that he fell from the sky after being kidnapped by evil (bent) men. The hrossa suggest he may have come from Thulcandra or “the Silent Planet.” Not being able to explain why it is “silent”, Ransom is again referred to the sorns. Ransom then tells them about the creature with snapping jaws (hnakra). The hrossa become excited and gather weapons. Ransom observes a young hrossa girl talking as in conversation but he does not see anyone. She says she is talking to an eldil but Ransom thinks she is playing a game.
OSP Chapter 12: Peace, Love, and Understanding (Elvis Costello)
Chapter Quote
“A pleasure is full grown only when it is remembered. You are speaking, hman, as if the pleasure were one thing and the memory another. It is all one thing.”
Chapter Summary
Hyoi and Ransom prepare to hunt the hnakra. A long conversation ensues following Ransom’s question whether the other Malacandran hnau would make war against each other due to food scarcity. Hyoi explains that Maleldil provides enough food for all and the hrossa have shared with other species. Hyoi explains hrossa are naturally continent and would not have more young than could be provided for. The act of begetting is incredibly pleasurable to a hross but they only engage for procreation. Hyoi explains the pleasure and memory of procreation are one in the same. Ransom wonders whether humans’ views of sexual pleasure is backwards. Ransom considers whether Malacandra is unfallen but then recalls the hnakra. Hyoi explains the hnakra is both enemy and beloved; its danger makes Malacandra beautiful. Recalling their first meeting when Ransom observed Hyoi getting out of the river, Hyoi says he was speaking to an eldil.
OSP Chapter 13: Regulate (Warren G & Nate Dogg) & Send Me an Angel (Real Life)
Chapter Quote
“Hyoi with his last breath had called him hnakra-slayer; that was forgiveness generous enough and with that he must be content. As soon as he had mastered the details of his route he bade farewell to Whin and advanced alone towards the forest.”
Chapter Summary
Next day, 200 hrossa prepare to hunt the hnakra. Hyoi honors Ransom by asking him to join his boat. They soon encounter an eldil whom Ransom hears but cannot see. The eldil says Ransom must immediately go to Oyarsa and alludes that delay will result in evil from Weston and Devine. Hyoi agrees to bring Ransom ashore but Ransom objects; saying he must first kill the hnakra. The hnakra then appears. A great battle ensues with Ransom throwing spears in the creatures’ mouth and Hyoi hanging onto its head. They kill the beast. During the celebration Ransom feels he is one with the hrossa. Suddenly, a rifle bullet strikes Hyoi. Dying in Ransom’s arms, Hyoi dubs him “hnakrapunt”. Whin says Ransom must immediately travel up the harandra to meet Augray and then to Meldilorn to meet Oyarsa. Overcome with guilt about Hyoi’s death, Ransom begins his journey up the harandra.
OSP Chapter 14: In the Air Tonight (Phil Collins)
Chapter Quote
“His efforts to rely on his own judgment in Malacandra had so far ended tragically enough. He made a strong resolution, defying in advance all changes in mood, that he would faithfully carry out the journey to Meldilorn if it could be done.”
Chapter Summary
Ransom is immediately tempted to fear as he journeys into the forest. Despite his captors close behind and knowing sorns live in the harandra, he resolves to fight against his fears. In this struggle, he ponders whether Oyarsa is really the head sorn or an idol, and whether the sorns and oyarsa have developed some “mumbo jumbo” that keep the hrossa under their thumb. Recalling he heard the voice of the eldil, Ransom dismisses his irrational mental wanderings. As he goes further up, he sees the handramit below in all its glory and the splendor of the dark blue sky as he climbs further into the heavens. The journey becomes excruciating with the thin air and bitter cold. Ransom becomes disoriented and loneliness sets in as he reaches the summit. As the sun sets, he sees the light of a cave ahead. Upon entering the cave he sees a sorn.
OSP Chapter 15: Out of the Silent Planet (Iron Maiden)
Chapter Quote
“We have no Oyarsa in my world,” said Ransom. “That is another proof,” said the sorn, “that you come from Thulcandra, the silent planet…It is not very likely if you had an Oyarsa that he would never speak to ours.”
Chapter Summary
The sorn, Augray, invites Ransom into the cave. Ransom is surprisingly indifferent about being with a sorn. Augray speculates Ransom is from Thulcandra due to his body shape. Augray gives Ransom a breathing apparatus and Malacandran-style cheese. Augray says the seroni are shepherds. Addressing the question of who rules, Augray says Oyarsa rules Malacandra and is made of light like an eldil. He further explains that eldila are fast and can be in two places at once. They can also pass through physical things because they are more solid than material substances. Ransom is unsure whether eldila visit Thulcandra which puzzles Augray. Ransom comments that Thulcandra does not have an Oyarsa. Augray reasons the Oyarsa of Malacandra would communicate with the Oyarsa of Thulcandra if he existed. Augray presents Thulcandra to Ransom through a telescope. Incredulous at first, Ransom realizes he is looking at Earth which appears upside down.
OSP Chapter 16: Everybody Wants to Rule the World (Tears for Fears)
Chapter Quote
“But a world is not made to last forever, much less a race; that is not Maleldil’s way.”
“He was on the very frontier of that heaven he had known in the spaceship, and rays that the air-enveloped worlds cannot taste were once more at work upon his body. He felt the old lift of the heart, the soaring solemnity, the sense, at once sober and ecstatic, of life and power offered in unmasked and unmeasured abundance. If there had been air enough in his lungs he would have laughed aloud.”
Chapter Summary
Augray and Ransom depart the next morning for Meldilorn. Ransom rides on Augray’s shoulders and receives a breathing apparatus made by pfifltriggi. Climbing closer to the heavens, the penetrating light brings Ransom great joy. They enter an ancient forest which was once home to Malacandran birds. Only the bones remain; Augray notes Maleldil does not intend a world to last forever. Encountering many sorns, they stop at the cave of a great scientist. The seroni pepper Ransom with questions about Thulcandra. His answers are truthful but he knows they are not satisfactory. The seroni are astonished when Ransom tells them about war, slavery, and prostitution. The seroni pupils suggest it is because Thulcandra has no Oyarsa. Augray counters saying everyone wants to be a little Oyarsa. The other seroni conclude this is the case because there are no eldila on Thulcandra. After the exertion of conversation, Ransom goes to sleep.
OSP Chapter 17: More Than a Feeling (Boston)
Chapter Quote
“Like the silvery noises in the air, these footsteps of light were shy of observation. Where he looked hardest they were least to be seen...To attend to any one of them was to make it invisible, and the minute brightness seemed often to have just left the spot where his eyes fell. He had no doubt that he was ‘seeing’- as much as he ever would see – the eldila.”
Chapter Summary
Augray and Ransom arrive at a lake surrounding the island of Meldilorn. Ransom boards a ferry piloted by a hross. On Meldilorn, Ransom hears many eldila and eventually sees them though imperfectly. Many hnau are also arriving on the island. Ransom observes many pictures carved into stone monoliths; focusing on one which depicts the solar system. He sees little balls with flaming creatures above which he reasons are the planets and their Oyeresu. He recognizes Mercury and Venus. He recognizes Earth but the flame-like Oyarsa has been erased. He finally concludes he is on Mars. He then meets Kanakaberaka – a pfifltrigg who is carving his portrait into stone. Ransom asks how all hnau speak the same language. All hnau adopted the hrossa’s language because they are great speakers. Kanakaberaka explains the pfifltriggi’s love of gold-mining work. This is difficult for Ransom because on Thulcandra people work in order to eat.
OSP Chapter 18: Gods of War (Def Leppard)
Chapter Quote
“Once we knew the Oyarsa of your world – he was brighter and greater than I – and then we did not call it Thulcandra. It is the longest of all stories and the bitterest. He became bent. That was before any life came on your world. Those were the bent years of which we still speak in the heavens, when he was not yet bound to Thulcandra but free like us. It was in his mind to spoil other worlds besides his own.”
Chapter Summary
Next morning, an eldil summons Ransom to Oyarsa. He joins the other hanu in silence as Oyarsa processes. Oyarsa says Ransom has feared him since arriving on Malacandra. Oyarsa summoned Ransom from Thulcandra and his eldila followed the spaceship. Oyarsa explains Thulcandra was not always silent. The Oyarsa of Thulcandra, once full of light, became “bent” and the other Oyeresu bound him to Thulcandra but not before he caused the cold death on Malacandra. Oyarsa asks two things of Ransom: explain why he came and the strange stories about Maleldil’s wars with the Bent One. Ransom tells his story and shares Weston’s intentions of dominance. Ransom requests that Oyarsa kill him and his captors to eliminate further trouble from Thulcandra, but Oyarsa does not have the authority to kill other hnau; also saying Ransom must become braver before going to Maleldil. Ransom’s story is interrupted by a ferry of hrossa.
OSP Chapter 19: Make ‘Em Laugh (Donald O’Connor from Singin’ In The Rain)
Chapter Quote
“You must forgive my people”, said the voice of Oyarsa – and even it was subtly changed – “but they are not roaring at you. They are only laughing.”
“Are your fellow creatures hurt in their brains, Ransom of Thulcandra? Or are they too much afraid to answer my questions?”
Chapter Summary
Ransom and Oyarsa are interrupted by the arrival of hrossa bearing three dead hrossa and leading Weston and Devine as prisoners. Laying the bodies before Oyarsa, Hyahi (Hyoi’s brother) says two were killed fairly in combat but Hyoi was killed in a cowardly manner. Oyarsa demands an explanation from Weston and Devine. Not able to see Oyarsa, they assume the voice is coming from a witch doctor. Weston issues threats and yells at an elderly hross – thinking he is the speaker. Weston dangles cheap costume jewelry at the hrossa thinking he can win them. The crowd erupts in laughter but Weston thinks they are roaring at him. Weston attempts to justify his actions: he was obediently bringing Ransom to the sorns and Ransom’s escape led to Hyoi’s death. Oyarsa orders Weston to the guest house for a bath. The hrossa sing a funeral dirge and Oyarsa unbodies the dead hrossa.
OSP Chapter 20: Bent (Matchbox 20)
Chapter Quote
“I see now how the lord of the silent world has bent you. There are laws that all hnau know, of pity and straight dealings and shame and the like, and one of these is the love of kindred. He has taught you to break all of them except this one, which is not one of the greatest laws: this one he has bent till it becomes folly and has set it up, thus bent, to be a little, blind Oyarsa in your brain.”
“You say your Maleldil let all go dead. Other one, Bent One, he fight, jump, live – not all talkee-talkee. Me no care Maleldil. Like Bent One better: me on his side.”
Chapter Summary
After the bath, Oyarsa gives Weston a chance to defend himself. A long conversation ensues; with Ransom trying to translate. Weston argues humans have a right to conquer other planets to preserve and prolong the human race; saying life is greater than any moral code. Oyarsa judges that Weston’s “love of kindred” makes him bent but not broken. With the aid of the Bent One, Weston has elevated this love into a “little Oyarsa”. Oyarsa judges Devine as broken because all he has is greed. Perceiving weakness, Weston taunts that Malacandra could never take over Thulcandra. Oyarsa says he dealt with the Bent One’s attack of Malacandra; curing some bent creatures and unbodying others. While small in number, they abandoned fear of death unlike Thulcandra. Finally, Weston says he is allied with the Bent One. Oyarsa banishes Weston and Devine; granting them 90 days to reach earth before killing them.
OSP Chapter 21: Drink in my Hand (Eric Church)
Chapter Quote
“You have shown me more wonders than are known in the whole of heaven.”
“It seems to me that this is the beginning of more comings and goings between the heavens and the worlds and between one world and another.”
“A pint of bitter, please.”
Chapter Summary
The narrator explains he cannot provide all the details of Ransom’s conversation with Oyarsa; noting, though, that Ransom showed him incredible wonders. Oyarsa judges Ransom as only fearful but not bent. Ransom decides to travel home with Weston and Devine; with Oyarsa’s guaranteed protection. Oyarsa charges Ransom to watch Weston and Devine; saying they may make trouble in other worlds. During the first phase of the journey Ransom is immersed in the light of Deep Heaven. Near the end of the journey Weston discovers the Moon is between the ship and Earth; which all but seals their fate. Weston despairs, Devine accepts his fate, and Ransom goes to sleep. Ransom awakes to the sound of rain. He is on Earth. Walking towards a town, he sees a bright glow behind him and understands the eldila have destroyed the ship. He walks into a pub and orders a pint of bitter.
OSP Chapter 22: Paperback Writer (The Beatles)
Chapter Quote
“If we could even effect in one percent of our readers a change-over from the conception of Space to the conception of Heaven, we should have made a beginning.”
Chapter Summary
The narrator wrote this book after hearing Dr. Ransom’s account of his experiences on Malacandra. By chance, the narrator encountered the word “Oyarses” while studying the 12th century Platonists. The narrator wrote a letter to Ransom inquiring about this term. Ransom then invites the narrator for a weekend and tells his tale. Both men agree to publish the work as fiction and to use pseudonyms for key characters (e.g. Weston, Ransom). Interestingly, in studying the Platonists, the men find ancient evidence pointing to Oyarsa’s belief that Thulcandra’s long isolation would soon end. The evidence also suggests the forces guiding Weston are cosmic and the dangers have eternal consequences. In writing this book, Ransom and the narrator hope to convert people’s thinking about Space to concepts of Heaven. Citing the rapid pace of world events (presumably the rise of Nazi Germany), they view the book as a prologue.
OSP Postscript: Jupiter (Gustav Holst)
Chapter Quote
“There is a glow like moonrise on the harandra. Ahihra! cries Hyoi, and other baying voices answer him from the darkness all about us. And now the true king of night is set up, and now he is threading his way through that strange western galaxy and making its light dim by comparison with his own. I turn my eyes away, for the little disk is far brighter than the moon in her greatest splendour…And now I guess what it is that I have seen – Jupiter rising beyond the Asteroids…”
Chapter Summary
The postscript is taken from a letter from Ransom to Lewis, the narrator. Ransom is generally disappointed with the book, but admits words cannot adequately capture his experiences. Ransom takes issue with Lewis’ light touch on his time living with the hrossa and is annoyed by Lewis’ question whether Augray misspoke about eldila bodies and intelligence. Ransom notes he tried to liken eldila with angels in conversation with Oyarsa, but Oyarsa believed angels were somewhat different from himself. Last, Ransom laments that Lewis omitted two key events. The first event was a hrossa funeral taking place in the morning. Ransom notes no one dies before his time and all journey to Meldilorn where Oyarsa unbodies them. The second event was Glundandra (Jupiter) rising in the night sky. Ransom believes that somebody or something of great importance is connected with Jupiter. Not having an answer, he remarks, “the Seroni would know”.