Summary of Till We Have Faces Till We Have Faces, a novel by C.S. Lewis, uses the love story of Cupid and Psyche as the basis for a new tale set in the kingdom of Glomé. The story is narrated by Princess Orual, the eldest of three sisters, limited by her "ugliness", tormented by her abusive father, and tormented by love for her youngest sister, the beautiful goddess-like Psyche. It is Orual's love and need for love that ultimately sets in motion a painful spiral of events. Fox, a Greek slave, teaches Psyche and Orual philosophy and the fundamentals of life. The trio develops a strong bond. Their joy is tempered by the annoying and scheming middle sister Redival, but even more so when Glome falls under the spell of disease and poverty and the ever-looming attack of a neighboring kingdom. As Glome becomes increasingly unstable, the priest of Ungit tells the sacrifice is necessary to correct the evils that have befallen the kingdom. Convinced by the gods to lose her life to the Shadow Brute on Gray Mountain, Psyche accepts her role to save the kingdom and yield to a higher calling. Finding Psyche alive after the planned sacrifice, Orual must decide whether his beautiful sister is stricken with madness or has truly become the wife of a god as she claims. Orual's decision to force Psyche to betray her husband results in Psyche's exile and fills Orual with a sense of guilt that she carries with her throughout her reign as queen. Ultimately, Orual must reconcile with his lost sister through divine visions. AnalysisAlthough Till We Have Faces draws inspiration from the myth of Cupid and Psyche, which explores a range of human flaws including jealousy, lack of trust and envy, the main human fault explored by C.S. Lewis is lack of faith . Like Mircea Eliade... middle of paper... so as not to be killed. Tied to the tree she is vulnerable to woodland creatures and the Shadow Brute. Through her autonomy, being different from others and destined to live an ethereal and divine life, she demonstrates yet another goddess archetype: the virgin. She feels that her only destiny is to go towards the divine and does not fear sacrifice, but rejoices in her role as both a channel to the gods and as a goddess herself. She longs to be with the gods and knows she is unique and special among the mortals of Glome. "The sweetest thing in my whole life has been the desire - to reach the mountain, to find the place where all beauty comes from -" Like any woman, Psyche contains a lot of personality and cannot be entirely defined by one archetype. The closing pages of Till We Have Faces reveal that Orual is Psyche. Inner differences are universal to everyone.