That Hideous Strength
That Hideous Strength is a novel by C. S. Lewis first published in 1945. It is the third in Lewis's theological science fiction series featuring the philologist Ransom, following on from Out of the Silent Planet and Perelandra (a.k.a. Voyage to Venus). It is heavily influenced by the writing of Lewis's friend Charles Williams.Warning: Plot details follow.
This final novel in the trilogy is a parable of good and evil, set in a small English university town in which a research agency, N.I.C.E. (National Institute for Coordinated Experiments), is actually a front for Satanic forces.
The story is centered around a young professor and his wife who are affected in different ways by the "evil science" being practiced at the Institute. The professor is targeted directly for recruitment into the "objectivists", the inner circle of researchers who associate directly with the diabolic intelligences; his wife, who is plagued by a series of disturbing and clairvoyant dreams which she lacks the wisdom to interpret, is driven to join a small community of people who, in a rather oblique way, are in the service of the powers opposing the Institute.
The community is nominally led by Ransom, still suffering from the wound he received in his climactic fight on Venus. Here, he appears in a Christ-like role as the modern inheritor of the role of King Arthur, but by this time he has become too uncorrupted to have much of an impact in a corrupt modern society, without becoming re-corrupted. So an older, more ambiguous agent is recruited to the fight: the resurrected wizard Merlin.
Many of the differences between this and the previous two novels show the influence of Charles Williams, to the extent that it might be considered either homage or pastiche. Similarities to Williams' supernatural thrillers include the non-exotic setting, the gathering of an informal team of heroes rather than a single protagonist, the focus on a temporarily estranged married couple, and the use of Arthurian legend. There are also brief nods to J. R. R. Tolkien, and the character MacPhee is an affectionate parody of Lewis's former teacher W. T. Kirkpatrick.
Another significant difference of this final volume is that, although the story is told from the perspective of multiple characters (including a bear!), Ransom is not among them, so we do not really get an in-depth understanding of his view of human society in light of his experiences among the angels and sinless (though mortal) beings who live on the other worlds.
The novel's central theme—that pure materialism is incompatible with ethics and, ultimately, with human life—is, as Lewis stated, based on his own earlier philosophical treatise The Abolition of Man. An extreme example is his portrayal of the leaders of N.I.C.E., whose quest for a purely objective mode of thought has made them nihilists with no recognizably human motives. The novel is also Lewis's most overtly political fiction, illustrating how state/industry alliances and manipulation of the mass media might move England toward fascism.