The Great Divorce

The title of the book references William Blake’s The Marriage of Heaven and Hell, but readers with no prior knowledge of that poem can still glean significance from the title. How would you explain its significance?

Lewis deliberately portrays Hell as a much more ordinary and less physically tormenting place than other representations of Hell in popular culture and religious art. Did his version strike you as more or less haunting than the common portrayal of Hell as a fiery torture zone? Why?

Just as Lewis portrays Hell differently than most depictions in popular culture and religious art, he also portrays Heaven differently. While Heaven is often represented as a particularly ethereal place, full of clouds and floating angels, Lewis represents it as a place of remarkable solidity, so hard to the touch that newcomers have to acclimate to its density. Why do you think he chose to portray Heaven this way?