The Great Divorce

Hi all,

I was skimming through a book called "Heaven" by Randy Alcorn and I noticed that he did make frequent mention of Lewis's works within the book. He referenced the Narnia books a lot, but he also mentioned The Great Divorce as well, a title that I have heard in name only, but have not actually heard anything of substance about.

Since he mentions 'The Great Divorce' so many times in the book, I was curious if anyone on here had read it, and could perhaps shed a little light as to what this book is about.

Thank you in advance to all who reply.
 
The first thing to tell you is just what Mr. Lewis would tell you: that The Great Divorce is to be treated like a parable, not as a claim to describe the exact geography and mechanics of Hell and Heaven. Lewis was not claiming as a doctrinal point that souls already lost in Hell could still have a chance to be saved; but the message of the book was expressed through the fantasy scenario: WHAT IF lost souls were given another chance?

Guilty souls dwelling in darkness are depicted as being given a chance to visit Heaven. Once there, they soon learn that, although the Heavenly environment is not comfortable for them as they are, it is possible for them to BECOME suited to Heaven, able to live there as the saints and angels do. The "catch" is, to put it in a simplified way, that in order to be transformed and to be allowed to remain in Heaven, they have to ADMIT THAT THEY HAVE BEEN WRONG. And most of them turn out to have such a stubborn pride that they would rather go back to eternal misery than humble themselves and ask for God's forgiveness.

What Lewis really intended here was to dramatize the choice between selfish pride on one hand, and love and truth on the other hand--a choice we all face repeatedly in THIS life.
 
The Great Divorce is an awesome book.

It is as CF describes, an imagining of where dead souls go who don't embrace Christ and begin their journey to heaven at death. It's comforting in a way because you see that people get a second chance, but it's also quite devastating in a way, because most of them won't take it!

It's a really good reflection on what "hell" and "heaven" really are. The amazing conversations the narrator overhears with various ghosts who have come along to decide whether they'll begin the journey to Christ or not -- they're so insightful, and you can really recognize various points of human nature in them!

The narrator asks one of the angels why they don't just come down to the in-between place and invite everybody up to heaven, or storm the place and carry everyone away from that limbo place, and the answer is: it's too small, they can't fit in there -- the heavenly beings could never become so small as the place that holds all the souls who have died and yet refused to come on toward heaven ...

It's really fascinating. Not necessarily as an idea of purgatory (which most Protestants don't believe in), but as a picture of human nature and the ways we choose to deceive ourselves.
 
The Great Divorce is one of Lewis' classics, and should be on everyone's "Lewis short list" along with Mere Christianity, The Screwtape Letters, and the Chronicles. As CF properly points out, it isn't intended to be any kind of attempt to describe the actual mechanics of heaven and hell, but rather to use the peculiar environment outlined in the story to illustrate some of the dynamics of how we humans choose between salvation and damnation. I particularly love the story of the man and the lizard.
 
In complete agreement with the posts above. GD's one of my favorites of Lewis's works, and well worth the read - and performance, it's been adapted for the stage by... somebody or another, and a local theater group near me just did their closing performance of it this weekend. It's as PotW said - it doesn't so much try to describe the mechanics of Heaven and Hell (Lewis makes a big point about emphasizing that the whole thing is a dream and that's how it's presented, so that he doesn't appear to claim knowledge of things none of us in this life can ever properly understand) but the choice, and how the choice between following God or following the self affects a fair few facets of everyday life - he couldn't, of course, cover /every/ facet, but he hit on some good ones.
 
Lewis' pal Charles Williams wrote a spiritual-fantasy novel titled All Hallows Eve, which I think was at least slightly akin to The Great Divorce, insofar as it looked at salvation issues from the viewpoint of someone who had already crossed into eternity.



You know how the winters arrive and depart;
Each one leaves a bit more old age in my heart.
But rise from your bed, and we'll dance all the same;
The tree of remembrance will tell me your name.
 
I have wondered at the title of this book "The Great Divorce," whether Lewis got the idea of that title from the parable of the rich man and Lazarus and the "great gulf" that separated them in Luke 16.

The imagery of a bus ride from hell to heaven and then back again with most of the passengers preferring a round trip rather than the one way trip due to the difficulty of separating oneself from the lizard is really profound. One of Lewis' greatest works in my opinion.
 
Mr. Lewis was aware of a classic poem or essay called "The Marriage of Heaven and Hell." He titled his book as a play on this title, asserting that Heaven and Hell are incompatible.
 
Welcome Greensawmill. I didn't see you post before. I agree, this is one of the most profound of Lewis' works. It's an eye-opener in many ways.
 
I've also found that the book provides a useful allegory when trying to explain to non-Christian friends that it is not God who rejects us but we who reject him. It's a brilliant book.
 
I agree, Sam. That's also what I like about Dante's Hell. The souls are told where to go by Minos, then they head there on there own. The punishment is bad enough, but most of them acknowledge the justness of the decree and the fact that they have chosen their lot. Except for the hardened and rebellious sinners toward the bottom, they seem to take some comfort in submitting to their place in God's universe.
 
I finally read this book, and it is one of my favorites. CS Lewis has really made a positive impact on my life. His works make me feel much more out of life than any other author has.

BTW I dont know if this was mentioned, but ND Wilson, author of 100 Cupboards is doing the screenplay for the movie.
 
I finally read this book, and it is one of my favorites. CS Lewis has really made a positive impact on my life. His works make me feel much more out of life than any other author has.

BTW I dont know if this was mentioned, but ND Wilson, author of 100 Cupboards is doing the screenplay for the movie.

It's one of his greatest works and it had a great impact on my life as well. I love how he made his master, George Macdonald, the 'Virgil' who guides him through heaven. If you liked Lewis' Great Divorce, I highly recommend George MacDonald. His books are hard to come by but they are available online and well worth the reading.
 
I finished reading The Great Divorce again recently and as always when you read a great book again, I found so much more in it I had missed the first time. One thing that I have pondered on is this image of Napoleon Bonepart marching about his house, hundreds of miles from any neighbors, to the point that it takes a long journey for anyone to go and find him, peek through his windows, and see him muttering to himself, still obsessed with events long gone. And yet all of this in so tiny a speck that it fits into one of the cracks in the ground in Heaven. What great imagery! I found more imagery on Heaven and Hell in this time reading than I had ever remembered reading this book before.

One thing I have been pondering on lately is the teaching value of imagery... it is found in the scriptures all the time. What is it about a picture that teaches so much more effectively than a thousand words?

More imagery to come from GD...
 
Another brilliant image from this novel that I paid more attention to as I read it this time was the comparison of reality vs. unreality. The ghosts brought up from Hell could not bear to even walk on the grass, and mere spray from a waterfall could prove fatal, because they were not Solid, or Real. With this image, Lewis teaches a very deep concept and makes it very simple... that no choice in life no matter what it is that does not lead to God simply leads to some fading unreality that in the end will be as unsubstantial as greasy smoke that cannot even bend a blade of grass. That is a powerful image.
 
That's Lewis' Platonic training showing through. I found it very helpful; in fact, I'd credit that as well as the ending chapters of The Last Battle for helping me to understand that the Unseen Real is even more "real" than the material world in which we find ourselves. This shows up even more in Till We Have Faces, as well as in That Hideous Strength.
 
And the Green Witch tried to _deprive_ Puddleglum, Eustace, Jill and Rilian of this understanding, tried to enclose their minds in _only_ the immediate visible environment. In doing so, like the villains in "Hideous Strength," she was aiming at being Screwtape's ideal: the Materialist Magician.
 
Did you notice at the end of Rob Bell's new book "Love Wins," he is recommending further reading, and for more on Hell, he suggests "The Great Divorce." I love that people are open to the idea that hell is anywhere we refuse the grace of God ... and the corollary that heaven can be anywhere we embrace God's grace.
 
The Great Divorce is my favorite work by Lewis.

My favorite moment in the book is the parade of animals and other people (angels too, I think?) who celebrate a noble Lady who has been lifted high in heaven. And the reader learns that her claim to fame is that she was a loving woman who cared for others. Profound.

I may not have all my facts right - I lent mine to someone and don't remember who, and it's hard to get another copy. :(
 
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