What moral do I need?- Heidi Naylor

Lewis, many times throughout “On Stories”, claims that he did not start off writing any of his books with a moral, or allegory in mind: they all have started with pictures. Furthering this notion, he believed that to adjust a story to the needs of the reader was absurd:
“I feel sure that the question ‘what do modern children need?’ will not lead you to a good moral. If we ask that question we are assuming too superior an attitude. It would be better to ask “what moral do I need?’ for I think we can be sure that what does not concern us deeply will not deeply interest our readers, whatever there age” (41).

It is my belief that Lewis’ personal investment in Till We Have Faces is what made it so effective. I ran into a couple articles online while completing research that stated Lewis had been evolving the idea of re-writing Cupid and Psyche through the eyes of Orual, the older sister, since his years as an undergraduate. Allegedly, he initially tried it in several verses of poetry and by the time he went to write it in story form, the ideas had been floating around in his head for over 35 years.

In writing this story, it is clear that Lewis did not set out with a specific agenda in mind. As quoted above, Lewis believes it better to ask “what moral do I need” for what concerns the writer deeply has a greater chance of concerning the reader deeply. In essence, Lewis explored what he needed to hear in finding out whether Orual or the gods were in the wrong. He toyed with the concept of love and sought understanding.