Introduction to "The Screwtape Letters"

There are so many incredible works of C.S. Lewis that at first glance it might be hard to see why The Screwtape Letters should stand out. It doesn’t have the imagination or the prose of the Chronicles of Narnia or Out of the Silent Planet, the ability to be a foundation for apologetics like Mere Christianity, the brutal personal honesty of A Grief Observed or the wide-sweeping criticisms of society in the Abolition of Man. So why does The Screwtape Letters persist in popularity? There are several attributes that could explain this but I think the foremost one is that The Screwtape Letters challenges the reader on a personal level more than almost any other book. Many books aim their barbs at society and at others so that the reader feels comfortable laughing along with the author. Lewis however does not spare us. The personal nature of The Screwtape Letters demands that the reader abandon his comfy chair for the depths of the soul in order to see where the logic of Screwtape might be lurking. This can be painful but the result for the reader is to be lifted to a higher level and that’s a rare gift from reading a book, and it is this gift which has called so many people to The Screwtape Letters.

Because The Screwtape Letters covers such a wide variety of topics, I thought a presentation of it would either be disjointed or skip so much as to do it injustice. So I’ve decided to write up a chapter by chapter analysis of The Screwtape Letters so that I can cover the material in justice. Of course, whether or not I am capable of doing the material justice regardless of how much time I have is a matter I will leave up to you. So I hope you’ll have patience with me as we go through The Screwtape Letters.

There are a few things of note before I start the actual letters. Lewis dedicates the Letters to J.R.R. Tolkien, another famous member of the Inklings and the Catholic writer of the epic Lord of the Rings which has found incredible success and praise as one of the greatest epics of all time as well as spawning interest in the fantasy genre. This was the only book Lewis dedicated to Tolkien, though Tolkien was “lewisified” as Tolkien himself put it in Lewis’ science fiction trilogy as the philologist Ransom. After the dedication, Lewis has two quotes about mocking the devil. The interesting thing about the quotes is not the quotes themselves but the authors of them and their juxtaposition: Martin Luther and Thomas More. The great hero of the Protestant Reformation is placed side by side with St. Thomas More one of the Catholic heroes of the Counter-Reformation. This juxtaposition might be the result of Lewis trying again to dispel the denominational battle between Catholic and Protestant that dominated not only Oxford during Lewis’ life but also Lewis’ soul. It is certain that he is trying to make the point that both faiths can agree that comedy is a critical part of dealing with the devil and so Lewis justifies utilizing satire to critique many of the common mindsets that lead to sin (C.S. Lewis and the Catholic Church, Joseph Pearce, Introduction p. xi, Ignatius Press).

The book itself is told in a series of letters of advice from Screwtape, a leading tempter in the Lowerarchy, to his nephew and novice tempter, Wormwood. Wormwood never appears nor do we ever have any of his letters. What Wormwood writes back to his “affectionate uncle” can only be inferred by his uncle’s writing. We also do not encounter any of the events firsthand, so we are dependent on Screwtape’s interpretation of events. This can make it tricky, because Lewis himself warns us that it is “very unlikely that the portraits…are wholly just. There is wishful thinking in Hell as well as on Earth” (Preface). The other main character is the “patient,” that is the man Wormwood has been assigned to send to hell. The patient begins the letters as an atheist or an agnostic; it’s not clear which it is but certainly an unbeliever. There are a few other characters that are mentioned, such as the patient’s mother and girlfriend and these characters are discussed by Screwtape, but the focus remains on the patient. The timeline is unclear but much of it happens with World War II in the background as Screwtape and Wormwood discuss the potential of the war and air raids to turn the patient away from the faith. There are 31 letters in the original Screwtape Letters as well as a later piece called “Screwtape Proposes a Toast” which is aimed at education.

Lewis starts off the book by putting in a preface explaining why he’s published the letters he’s “found.” He says that “There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils. One is to disbelieve in their existence. The other is to believe, and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them.” The first warning seems fairly obvious: to disbelieve in the devil is to leave ourselves open to their attack. The second one is more interesting. It might mean that we have to watch our curiosity about evil so that we do not plunge ourselves too far into its depth lest we find ourselves consumed by it. I think this would apply most to our forays into mainstream culture. Watching MTV and exposing ourselves to that kind of material does provide us with a better perspective into evil and sin but too much of it and we find ourselves neatly into the traps of Screwtape. Or perhaps the second warning refers the inclination people have to write off all their problems and sins to the devil. “The devil made me do it” denies free will and allows for the sinner to comfort himself while continuing a life of sin that ultimately leads to us becoming another tasty treat for Screwtape (that is something I had not mentioned earlier. In The Screwtape Letters the reason getting souls is so important to the tempters is that it is their source of food, but this is only discussed in passing). Either way, Lewis is driving home the point that dealing with the devil is tricky business. He later emphasizes this in his introduction to Screwtape Proposes a Toast in which explains that he for a long time refused to write again as Screwtape because though the device was easy writing,

“it was not fun, or not for long. The strain produced a spiritual cramp. The world into which I had to project myself while I spoke through Screwtape was all dust, grit, thirst, and itch. Every trace of beauty, freshness, and geniality had to be excluded. It almost smothered me before I was done. It would have smothered my readers if I had prolonged it.” (Introduction to Screwtape Proposes a Toast)

Lewis is driving home the point that we always have to be on guard against Satan and his Screwtapes. So as we begin this venture, let us be vigilant and pray that St. Michael keeps us safe. If we do that, we will be much richer for the experience.