Perelandra

by

C. S. Lewis

Malacandra Term Analysis

Malacandra is the planet Mars, which Ransom previously visited. It was there that he first encountered his nemesis, Weston.

Malacandra Quotes in Perelandra

The Perelandra quotes below are all either spoken by Malacandra or refer to Malacandra. For each quote, you can also see the other terms and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Exploration, Wonder, and God’s Plan Theme Icon
).
Chapter 16 Quotes

Gender is a reality, and a more fundamental reality than sex. Sex is, in fact, merely the adaptation to organic life of a fundamental polarity which divides all created beings. Female sex is simply one of the things that have feminine gender; there are many others, and Masculine and Feminine meet us on planes of reality where male and female would be simply meaningless. […] Their reproductive functions, their differences in strength and size, partly exhibit, but partly also confuse and misrepresent, the real polarity. All this Ransom saw, as it were, with his own eyes. The two white creatures were sexless. But he of Malacandra was masculine (not male); she of Perelandra was feminine (not female).

Related Characters: Lewis (speaker), Dr. Elwin Ransom
Page Number: 172
Explanation and Analysis:
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Perelandra PDF

Malacandra Term Timeline in Perelandra

The timeline below shows where the term Malacandra appears in Perelandra. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 1
Exploration, Wonder, and God’s Plan Theme Icon
...Mars’ inhabitants, but also creatures called eldila, including the ruler of Mars, the Oyarsa of Malacandra. The eldila are very different from earthly creatures. They don’t breathe, eat, reproduce, or die,... (full context)
Exploration, Wonder, and God’s Plan Theme Icon
Fear, Adventure, and Will Theme Icon
...color he is unable to describe. Lewis is certain he is seeing the Oyarsa of Malacandra, the ruler of Mars. (full context)
Chapter 2
Exploration, Wonder, and God’s Plan Theme Icon
Temptation and the Nature of Evil Theme Icon
...that the coffin is his vehicle for the journey into space. He’s not returning to Malacandra, though he’d give anything  to see it again. Instead he’s being sent to Perelandra, or... (full context)
Exploration, Wonder, and God’s Plan Theme Icon
Fear, Adventure, and Will Theme Icon
...for any special reason. It’s probably because, when he was previously kidnapped and sent to Malacandra, it gave him the chance to master the Old Solar language, the old common speech... (full context)
Exploration, Wonder, and God’s Plan Theme Icon
Fear, Adventure, and Will Theme Icon
...coffin and then stand by to await his return and unpack him. The Oyarsa of Malacandra will propel the coffin to Perelandra—Ransom doesn’t know how exactly. Lewis feels frightened again, and... (full context)
Chapter 4
Exploration, Wonder, and God’s Plan Theme Icon
...of a nearby tree. The scene reminds him of the garden of the Hesperides. On Malacandra, Ransom had met the original Cyclops. Now he wonders if so-called mythological creatures are actually... (full context)
Chapter 6
Exploration, Wonder, and God’s Plan Theme Icon
Temptation and the Nature of Evil Theme Icon
...this is why he was sent to Perelandra. Weston failed to achieve his goals on Malacandra, so he’s trying again here. Ransom wonders if, like Malacandra, Perelandra’s eldila might help him... (full context)
Chapter 7
Exploration, Wonder, and God’s Plan Theme Icon
...egoism. He’s then shocked to hear Weston addressing the Green Lady in Old Solar. On Malacandra, Weston had no proficiency in the language. Ransom feels that his sole advantage has been... (full context)
Exploration, Wonder, and God’s Plan Theme Icon
Innocence and Incorruption Theme Icon
Temptation and the Nature of Evil Theme Icon
...his holster and tells Ransom that he does him an “injustice.” Since his visit to Malacandra, he claims, he has rethought the whole “interplanetary problem.” (full context)
Exploration, Wonder, and God’s Plan Theme Icon
...the utility of the human race, which necessarily involves interplanetary travel. After his time on Malacandra, Weston reflected that he had always drawn an arbitrary distinction between Man and non-human Nature.... (full context)
Chapter 16
Exploration, Wonder, and God’s Plan Theme Icon
...speaking in their bell-like voices and realizes that one of them is the Oyarsa of Malacandra. The Oyarsa is telling its companion about Ransom and his world. Ransom asks to be... (full context)
Exploration, Wonder, and God’s Plan Theme Icon
Innocence and Incorruption Theme Icon
The Oyarsa of Malacandra explains that today is the “morning day,” the birth of this world. It’s the first... (full context)
Exploration, Wonder, and God’s Plan Theme Icon
...immensely tall human figures burning white-hot, with a halo of indescribable colors. The Oyarsa of Malacandra shines with colder colors, that of Perelandra glows with warmer ones. (full context)
Chapter 17
Exploration, Wonder, and God’s Plan Theme Icon
...of all the universe. And what does this mean for all the other worlds, like Malacandra? Ransom wonders what it’s all driving toward. Tor explains that it will be “The beginning... (full context)