Till We Have Faces by C.S. Lewis

C.S. Lewis in "Till We Have Faces" retells the Cupid and Psyche myth through the eyes of Psyche's older sister. In the original story Psyche is so beautiful that Venus becomes jealous and instructs her son, Cupid, to make Psyche fall in love with a hideous monster. Instead he falls in love with her himself and keeps their relationship hidden by only coming to her under cover of darkness. When her sisters are eventually allowed to visit her, they convince Psyche that she must see the face of her lover to be sure that he isn't a monster, so when he sleeps she lights a lamp to see his face, which awakens him so he flees. Psyche searches for him, but learns that she must complete three tasks from Venus in order to be reunited with her love. She completes her impossible tasks, they are reunited and she is given immortality so they can marry as equals.

In Lewis's retelling there are three major differences. The location is different, it takes place in a kingdom called Glome, there are new characters or difference names for characters, the goddess is Ungit instead of Venus due to the locational difference, and the story is told from the perspective of the older sister instead of the omnipotent narrator of classic myths. And this perspective shift is where we see most of the growth of the story beyond the classic myth. We see the life of the oldest sister who eventually becomes Queen of Glome as she lives her life after inadvertently causing the hardships of her youngest sister. We see how she grows from the experience and how it haunts her and how the story comes to the same kind of close as the original myth.

I read "Till We Have Faces" because it was recommended to me by a professor when I was working on a Persephone myth retelling for her class. Much like last week, I read the recommended work long after the project that inspired the recommendation was over, but I stand by the fact that it's better late than never. And there are some elements of style that Lewis used in this book that could help the story I was working on, so I might return to that story once the characters I am currently getting to know are ready for a break.

Overall I enjoyed this book and I would give it a soft recommendation. The story was interesting, but it's definitely tainted by C.S. Lewis' problematic obsession with whiteness and beauty. But if you're interested in myth retellings that aren't technically written for children (all the love to Rick Riordan), I think this would be a good read.

XO, Ellen

P.S. This weeks photo features my fiancé's hands, which he wanted me to point out so no one would think my nails look like that haha