That Hideous Strength- A Summary

Lewis, C.S. That Hideous Strength. New York, New York: Scribner Paperback Fiction. 1996

That Hideous Strength is the third in C.S. Lewis’ Space Trilogy. Out of the Silent Planet and Perelandra precede That Hideous Strength. I am happy to say that I have now had a chance to read all three books.

This book certainly has its strengths and weaknesses compared to the other two books. I want to say that this was my favorite of the three, but I actually liked Perelandra the best, I think. I liked That Hideous Strength a lot because the story flowed the best. In the first two books, Lewis tended to move slowly through the story, taking much time to talk about the scenery and comment on almost seemingly meaningless detail. The stories do not move very quickly in the first two books and it can be slightly challenging to stay concentrated. But the stories are so intriguing. Although you may hear me moan and groan through the whole reading of the book, by the end I am telling you that you must read the book because it is so good. There is obviously a deeper meaning to the stories and are great to start a philosophical discussion. I especially like the story of Perelandra because of its interesting insights into the story of Adam and Eve. That Hideous Strength was different from the first two stories because it moved much more quickly. The whole story takes place on earth, so description is not as imperative. We all already know what earth looks like, obviously. The story follows the perspective of many different characters rather than one or two. It is also interesting because all three stories are being tied together even more. However, as far as the story goes, I liked the first two books better. That Hideous Strength was easier and more enjoyable to read, but overall the story was not the best of the three. This story seemed more farfetched, pulling in the story of Merlin and Arthur. Now, you may be wondering, how can this be the most farfetched of the stories? At least this story actually takes place on earth which we know is inhabitable. Since the other stories took place on Mars (Malacandra) and Venus (Perelandra) it seemed alright to have bizarre events occurring. But since this story took place on earth, it seemed strange to have unordinary things happening. I felt crazy when I would talk about it with others saying that Merlin came back to life, that there was a dead but alive floating head, that a whole city was swallowed up, etc. However, despite the oddness of the story, I do believe that it has a very interesting message. I know that I have not captured all that Lewis was trying to say. I probably missed a lot of it and therefore cannot appreciate the story as well. It is yet another great Lewis book to start a discussion on.

The story is mainly about a young married couple, Mark and Jane Studdock. The two of them do not have a very good relationship but tend to avoid each other. Mark is always concerned with gaining a good reputation and getting into the prestigious circles at the college where he works. Jane focuses on never losing her identity to Mark through their marriage but stubbornly refusing to submit. The only time they spent together was usually filled with bickering.

Mark was presented with a job opening with the N.I.C.E. at Belbury. The N.I.C.E. claimed to be working towards peace and prosperity for all people, but it did not seem that they were actually doing this. Nevertheless, this was a prestigious job where one would be considered high and noble for working for such a company. Mark was instantly pleased to be given an opportunity to work for them. Although he was not fond of his new colleagues at all, and even though his job description was never made clear to him, he continued to pursue this opportunity. He realized later that he did not even like these people, but he fought for his position simply because it looked good and he would not feel like an outsider. He began his work as a journalist even though he was a major of Sociology.

Meanwhile, Jane was disturbed with terrible dreams almost every night. She kept seeing the same faces and the dreams seemed incredibly real. She finally went to see a Miss Ironwood at St. Anne’s to try to figure out if something was wrong with her. Miss Ironwood explained that nothing was wrong with her but that she had the gift of prophecy. Her dreams seemed so real because they were portraying real events. Miss Ironwood tried to explain that something very important was happening and that she was told that a prophet would be coming to her. She was in need of Jane’s help. Jane did not like this at all. She did not want to be a prophet or be anything special at all. She did not want to join anyone, to be consumed with a problem, but to be free and independent. She left St. Anne’s, although she ended up returning.

Jane did not want to go back to St. Anne’s, but Mark had been away at Belbury for some time. Also, her town, Edgestow, seemed to be overtaken. The N.I.C.E. police was forcing everyone to evacuate and the Bracton college was being torn apart. Her closest friends were all going St. Anne’s and they insisted that she come along. When she returned to St. Anne’s she was introduced to the Director. Apparently all of her close friends, Mrs. Dimble and her husband, Mrs. Maggs and her husband, Miss Ironwood, and the Denniston’s were all apart of a group that was fighting against something and this mysterious Director was their leader.

The Director was later revealed in the story as Dr. Ransom from the first two stories. They were indeed formed into a group and they were fighting against the N.I.C.E. They needed Jane because she was seeing the inner working of the N.I.C.E. They were all very sad to hear that Mark had recently taken up a job at Belbury.

Mark, on the other hand, was finding that Belbury was not all that it seemed. First of all, once you became a part of the N.I.C.E., you were not allowed to leave it alive. Second, the N.I.C.E. police and the action coming from Belbury did not seem to be benefiting society at all. There was something terribly wrong. He was asked to write false articles portraying the N.I.C.E. as good and beneficial which would then be submitted to the local newspapers. When he tried to leave Belbury to find Jane, his colleagues accused him of committing murder, providing false evidence that would prove it in court. He was eventually put under Mr. Frost to be taught the true workings of the N.I.C.E. The N.I.C.E. was trying to initiate the next step in evolution. A man named Alcasan had been justily killed for crimes he had committed. However, his head was taken by the N.I.C.E. At Belbury, it was resupplied with oxygen, blood, even false saliva to make it appear that the head was alive without a body. The N.I.C.E.’s goal was to eliminate the common man and instead have one head that would represent humanity, one head as in one leader and as in a head without a body. They wanted to get rid of the natural and live more efficiently with just the mind. Frost was trying to teach Mark that all nature was unnecessary, along with emotion. Humanity must reach complete objectivism to reach the next level of evolution.

One important piece of the N.I.C.E.’s plan was to bring Merlin back from the dead. He was buried/preserved underneath Bracton college in Edgestow where Mark and Jane had lived. He was to come back to life to aid in the process of making a bodiless head come to life. However, Dr. Ransom was able to talk to him before he went to Belbury. Merlin ended up being on Ransom’s side all along. He served Ransom, knowing him as Pendragon and the Logres. With Merlin’s help, Belbury was destroyed and Mark was freed from his captors. Merlin was finally able to rest in peace knowing that his task was done and Ransom returned to Perelandra.