As part of my research for my paper, I read Mere Christianity by Lewis. I had a serious problem with some of the ideas that he explained. One of these was when Lewis defended the idea that in a marriage, the man should always be the one in charge of the household and his word must be law. According to Lewis, it is impossible for a successful marriage to be based entirely on compromise, and one person has to have the final say in matters. He says that it must be the men because women are too focused on protecting their families. Furthermore, he says that marriages in which the woman is in charge are ridiculed by others. This attitude is reflected in his portrayal of the King and Queen of Perelandra, where the Queen is clearly subservient and inferior. The king learns everything first, knows more, and is generally in charge. Not only do I entirely disagree with Lewis’ viewpoint, I find it medieval and degrading. I think that the goal of a marriage is an equal partnership based on compromise. Of course, compromise won’t work every time, but whose decision wins out shouldn’t be based on gender. I find Lewis’ assertion that men are better suited for making family decisions because women are protective weakly supported at best, and a conscious propagation of misogynist stereotypes at worst. Mere Christianity was originally broadcast from 1941 to 1944, far before Lewis married Joy, who was strong-willed, blindingly intelligent, and had a sharp wit and personality. One wonders if Lewis would have dared say to her face that he ought to make a family decision in her place because she was only the wife.
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