The Pilgrim's Regress

“There in the grass beside him sat a laughing brown girl of about his own age, and she had no clothes on. ‘It was me you wanted,’ said the brown girl. ‘I am better than your silly Islands.’”

Lewis uses the motif of “brown girls” throughout the narrative to represent carnal distractions from the pursuit of spiritual truth—in this case, John’s quest for the Island. Lewis’s motif reflects a common, misogynistic trope of Christian allegory that positions women as sexual temptresses attempting to dissuade a pious man from his true spiritual calling. Here, the girl in the woods dismisses John’s spiritual longing as “silly,” introducing a distraction of immediate sexual gratification that temporarily distracts John from the abstract yearning for the Island.

“‘There is no Landlord?’ ‘There is absolutely no such thing—I might even say no such entity—in existence. There never has been and never will be.’”

The categorical denial of the Landlord’s existence by Mr. Enlightenment represents a radical form of skepticism, highlighting Lewis’s Critique of Modern Philosophical and Cultural Trends. For John, who has lived under constant fear of the Landlord’s rules and punishments, Mr. Enlightenment’s dismissal of them presents the possibility of liberation. However, it also creates cognitive dissonance as John grapples with the implications of this new perspective.

“This is what I have been looking for all my life […] The brown girls were too gross and the Island was too fine. This is the real thing.”

In an attempt to reconcile his sexual attraction to Media Halfways with his spiritual longing for the Island, John believes that he has finally found the perfect balance between the temptation of “brown girls” and the untouchable, ethereal Island. Lewis frames John’s perception that Media is “the real thing” as a naïve perspective characteristic of this early stage of his character arc. Having only recently left Puritania, John is still learning to interpret the new things he sees and experiences.

“Our fathers made images of what they called gods and goddesses; but they were really only brown girls and brown boys whitewashed—as anyone found out by looking at them too long.”

Lewis engages in a Critique of Modern Philosophical and Cultural Trends through the perspective of Gus Halfways, who revisits the racist trope of brown girls/boys to dismiss the deities of the past and criticizes prior generations for their self-deception, which he contrasts with his belief in the superiority of modern, technological advancements. This perspective underscores his disdain for romanticized or sentimental views of beauty and divinity, favoring a more utilitarian approach.

“If it is what I wanted, why am I so disappointed when I get it? If what a man really wanted was food, how could he be disappointed when the food arrived?”

John questions the idea that lust and sexual satisfaction will bring him the peace he desires, as he has yet to be fulfilled by it. By comparing his longing to a basic need like hunger, he illustrates the fundamental disconnect between his spiritual desires and the carnal pursuits he sees around him, asserting that The Search for Spiritual Truth is more profound.

“It is the black hole. There may be no Landlord, but it is true about the black hole. I am mad. I am dead. I am in hell for ever.”

Lewis’s allegory positions the black hole as a contained place from which divine goodness is absent—a place made necessary by the existence of free human will. The torment John experiences in the dungeons of the Spirit of the Age reflects Lewis’s vision of a place without God—a place where there is no grace, only torment.

“This psittacosis is a very obstinate disorder.”

Psittacosis, or parrot fever, is a disease that affects birds, causing them to repeat things without understanding. In the context of Lewis’s allegory, “psittacosis” symbolizes the prisoners’ conditioned responses to their tormentors and their inability to think independently. Although Reason has physically destroyed the giant, their internalized oppression is much harder to eradicate.

“If anyone argues with them they say that he is rationalizing his own desires, and therefore need not be answered. But if anyone listens to them they will then argue themselves to show that their own doctrines are true.”

Lewis continues his Critique of Modern Philosophical and Cultural Trends by depicting the inherent hypocrisy of the doctrines of the Spirit of the Age. When the giant’s teachings are questions, the immediate response is to dismiss the challenger’s arguments by accusing them of “rationalizing their own desires.” However, when the Spirit of the Age promotes its own doctrines, it freely engages in argumentation. This dual approach creates an imbalanced discourse where only the dominant ideology can be deemed reasonable—a stance Lewis frames as insecurity: It cannot withstand genuine scrutiny.

“And at the moment he put out his hand and plucked the fruit there was an earthquake, and the country cracked open all the way across from North to South: and ever since, instead of the farm, there has been this gorge, which the country people call the Grand Canyon. But in my language its name is Peccatum Adae.”

Mother Kirk’s story of the Grand Canyon’s origins evokes the biblical account of Adam and Eve and humanity’s fall from grace. The literal earthquake that Mother Kirk describes represents a fundamental disruption, disconnecting humankind from the divine—a rift not just in the physical landscape but in the moral fabric of the world.

“You see, it is pure rock an inch below the surface, so we do not disturb the soil. That would remove the graceful veil of illusion which is so necessary to the human point of view.”

Mr. Humanist’s statement reveals a critical aspect of his philosophy and the broader ideology of the community he represents. While he chooses to remain in a self-imposed state of delusion, focusing on aesthetics and superficial order, John’s experiences push him toward truth, even if that truth is uncomfortable or challenging.

“And there fell upon John that last loneliness which comes when the comforter himself needs comforting, and the guide is to be guided.”

Lewis marks the beginning phases of John’s journey by his reliance on others for emotional and psychological support. He looks to others like Vertue and Reason to provide direction. However, Vertue’s blindness is not just a physical ailment but a metaphor for his loss of direction and purpose, and John demonstrates his growth as a character by stepping into his new maturity and providing care and support for his companion.

“It is not desire that my father’s doctrine kills: it is only hope.”

Here, Lewis lays out the crux of Mr. Wisdom’s teachings. He does not aim to extinguish desire, which he describes as a natural and essential part of being human. Instead, he seeks to temper hope, which he views as unrealistic.

“Wanting is better than having. The glory of any world wherein you can live is in the end appearance: but then, as one of my sons has said, that leaves the world more glorious yet.

Mr. Wisdom puts forward the idea that the true value of life lies in in the pursuit and longing for desires rather than in their attainment. His perspective celebrates the beauty of transient experiences and the fulfillment found in the act of desiring itself, emphasizing that the world’s true glory is in its fleeting appearances.

“What the Son is in the legend, every man is in reality: for the whole world is nothing else than the Eternal thus giving itself to death that it may live—that we may live.”

Lewis draws a parallel between the Landlord’s Son—representative of Christ—and humanity as a whole consistent with traditional teachings of Christianity. For Lewis, Christ’s sacrifice is symbolic of the broader spiritual truth that the eternal spirit undergoes death to sustain life.

“Disease is better than health and sees clearer, for it is one degree nearer to the Spirit, one degree less involved in the riot of our animal existence.”

Contemplating Wisdom’s teachings, Vertue grapples with the idea that all earthly pleasures and pursuits are ultimately meaningless. His solution to reject them entirely and embrace suffering to transcend the material world undergirds Lewis’s Critique of Modern Philosophical and Cultural Trends, which frames Vertue’s perspective as intensely nihilistic and self-destructive, indicating that his search for meaning is incomplete.

“But you must play fair. If its help is not a metaphor, neither are its commands. If it can answer when you call, then it can speak without your asking. If you can go to it, it can come to you.”

The Man’s words to John mark a central moment in John’s ongoing struggle between autonomy and surrender. As the Man notes, if John is willing to accept the help of a higher power, he must also accept its guidance and commands.

“Has not every object which fancy and sense suggested for the desire, proved a failure, confessed itself, after trial, not to be what you wanted?”

History suggests that only through introspection can one learn that the various objects or goals pursued in life inevitably fall short of satisfying our deepest longings—a perspective that undergirds the novel’s thematic interest in The Search for Spiritual Truth. For Lewis, the existential journey of seeking true fulfillment and the inherent failures encountered along the way serve as clear signs of the profound importance of spiritual concerns.

“‘You must take off your rags,’ said she, ‘as your friend has done already, and then you must dive into this water.’”

John’s rags represent his past life: his accumulated sins, his fears, and all the worldly attachments that have clung to him throughout his journey. The act of removing them is an act of purification, signifying his willingness to let go of his former self. The act of diving into the water evokes the Christian sacrament of baptism, which symbolizes the washing away of sin and the rebirth into a new spiritual life.

“You may be sure the Landlord has brought you the shortest way: though I confess it would look an odd journey on a map.”

Slikisteinsauga reassures John that, despite appearances, his journey was orchestrated to be his most direct path to enlightenment. The guide insists that every step, misstep, and detour was necessary for his spiritual development, suggesting that each person’s path to divine reconciliation is unique to them.

“The Landlord does not condemn them to lack of hope: they have done that themselves. The Landlord’s interference is all on the other side.”

In response to John’s doubts, Slikisteinsauga raises the concept of free will, placing the responsibility for spiritual health on human choice rather than God. From this perspective, Lewis frames the lack of hope and torment suffered by the souls trapped within the black hole as self-imposed rather than externally inflicted as an act of judgment or punishment.

“Up to a certain point he can doctor them even when they have done so, and break them off the habit. But beyond that point—you can see for yourself. A man can go on eating mountain-apple so long that nothing will cure his craving for it.”

Lewis expands on the relationship between divine intervention and free human will by revisiting the Christian concept of original sin. Slikisteinsauga asserts that while the Landlord can intervene to a certain extent to help those who have gone astray, there is an implicit acknowledgment of the limits of this intervention. Redemption and recovery from sinful habits are possible up to a point, but each act of sin not only has immediate repercussions but also contributes to long-term impacts on individual character and morality.

“Do not confuse Repentance with Disgust: for the one comes from the Landlord and the other from the Enemy.”

Here, Slikisteinsauga distinguishes between true repentance, which the guide describes as humbly turning toward the Landlord for guidance and grace, and disgust, a self-centered rejection of one’s nature. The distinction proves crucial to John’s understanding of the necessary approach to spiritual growth and self-improvement.

“‘You are falling into their own error,’ he said, ‘the change is not radical, nor will it be permanent. That idea depends on a curious disease which they have all caught—an inability to disbelieve advertisements.’”

Slikisteinsauga’s words critique the tendency of a seeker of truth to unquestioningly accept and believe in the promises of technological advancements and advertisements—continuing Lewis’s Critique of Modern Philosophical and Cultural Trends. This skepticism toward the permanence and depth of societal changes highlights the transient nature of secular pursuits of knowledge over The Search for Spiritual Truth.