Review: I Have Some Thoughts About C.S. Lewis’ The Great Divorce.

Aaaanndd…once again it’s time to do a review about a book I was required to read for school this year. Having only five weeks of school left before summer break, the books required for my British Literature class seem to be ending with a bang. Most recently, I finished C.S. Lewis’ The Great Divorce, which, though I thought it was interesting, I did have some thoughts about, particularly in how he seems to frame Hell and Purgatory.

#1: The Good Stuff

The thing I really liked about The Great Divorce was how Lewis shows that Hell is something that is chosen. God isn’t someone who just arbitrarily throws people into Hell. God gives us an objective set of morals and rules to follow, and He gives us a permanent way of salvation that we can choose freely to accept. However, it’s our choice whether or not we choose to accept it. When we don’t accept it, then we are bringing God’s wrath upon ourselves.

But why are some people so intent on the prospect of Hell rather than Heaven? I think C.S. Lewis sums it up really well in the part where he quotes John Milton’s Satan in Paradise Lost as saying, “Better to reign in Hell than to serve in Heaven.” If you haven’t read Paradise Lost (which you should), Satan falls from Heaven because of his massive ego. He believed that he could be God and when he and his angels are thrown from Heaven to be miserable in Hell, he still refuses to let go of his pride. Satan chooses to remain in Hell because he can rule there.

It’s the same with normal people as well. People, being fallen and sinful, are prideful and when you’re constantly denying God even until death, you’re choosing Hell. C.S. Lewis shows this when many of the ghosts from the Grey Town refuse Heaven because of their pride. My favorite example of this was when the super-controlling wife is explaining to one of the spirits how she was fixing her husband by manipulating and abusing him, then finally admits that the reason why she hates Heaven is because she has nothing/no one to “do things to” and so chooses Hell.

Meanwhile, the few ghosts from the Grey Town that do get into Heaven and get to stay there only do so because they let go of their pride or whatever sin is keeping them in Hell. We see this best in the ghost who lets the angel kill the lizard (lust). He hates that evil little lizard, but still wants it, which is why he’s initially scared to let the angel kill it. However, when he finally admits that the lizard is bad and allows the angel to destroy it and transform it into something new and pure, he is saved by grace.

#2: The Stuff I Have Issues With.

While I appreciate that C.S. Lewis made a disclaimer in the preface that this is a fictional storyline not to be taken seriously, I do have some problems with the view of Hell and Purgatory that are expressed in this story.

Though it’s become an interesting storyline to explore in recent years the idea that souls that have been damned to Hell could possibly be brought to Heaven to be given a second chance (with the most recent and popular example of this is the hit Amazon Prime show Hazbin Hotel), it’s not biblical. In this story, Lewis is a soul that has been damned that boards a bus headed to Heaven with some other ghosts, and he gets to see how unrepentant many of them are. At the end of the story, we find out that it was all a dream, but this story raises an interesting question about whether it’s possible for souls already in Hell to repent and go to Heaven.

The main reason why this idea is unbiblical is the fact that the lives we live now are the only ones we get. That’s not to say that the saying “YOLO” (You Only Live Once) is correct in its assumption. What I mean is that we only get one shot to live a life according to what Christ wants or to live a life that’s based on what we want. This means that we only get one life in which to repent, a life that could be extinguished in 80 years, 80 minutes, or the next 80 seconds. If we do not repent in this life, we are doomed to Hell. 

Another reason why this position is unbiblical is because it – to some extent – endorses the Catholic idea of Purgatory. In The Great Divorce, C.S. Lewis uses a place called “The Grey Town” to represent Hell and Purgatory. For the spirits that live in the Grey Town, if they choose Heaven, then it becomes a form of Purgatory, a depressing stopping place in their spiritual journey. However, if they choose to stay in The Grey Town, then it becomes Hell.  

Though this is an interesting representation of spiritual fluidity based off our own experiences and choices and allows Lewis to explore why some people choose Heaven and why some people choose Hell, this is not supported by the Bible. In the Bible, the closest we get to the concept of Purgatory is the idea of Sheol, which is implied to be the land of the dead, similar to the Greek Hades. However, according to gotquestions.org, Sheol is split into two different parts, with one side being the waiting room of those going to Hell in the final judgement and the other side being like the waiting room for those going to Heaven. Unlike Purgatory, it is not a place of punishment and purification. It’s a place where you stay until Judgement Day comes and there’s no crossing over to one side or the other in the meantime.  

Thus, while C.S. Lewis presents an interesting story in The Great Divorce to explore the ideas of Heaven, Hell, and why you get there, it isn’t entirely Biblical. It relies a bit on Catholic doctrine, which is aberrant at best. However, it does present a good point that what you do in life will affect your experience of the afterlife. 

[Author’s Note: So, this is being added after this has already been posted, but upon further research, I need to revise what I said about Sheol. From the sounds of it, we will not be going to an actual in-between area when we die. We’ll either be going immediately to Hell if we’re nonbelievers, or to Heaven if we are believers. However, those in Hell will not be burned in the Lake of Fire until Judgement Day, and those in Heaven will also have to wait to get their resurrection bodies until that day. For links on this, check out my response to Nerdy Blogger’s comment below.]

Until next time,

M.J.