(1943) is a sequel to C. S. Lewis's earlier novel,
Out of the Silent Planet(1938). Like the earlier story, its central character is Elwin Ransom. In the earlier story Ransom was kidnapped by Edward Rolles Weston and Richard Devine and taken to Mars (known in the universal language, Old Solar, as Malacandra). Weston is a scientist bent on preserving the human race by establishing colonies on other planets; Devine financed Weston's explorations in hopes of profiting from them by bringing back spaceships filled with gold.
In Perelandra Ransom is taken to Venus (Perelandra) not in a space ship but in a coffin-like container which whisks him off by supernatural power. The coffin image is important: only by a willing death to self can he undertake what is to follow. He arrives on a
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Citation: Schakel, Peter. "Perelandra". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 27 June 2003 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=12306, accessed 21 November 2024.]
