Men with Chests

In this chapter, we begin to explore the relationship between what Lewis called the twins of magic and science in The Abolition of Man. This will continue to be a major item in many of the remaining chapters as Merlin enters the story. 

"The Funeral of a Great Myth" is very relevant for That Hideous Strength. In the essay, Lewis explains how the belief in infinite unilinear Progress is the motivation for popularizing science into a Myth, instead of doing the scientific discipline well. The goal of the N.I.C.E. is Progress as defined by the Conditioners and science is merely the instrument along with magic. Lewis not only points out how the Myth forces us to reject Reason, but he also praises the imaginative grandeur of the Myth. This is a funeral oration, not an autopsy. The imaginative qualities of the Myth have a real power that needs to be accounted for. We see that power illustrated in the N.I.C.E.   

Drink: Monkey Shoulder Scotch

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Mark learns what the final goal of the N.I.C.E. is from Filostrato and Straik...

Lou Markos joins me once again. This time around we discuss Romanticism, daemons, Materialist Magicians, and other things relevant to That Hideous Strength. 

Chapter 7 is all about Jane. She has a big turn in this chapter and comes to recognize objective beauty. In this episode we do something a bit different - I cover and read part of the chapter with a guest who's particularly fitted to speak on femininity. 

Anneliese's podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/feminine-not-feminist-podcast/id1656867030 

Mark writes newspaper articles for planned riots before they occur as part of the N.I.C.E.'s strategy for acquiring "emergency" powers. Meanwhile, Jane heads for St. Anne's after merely brushing past the creepy Professor Frost on the street. 

Christiana Hale is the author of Deeper Heaven: A Reader's Guide to C.S. Lewis's Ransom Trilogy  (link below). We discuss a whole host of topics from That Hideous Strength as well as the other two books in the trilogy. This is one of my favorite Socratic Hour episodes yet!

Christiana's book: https://romanroadspress.com/store/deeper-heaven/

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Mark is left in a state of limbo as his conversations with Fairy Hardcastle, Wither, and Feverstone all prove useless. He can't find out just what his role with the institute is meant to be, and when he does, he thinks it to be below him. In these conversations with Mark and the various N.I.C.E. members, we discover more of the N.I.C.E.'s tactics for "progress."

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Chapter 4 introduces us to a key character from the N.I.C.E. - Reverend Straik - the mad parson. Mark continues to see just what "progress" looks like, we see that Mark still has a connection with what is objectively beautiful, and we continue to see what masculine and feminine selfishness looks like in the relationship between Mark and Jane.  

John Mark Reynolds once said that That Hideous Strength is "the truest account of the state of the West written in the last one hundred years." In this episode, we discuss why. Amongst many other things, Dr. Reynolds is the founder of the Saint Constantine School in Houston. He reads That Hideous Strength every year and has done so since he was 10. The guy knows a thing or two about That Hideous Strength and it's relevance for us today. This was a great conversation.

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