40 pages 1 hour read

C. S. Lewis

Perelandra

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1943

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Chapters 16-17

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapter 16 Summary

The eldila discuss Ransom, saying that his sins are forgiven because he’s in the body of Maleldil. Ransom learns that the two eldila are the Oyarsas of Malacandra and Perelandra. He learns that the King and Queen have met, and the world will now truly begin. The eldila choose to take on giant human forms to greet the King and Queen. They have no markers of sex, but seem gendered to Ransom, with Malacandra as masculine and Perelandra as feminine. They discuss how the Oyarsa of Thulcandra has created a distance between humans and Maleldil, which leads to the creation of mythology. From behind Ransom, animals begin to fill the valley. Ransom realizes that this island is not the forbidden one, but another that the King and Queen were meant to find. Light fills the valley and the King and Queen arrive as the eldila bow before them.

Chapter 17 Summary

Ransom bows to the King and Queen. Ransom perceives that the King is made to look like Maleldil. The King and Queen are given the mantle of Oyarsa and praise Ransom. The King tells Ransom about his experience with the Evil One, similar to the Un-Man’s attack on