The Complaint was the Answer - Elizabeth Roy

The Complaint was the Answer
Till We Have Faces blog
Elizabeth Roy
4/23

In Till We Have Faces, C.S. Lewis’ final work, the sister of Psyche writes an accusation to the gods. Orual blames the gods for the pain in her life and the mistakes she has made. One of the parts I appreciated the most was how Orual came to see her mistakes. When she presents her complaint to the gods, instead of the beautiful book she thinks she has written, it turns into her real thoughts – which are bitter, petty, and selfish. Orual says that the complaint itself was her answer. This, I think, is what people should try to achieve when they write journal entries or self-reflection. Often the answer to a problem or complaint comes from looking at it from an outsiders’ view, with a different perspective. The irony is, of course, that Orual could have begun this task long before she actually did. She does not begin to self-reflect until she is stung by the inaccurate tale a man is telling about Istra (Psyche.) She wants to correct the mistakes and tell the true story, but she ends up mostly complaining about how the gods treated her, which is what finally allows her to have a sort of catharsis. Perhaps the best lesson to take from this is the value of not just reflecting, but being honest with ourselves when doing so.