Deep acquaintance with Lewis’s book will be an extraordinary event. At the heart of this fabulous novel, there is a myth about Psyche, who causes Aphrodite’s jealousy with the help of her beauty. In this novel, the local pagan goddess Ungit plays the role of Aphrodite. Lewis’s novel has a unique property – a mysterious depth like a mosaic on the seabed. Everything seems to be clear as if you are looking through the transparency of the plot. However, it is not easy to grab a pebble from the bottom; you will have to “dive”. In addition, even after reading it to the end, you will realize that there are many such secret “codes” in this story, where the reader will be able to discover the most important sense. What is this book about, which has such a mysterious title?
Reading this book, the anticipation of the mystery, which is connected with Orual’s ugliness, will not leave the reader. However, this is not the main secret. It seems that while retelling her life, Orual cannot understand the main mystery of her life and the meaning of these long torments. She cannot understand the losses that never give her an answer from the gods. The text of the book begins with a claim to the gods. People and the gods, who interfere in earthly life, are unknown, but cruel. However, gradually the narrative clearly denotes the main secret of this whole story – an ability to love. The reader sees how the gods take away this ability and how people realize it. The reader sees what people crave for, where they see the justice of their expectations and claims, what sacrifices they are willing to accept or pay for the sake of love.
The themes of love and sacrifice are central. The meaning of the victim and the connected with it power, benefits or price are very important. The reader understands that the whole life of Orual, who does not cognize herself as a woman, is only a prologue to the main thing. It is a prologue to the senselessly passed years, trials and tears, which Orual has shed. She does not get answers to the questions.
Closer to the denouement of the novel, the main heroine understands that not all her actions are impeccable and she is guided only by her own ambition in some situations. Only at the end of her life, Orual accepts the fact that the gods cannot be judged from the point of view of human morality. Positive characters make mistakes, as well as antagonists are capable of good deeds. This is natural for human nature. That is why the gods do not want to reveal their faces. If the fly gets into the stormy river by its imprudence, it is not the fault of the river. Moreover, this is not because the river is treacherous and evil. God is a being with a face, while we do not have faces and we cannot look into his eyes. God is an answer to all the questions that we are trying to solve during the whole life.
