"I am the queen; I'll kill Orual too…" Monarchy and Commentary in Till We Have Faces

Date

2023

Authors

Snyder, Annabelle

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Worldwide access

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Abstract

Using his novel Till We Have Faces, this thesis examines the ways that Christian author C.S. Lewis comments on monarchy. We use the characters from this retelling of the legend of Cupid and Psyche to critique and comment on the perspectives of Aquinas in De Regno and Machiavelli in The Prince. We find that Lewis’ answer to the question of monarchy is firm, yet subtle. In fact, Lewis does not completely align with either the classical or modern prescriptions of monarchy; however, he finds monarchy to be an ideal structure for government because it models the Kingdom of God. This said, we also argue Lewis believes that without proper safeguards accounting for humanity’s fallen nature, kingship can be dangerous for invested parties.

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