A Christian Perspective on Love in the Fiction of C. S. Lewis

The work deals with the theme of Christian love and its literary depiction in C. S. Lewis's novel Till We Have Faces. Its aim is to analyze and describe the character and essence of true love as it emerges from the content of this work and the life stories of its protagonists. Evidence that the values depicted in Till We Have Faces largely reflect Christian theological perspectives on love is provided by comparing them with the teaching of Deus caritas est — the encyclical of Pope Benedict XVI on Christian love. The content of the work therefore begins with a basic introduction to the Christian understanding of love as formulated by Deus caritas est. This provides a framework for interpreting the theme of love in Till We Have Faces, which consists of identifying and analyzing the motifs that the two texts have in common. The intention of the work is rooted in the idea of communicating important ethical and Christian values through the artistic experience that fiction literature offers. In connection with this, the theoretical section also includes an insight into this issue, particularly in the context of C. S. Lewis's creative method. The ambition of the work is to create a foundation and space for the development of specific didactic material drawn from the text of Till We Have Faces, usable in the school teaching of religious education.