| C. S. Lewis was a prolific author who wrote in many genres, including literary criticism, poetry, medieval dream vision, letters, science fiction/fantasy, fairy tales, myth, allegory, essays, and Christian apologetics. Many critics have attempted to categorize his writing, but none has found a category capable of accommodating all Lewis's fiction. Using Northrop Frye's pre-generic categories and the Jungian archetypes, this researcher has demonstrated that all Lewis's fiction fits into the romance mythos. Next, by applying the steps of the heroic quest as outlined by Joseph Campbell, et al, the component features of the quest as outlined by W. H. Auden, and the medieval grail romances to the fiction of Lewis, this writer has shown how all his fiction is informed by the quest narrative, specifically the quest of the Holy Grail.;First, an overview of all the medieval grail romances is undertaken, followed by a summary of Lewis's opinions on the topic. Next, the journey motif is discussed as an appropriate metaphor for human life in quest of identity, using examples from the fiction of Lewis. Following this, the portrayal of heroes and heroines involved in quests, along with the tests that reveal their character, is examined, and Lewis's heroes and heroines are scrutinized to determine if they fit the typical heroic paradigm. Next is a discussion of how authors of romance handle characterization, with special consideration given to the role of human and animal helpers in quest literature. Naturally, Lewis's helper figures are inspected, and those critics who have disapproved of Lewis's handling of female characters are addressed. This writer next studies the villains who hinder the quest, including devil figures in Lewis's writing. Characters such as Lancelot who later repent and mend their ways are also taken into account.;Since the medieval grail romances do not concur on the subject of how beneficial the grail quest actually is, this writer discusses the social and personal benefits of the quest, concluding that all Lewis's fiction fits admirably well into the grail quest narrative mode and that, for Lewis, the struggle to achieve the grail is a quest that must be fought anew in each generation. While the social benefits of the struggle are only partial, the personal benefits are of eternal value. |
