Concurrent Paper Session 5A: The Long Dark Vale/Veil

\u27Good Death\u27: What C.S. Lewis Learned from Phantastes - Edwin Woodruff Tait In recounting his adolescent discovery of George MacDonald\u27s Phantastes, the adult C. S. Lewis described the salient quality he found in the book as good death. In this paper, I will examine what Lewis meant by this cryptic phrase. I will look at sources that inspired MacDonald himself, such as Plato\u27s saying that the life of a philosopher is nothing other than learning to die, and the New Testament\u27s many references to identification with Christ\u27s death as a means of salvation. I will also trace the theme of good death in Lewis\u27s own writings, including The Great Divorce, The Chronicles of Narnia, and The Pilgrim\u27s Regress. A Passive Darkness: The Veil in \u27Cock-Crowing\u27 and Till We Have Faces - Grace Seeman \u27Is Yellow Square or Round?\u27: How Dead People Changed C.S. Lewis\u27s Theology - Jennifer Woodruff Tait C. S. Lewis is famous for many things: apologetics, fantasy literature, literary criticism. In this paper, I will argue that he is also worth notice as a theologian of grief. I will look at some of Lewis\u27s most famous statements about death and dying—whether in nonfiction, fiction, letters, or poetry—and focus particularly on the relationship of those statements to three important deaths in his life: Flora Hamilton Lewis, Charles Williams, and Joy Davidman Lewis. There Are No Ordinary (Dead) People - Joe Rick