Date of Award

Spring 4-20-2026

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

English

First Advisor

Janet Graham

Second Advisor

Laura Jensen

Third Advisor

Rebecca Umland

Committee Members

Seth Long

David Rozema

Janet Graham

Rebecca Umland

Keywords

C.S. Lewis, Out of the Silent Planet, Science Fiction, Fantasy, Medieval Model, Elwin Ransom, Weston, Hross, Time, The Abolition of Man

Abstract/Description

C.S. Lewis was a professor of medieval and Renaissance literature, a children’s author, and an apologist. Out of the Silent Planet follows the adventures of Dr. Elwin Ransom on Mars, after he is kidnapped by the nefarious Dr. Weston and Mr. Devine. In Out of the Silent Planet, every facet of Lewis’s mind is hard at work. Out of the Silent Planet has enjoyed limited criticism; the purpose of this thesis is to engage in Lewis’s work uniquely. Lewis used the Medieval Model, described further in his works The Discarded Image and Studies in Medieval and Renaissance Literature, to evoke a sense of awe at the universe in Out of the Silent Planet. The villain of the novel, Dr. Weston, personifies concerns Lewis laid out in The Abolition of Man, and these concerns are relevant for us today, particularly regarding education. Weston represents humanist scienticism at the cost of objective morality. Devine represents immoral greed. A structuralist approach, which contextualizes Out of the Silent Planet in a larger body of Lewis’s work, demonstrates the importance of the Medieval Model on the imagination of Lewis, how Lewis’s characters (Ransom, Weston, and Devine) demonstrate philosophical ideas set forth by Lewis, and how the Professor used his stories to call his readers to action. Finally, Lewis used time to create both an old world, Malacandra, and a young world, Perelandra. Lewis establishes Earth in an age of urgency; readers should be on their guard; their every choice matters.

Download

Available for download on Saturday, May 10, 2031

Share

COinS