Till We Have Faces - Psych. analysis

C.S. Lewis' Till We Have Faces portrays its characters as complicated human beings. The characters have many inner struggles in their process of finding who they are during the book. The story is set in the imaginary country of Glome, on the outskirts of the Hellenistic world and Greek culture, about 200 years before the birth of Christ. Orual, the eldest daughter of the King of Glome records her life story in Faces.
         Very early on in the book it is obvious that in Glome much weight is placed on appearance. Orual, possibly the most controversial character in the book, is often regarded as ugly; even called curd-face and goblin daughter by her own father. This quality is expanded later on in the book - she starts to wear a veil to not only cover her face but also shut out her feelings from the rest of the world.
         The extreme opposite of Orual is Psyche, Orual's step-sister. When Psyche is born, her older step-sister is always by her side, continually caring for her like a mother. Psyche is regarded as very beautiful and her beauty is said to rival even that of Ungit, the goddess of nature. Psyche is also a controversial character. She is at first worshipped as a goddess and is believed to possess healing powers while being able to do other supernatural things. Psyche does not understand why so many people treat her differently. At one time a mother with her baby comes to young Psyche and pleads her to kiss her baby, because she said her baby would be beautiful if she did.
         In ancient Greece, the psyche, or mind, was highly elevated and praised above all else. It was often thought as beautiful. Till We Have Faces is a retelling of an old Greek myth, therefore the story could be viewed from this perspective. Does everything revolve around the mind? In ancient Greece they thought it did. Throughout the book it seems that the whole world was aiming to revolve around and worship the beautiful, innocent Psyche.
         From the time when Psyche was born, Orual developed a strong connection with her step-sister. She loves her more than anything. In one part of the book she says of Psyche: “She made beauty all around her.” In another section “I wanted her to be my full sister instead of my half sister.” Orual longed to be as close to Psyche as she could. Perhaps she sees in Psyche what she longs to see in herself – a feeling of worth and a feeling that she is also beautiful. Psyche herself never once comments on her step-sister's appearance. She tells her often that she is loved. “...what have I ever had to love besides you...?”
         How does Psyche's beauty affect Orual's view of herself? How does Psyche's beauty affect the way everyone else feels about themselves? To understand this question, we can look through the lens of Social Psychology. Life can be an eternal circle of influence and feelings. Our view of ourselves is influenced by how we see the world around us. Our view of the world around us is influenced by how we view ourselves. For example – Psyche is constantly cheerful, optimistic and willing to help those in need. She feels good about herself, because the people love her. The people love her because she is constantly cheerful and willing to help. There is a big circle here of influences that determine the emotional state of Psyche.
         Orual is a little more complicated. She is pessimistic and though a strong leader, cold and bitter. She has grown up without much love, save from Psyche who eventually disappears. The people respect Orual, but because she wears a veil they assume she must be ugly. Orual hears what rumors are going around about her appearance, and therefore wears the veil because of fear. When she was young she was constantly abused by her father and had been the target of his wrath. This had a definite effect on Orual's state of mind and view of the world. The way we see ourselves influences the way we see the world. The way we see the world influences the way we see ourselves.
         Towards the end of Orual's life, she decides to write down her life story, which is Till We Have Faces. She has grown up, become queen, and hid her face from people for a long time. Psyche has long since disappeared. Orual herself says in the book: “Now, you who read, judge between the gods and me. They gave me nothing in the world to love but Psyche and then took her from me.”7 Here we come into theme of power. According to most psychologists, there are five types of power – coercive, reward, legitimate, expert and referant. Coercive power is the power to punish. The gods have this power in the book. Another person who has this power is Orual's father, the king. He often punishes the people who dissagree with him or who fail him – [The king] caught me by the hair, shook me to and fro, and flung me from him so that I fell in a heap.
         Reward power is almost the opposite of coercive – it is the power to give good to someone. Bardia, the captain of the royal guard can be used as an example. Rewards do not only have to be of material form; they can also be praise or encouragment. After sparring with Orual, Bardia praises the young woman: “You've a man's reach and a quick eye. There are none of the recruits would do as well at a first attempt...”
         Legitimate power, the next type, means power granted by some authority. Orual's sister, Redival, could be said to have this power through her father, the king. Redival is an unpleasant character in the book, and uses her power primarily to achieve her own goals. She once says to her wise teacher, the Fox: “And you, slave, mend your manners. And get my father to give me to some king in marriage; and it must be a young king, brave, yellow-bearded, and lusty.” She is a perfect example of mis-using her own power.
         Expert power results from experience and education. The king's right-hand man, the Greek Fox, has this type of power. He is old and has much experience, along with being a philosopher and poet. Through these skills, he has the power to advise the king and teach his daughters. However, he is not very skilled in combat, and Bardia would be a better person to seek out for that skill. During Orual's reign as queen of Glome, she says this: “My real strength lay in two things. The first is that...I had two very good counsellors. You couldn't have had better yokefellows, for the Fox understood what Bardia did not, and neither cared a straw for his own dignity or advancement when my needs were in question. This shows how two people who both have different types of expert power can work together.
         The last form of power is referant power. This power refers to admiration or respect. When we look up to people because of their accomplishments, their attitude, or any other personal attribute, we tend to give them more power over us. Orual is a good example of this towards the end of her life. She has become a good leader and a firm ruler. She improved her kingdom by setting most of the good and sturdy slaves free (for otherwise to free a slave is but to have a new beggar at your door), setting the mines on a better footing, and many more improvements. To the citizens of Glome Orual was now a figure who had power through respect, and not through fear like her father once had.
         People use power to influence other people. Some use it for good, and some for bad. Some use power to help others and make the world a better place, others use it to get what they want. Till We Have Faces is a book full of people using power to influence others for all sorts of reasons. The real world also works like this, and C.S. Lewis echoes this in his literary masterpiece.