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Chapter 16
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in That Hideous Strength, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Obedience, Exclusivity, and Humility
Modernization vs. Tradition
Divine Conflict
Deception and Confusion
Gender and Marriage
Summary
Analysis
Mark journeys to St. Anne’s to find Jane, but when he arrives, he finds himself reluctant to disrupt Jane in “her proper world” that he had been too foolish to join. He realizes that he must let Jane be free, and that he has incorrectly assumed that marrying Jane gave him possession of the “freshness” she brings to the world.
Though the book perpetuates sexist stereotypes, Mark’s realization about his relationship to Jane is surprisingly egalitarian as he accepts that his marriage to Jane does not mean he owns her. As he concludes that Jane has been his superior all along, Mark finally achieves true humility, paralleling Jane’s journey throughout the novel.
Themes
The women of the Manor try on dresses together, while Jane tells them that she had a vision of Merlin overtaken by the powers of the eldils. An earthquake strikes, the first in a series. Feverstone crashes his car on the way to Edgestow. He walks the rest of the way and realizes all the vehicles that pass him are leaving Edgestow, as he encounters a series of natural disasters and inclement weather. He finds Edgestow virtually destroyed and decides to leave, but before he can, another earthquake strikes and buries Edgestow, killing Feverstone.
Jane has moved past resenting femininity. She enjoys spending time with other women and partaking in traditionally feminine interests like fashion. Meanwhile, Feverstone finally meets his end, after escaping from the N.I.C.E. His strategy of allying himself with whoever can grant him the most power is no match for the power of the divine.
Themes
The Company of Logres dines together, and Ransom reveals he plans to return to Perelandra so that his wound can heal, and he can start to physically age. Mr. Dimble explains England is home to a constant struggle between Logres and Britain, in which Logres represents poets and kings, while Britain is made up of politicians, imperialists, and even mundane shopkeepers. Logres has survived within Britain due to an unbroken succession of Pendragons to lead it, beginning with Arthur and continuing on to Ransom. Ransom reminds Dimble that every nation has a version of this internal conflict.
Ransom’s duty on Earth is complete, and he is rewarded with a path to leave this world for a better one, a parallel for dying and gaining entrance to Heaven. Dimble’s explanation of Logres emphasizes the importance of tradition: the honor and goodness of Logres exists because it has been passed down through an unbroken chain of leadership. At the same time, the “Britain” side of the conflict is also a traditional one, suggesting that tradition isn’t fully in opposition to progress. In some ways, it is progress.
Themes
Curry is on a train to Bracton when he learns about the decimation of Edgestow, which grants him a religious awakening. At the Manor, Mrs. Dimble asks if Merlin needed to wipe out all of Edgestow, and Denniston argues that even the most innocent professors at the University believed and taught the schools of thought that enabled the N.I.C.E. Mr. Bultitude returns to the Manor, bringing with him a female bear. As the Society hears the horses mating outside, Ransom announces that Venus is over St. Anne’s. The freed animals from Belbury flock to St. Anne’s, and Ransom is pleased that humans are once again among angels and beasts. Ransom prepares to leave Earth and sends Jane to meet Mark at his lodgings.
The University of Edgestow has been destroyed, but Curry’s religious awakening indicates a hopeful future for academia in which scholars incorporate God’s will into their studies. The arrival of Venus to St. Anne’s makes clear that God’s will includes love between mortals, which echoes Jane’s vision of the love between the Dennistons as a powerful magical force. With this, the novel suggests that humans exist to serve God, but the way they feel about and treat each other holds divine significance.
Themes
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Mark has often thought about Jane’s failings as a wife, but for the first time he confronts his failings as a husband. He sees her as a pure and holy being that he is lucky to have in his life and yet has ignored. He plans to release her from their marriage, believing that he is not even worthy of admiring her. Jane arrives at Mark’s lodgings, worrying that he might not love her anymore. She fondly recognizes the way he left his laundry, and, cheered by this, goes to look for him.
The novel ends where it begins: with the Studdocks alone in a house. This bookending highlights that the core of the story is domestic rather than cosmic. Mark and Jane embracing humility has released them of their resentment toward each other, and they are now prepared to begin a life together founded on obedience to each other and to God.
Themes
