Em Christine Dodge

Green Lady discovers her role on the planet and freely chooses a path that, unlike Eve, preserves paradise. Parallel to Eden, the woman is given free choice to determine the course of their paradise and the Green Lady’s recognition of her role reveals the freedom in it. Thus, Muth starts a discussion that, unbeknownst to her, runs parallel to the perichoretic nature of the Trinity. For example, she draws into the necessity of free will and willful submission (or subordination) under God’s goodness that is displayed through the hierarchy of creation (Muth 28). She states a compelling observation on how “Eve is subordinate to Adam and accepts that role voluntarily and happily as a part of her love for him” and is not demeaned or made inferior in importance (Muth 29). Muth’s focal points on gender run parallel to the perichoretic relationship within the Trinity, where a hierarchy is situated between the persons of God. Neither one is greater than the other, but there is a willful subordination for the higher beloved. In this case, the Green Lady’s willful acceptance of her role is a restoring image of Eve’s failure. Furthermore, her observation of human agency within the realm of creation offers a perspective on God’s grand plan for the universe. Furthermore, critics give guidelines on approaching Lewis’s works and his literary perception of the world. In Grace Tiffany’s article, “C.S. Lewis: The Anti-Platonic Platonist,” she touches on the nature of Lewis’s writings and how he was influenced by Platonic thinking (Tiffany 357). She highlights Lewis’s attempts to portray Christian truths through many of his writings and their Platonic influences. In the context of the research, she gives a necessary guideline on how to approach Lewis’s literature. Many of Lewis’s writings act to impart the truth through means of reflection as seen in his metaphors (Tiffany 359). Rather than stating the obvious fact, it must be experienced or drawn in a light that makes it experiential for the soul. Her statement can be drawn upon the metaphor of the Great Dance and other imagery within Perelandra. What occurs in these crafted worlds is meant to point towards an absolute good by Lewis. Therefore, Tiffany states, “None of these imagined heaves has any Biblical authority” but literary imagination are tools that “we are given for seeking heaven” (Tiffany 366). Tiffany’s perception helps in the conversation on perichoresis and the Great Dance metaphor within Perelandra. The Great Dance serves as a tool to imagine the perichoretic nature of God and creation, which gives reason to focus on its importance in the conversation of the critics. Therefore, I would propose that Lewis’s reconciliation of free will and preordination is done through his metaphorical use of perichoresis in the Great Dance. The characters of Ransom, Weston, and the Green Lady act as constituents to demonstrate the perichoretic nature of God and creation within Perelandra.

Ransom serves as the main player to demonstrate the entrance into the Great Dance. When Ransom argues with the voluble self about the battle set by Maleldil, he states, “What was the sense of so arranging things that

anything really important should finally and absolutely depend on such a man of straw as himself?” (Lewis 117). By Ransom’s question, one can note a certain dilemma about the will of man and God. Ransom recognizes his role in God’s plan alongside his free will to not act as an agent for it. But Maleldil has made room in His movement for Ransom to join Him in His plans, though it seems planless to Ransom. Ransom’s act of joining is predicated upon the submission of his free will through faith in Maleldil. The actions of the Green Lady and Ransom determine the preservation of paradise, which God preordained for them to decide. However, he does not know how to proceed but questions if this was what Maleldil was planning. Ransom’s doubts ceased when he concludes, “All that was being demanded of him was a general and preliminary resolution to oppose the Enemy in any mode which circumstances might show to be desirable…‘to do his best’” (Lewis 117). Ransom’s resolution is predicated upon the action of free will and faith. It is a submissive recognition of God’s movement working through his free choice. The perichoretic movement lures him in as he recognizes God’s plan and his own will in it. Furthermore, this statement is fulfilled by one of the voices on the mountain stating, “‘All that is made seems planless to the darkened mind, because there are more plans than it looked for... Set your eyes on one movement and it will lead you through all patterns and it will seem to you the master movement...There seems no plan because it is all plan: there seems no centre because it is all centre. Blessed be He!’” (Lewis 184). Ransom’s prior revelation is fulfilled in the Great Dance. The act of setting your eyes on the perichoretic movement reconciles God’s preordination and man’s free will. Ransom realizes, “Each figure as he looked at it became the master-figure or focus of the whole spectacle, by means of which his eye disentangled all else and brought it into unity” (Lewis 184). The statement on how each figure became the master-figure evokes the perichoretic invitation of free will in God’s plan. Ransom became the “master-figure” by which God gave him the freedom to direct the fate of Perelandra. However, God remained the lead dancer as He ultimately directs the movement of creation. In his actions, Ransom is brought into a greater depth of unity with Maleldil as he recognizes his own role in the world. The division of free will and preordination is blurred by Lewis as a man of straw was made the master-figure. Therefore, it stands to reason the need to bring the concept of perichoresis into this discussion because it illuminates Lewis’s attempts to align the will of man and God. Through a perichoretic lens, Weston serves as the opposing current towards the entrance into the Great Dance. As God draws in all of creation into his movement, the Devil lures creation away. During their early conversation, Weston hints at a certain movement when he states, “There’s such a thing as the main current...It’s a question of surrendering yourself to that — making yourself the conductor of the live, fiery, central purpose — becoming the very finger