Perelandra: Ransom’s Rebirth, Weston’s Epitaph, and Climbing the Holy Mountain

Chapter 15 Summary, Quotes, & Analysis

Analysis & Commentary

Out of the darkness and into the light! Chapter 15 of Perelandra gives us a hefty serving of light, hope, and beauty. Evil has been vanquished from Perelandra. Now the reborn Ransom must convalesce and prepare for his final journey up the Holy Mountain on Perelandra.

After the physical, mental, and spiritual struggles in the cave, Ransom slides down a watery chute and into the daylight of Perelandra. Lewis is very clearly giving us another image of Ransom’s rebirth. In writing Weston’s epitaph, Ransom recognizes Weston’s humanity. Lewis beautifully pulls us back to seeing Weston as a person, a child of God, though he later gave his soul to Satan. Even though Weston was a villain, one can’t help but feel some pity for him. Finally, Ransom’s journey up the holy mountain will remind readers of The Great Divorce, The Last Battle, and probably Till We Have Faces. It is almost a further up and further in moment!

In this chapter Lewis beautifully illustrates the life-giving maternal nature of Venus. As ransom lies in the shallow pool underneath the shade of the fruit tree, he is quite literally nursed back to health by the Planet Venus. He soon learns to crawl and attempts to explore his surroundings. Here we see both Mother Love and Ransom’s progression from infant to toddler to child to man.

The rebirth sequence is also a prolonged healing of Ransom’s battered and torn body. He sustained gruesome injuries during his battle with the Un-Man; all of which are healed except the gash on his heel.

As we learned from the beginning of the book, Ransom returned from Perelandra looking younger, stronger, radiant, wholly transformed. But he also has a cut on his heel which continuously bleeds. Here in chapter 15 Ransom realizes the wound came from human teeth. The Un-Man fights dirty apparently.

As we’ve seen, Ransom is clearly a Christ figure. He is the answer, he is the one chosen to do Maleldil’s work on Perelandra. While he does not die in his battle with the Un-Man, the wound from Weston’s teeth is permanent. Ransom, the Christ figure, finally kills the Un-Man by smashing his head with a rock. This takes us back to Genesis chapter 3. As we consider Perelandra as a retelling / imaginative supposal of the creation account in Genesis, we can easily see this additional connection:

“He shall crush your head, and you shall strike at his heel.” Gen. 3:15

Key Quotes

“It was a time to be remembered only in dreams as we remember infancy. Indeed it was a second infancy, in which he was breast-fed by the planet Venus herself; unweaned till he moved from that place.”

“It was not bleeding at all fast, but nothing he could do would stop it. But he worried very little about this. Neither the future nor the past really concerned him at this period.”

“And now he began to feel a strange mixture of sensations - a sense of perfect duty to enter that secret place which the peaks were guarding combined with an equal sense of trespass. He dared not go up that pass: he dared not do otherwise. He looked to see an angel with a flaming sword: he knew that Maleldil bade him go on. ‘This is the holiest and the most unholy thing I have ever done.’”

“There was something white near the water’s edge. An altar? A patch of white lilies among the red? A tomb? But whose tomb? No, it was not a tomb but a coffin, open and empty, and its lid lying beside it…It was prepared for his return. If he had said, ‘It is for my burial,’ his feelings would not have been different.'“

Summary

Ransom awakes and follows a dimly lit pathway through the cavern into a large cathedral-like throne room. Here he observes strange beetle-like creatures pulling a chariot past him. The creatures are harmless so Ransom has no need to fear. After seeing a pillar of light, Ransom slips and slides down a long narrow crevice and finally splashes into a pool. He is blinded by intense light and bright vivid colors. He is now completely outside of the cave. Ransom enters into a dream-like state where he seems to remain for a long time.

He remembers laying down and reaching for fruit hanging from the trees above him. Throughout an unspecified time, the planet Venus nurses Ransom back to health. He recalls hearing endless singing. He finally begins moving around and taking short walks. He has completely convalesced except for the cut on his heel which continues to bleed freely. At one point he realizes the wound was caused by human teeth.

Upon examining the cliffs, he discovers the cliffs are made of some type of soft translucent rock on which he etches an epitaph for Weston. He observes golden mists in the mountains (which seem young to him) and he believes the golden dome of Perelandra may be opening to the heavens. After a few days, his strength fully returns and he is ready for adventure.

As Ransom explores, he believes he is witnessing creation. He hears singing which he follows and finds it is coming from an animal. The animal evades him as Ransom tries to approach. Ransom then begins ascending a mountain. He is light on his feet and overcome with the beauty of his surroundings that he wonders whether he is dead.

After a restful sleep, he continues his journey up the mountain and further through the mist. He reaches the summit but is hesitant to proceed as it seems to be a very holy place. Maleldil urges him to go on. He comes to a valley at the top of the mountain where he sees a white coffin next to a pool. The ground is covered with red flowers. As he walks through them he no longer notices the blood coming from his heel. He then perceives an oddity of light and realizes he is in the presence of two eldila.

Themes, Motifs, and Symbols

⦁ Further up and further in!

⦁ Ransom's rebirth

⦁ Venus as Mother

⦁ Infancy, childhood, adulthood

⦁ Physical and spiritual growth

⦁ Adventure

⦁ Golden mist

⦁ Blood

⦁ Red flowers

⦁ Coffin

⦁ Respect for the dead

⦁ Singing

⦁ Creation

⦁ Mountains

⦁ Understanding

⦁ Respect for holy places

⦁ Spiritual beings (eldila)

⦁ Seeing