In most mainstream religious literature, the main characters are usually divinely appointed figures who overcome a temptation or trial. These characters are the heroes; however, what would the story look like from the opposite point of view? A man named C.S. Lewis wondered how that opposite view would manifest; thus, the character of Screwtape was created. Screwtape is a senior demon advising his young nephew (a demon and Junior Tempter) on the tempting and destruction of a British young man’s soul on earth during World War II. Screwtape’s letters (written to his nephew Wormwood) are collectively known as The Screwtape Letters. Screwtape’s letters advise Wormwood on how to tempt “the Patient” (the young man). The demons hope to eventually drag the Patient into Hell and feast upon the man’s soul. Screwtape has left a lasting impact on the religious community by making spiritual warfare seem personal. Not only is the individual soul fighting against sin’s evil, the individual soul is fighting against personal beings bent on taking and devouring their soul. Additionally, the concept of evil (made manifest in Screwtape’s letters) creates an atmosphere of awareness in the reader to the evils lurking throughout daily life, and generates a drive to combat those evils.
One of the evil structures Screwtape informs Wormwood (and the reader) about is the way Hell organizes the demons’ endeavors. Screwtape and his counterparts portray Hell as an organized entity in pursuit of one goal which can be summarized on page 45 of the novel: “To us a human is primarily food; our aim is the absorption of its will into ours, the increase of our own area of selfhood at its [the human soul’s] expense.” In a paper by Chad Stutz, Stutz discusses how Lewis reinterpreted views of the devil and how that is reflected in “The Screwtape Letters”. As Stutz explains this reinterpreted view of the Devil, he speaks on how Lewis drew upon “grotesque tradition” (210, 218) and presented a character that resembles figures like Hitler and Stalin (228). Stutz refers to this dictator of Hell and his counterparts as “a disciplined army of darkness” (216). Satan (and his cohorts) is a “figure driven by hatred and by what Lewis…deems a “hunger”.” (221). Choosing an older, perhaps forgotten version of an aggressive devil (hence the term “grotesque tradition”), Lewis gives the impression of evil lurking in life and systematically hungering for our demise.
On a first reading, this concept of a ravenous demon can disturb and leave lasting impressions upon the reader. Stutz’s comparison with Hitler and Stalin shows how these seemingly typical people (at first) enacted evil in a businesslike manner that was truly barbaric. The fact that the book was written during World War II influenced how Lewis wrote this version of the devil and his domain in order to provoke the greatest impact on the people of his era. Another aspect of note is that the reader has the general idea that Screwtape and His Father Below are ultimately going to lose; thus, the reader can have the hope that leaders like the two earthly ones will fall as well by the hand of “The Enemy”. Additionally, since the devil is made humanlike but not actually man, humans could be shocked at his grotesque objectives and desire to lead us slowly towards his objective to devour us at our more unguarded moments.
Although these demons are bent on devouring souls in a collective manner, Screwtape on his own has the attitude of “it’s not personal, it’s business” for most of the novel and even refers to this venture as a “game”. On pages 22, 120, and 129, Screwtape himself refers to this “game” in his letters to remind Wormwood about their fight to win the battle. Screwtape basically takes a serious venture and plays the whole process off as a game they want to win. Additionally, many individuals who have studied the story of Screwtape compare spiritual warfare to a game or contest. After playing Screwtape on the stage and studying the character, Mac Maclean commented that “I see [spiritual warfare] like an athletic contest in many ways, which I didn’t see before doing Screwtape.” (qtd. in Moring 47). After studying and revisiting the novel for an article he was writing, Raymond Potgieter saw the fallen nature of man as being “…the arena of demonic activity.” (7). The “game” has become a battle of strategy, like a gladiatorial battle; however, what is the strategy these evil forces will use to win this game?
To find the answer to the question of how these demons will win this game, the reader must search out the answer within the novel. Going back over the words of Screwtape, he tells Wormwood to “fuddle” the Patient (Lewis 14). Lewis has Screwtape explain to Wormwood that “Tortured fear and stupid confidence are desirable states of mind”, (76), that “Success here depends on confusing him,” (124) and that “false spirituality is always to be encouraged” (137). Screwtape tells Wormwood on page 12 to “Teach him [the Patient] to call it “real life” …” and do not let him ask what he means by “real.” As Screwtape uses the phrase “real life,” I was reminded of how people in my generation tell one another to “be authentic”; however, as we use these catchphrases, we do not fully understand what they really mean and are left wondering if we really are “authentic.”
Lewis is pointing out that these spiritual forces (perhaps even governmental organizations like Screwtape’s Hell) are using these little catchphrases to confuse us, so we have no idea what we are talking about or what “real life” really is. In William O’Flaherty’s analysis of the book, he writes that “He’s [sic] main craft is deception… the devil won’t try to convince you of anything… Jargon is the devil’s best ally, not argument.” (258). O’Flaherty’s use of the word jargon, combined with how Screwtape is advising Wormwood to have the Patient use phrases the young man knows nothing about, remind me of religious jargon. Christians use terms such as “born again” many times without explaining what that means, and can tell people they are born again without the individual knowing whether they truly are born again because no one explained it to them. Placing these methods together, Screwtape’s main strategy in this game is to confuse the Patient to the point of not knowing what is right and what is wrong.
Another important strategy of Screwtape is false spirituality (Lewis 137) and to ensure each “fool” has a double standard.” (22) With this double standard in mind, Wormwood is to have the Patient neglect the obvious and focus on inner, intellectual life (O’Flaherty 262). Additionally, Wormwood is to make “…his [the Patient’s] PRAYERS innocuous by keeping them spiritual” without taking his mother’s spiritual needs into account, and only pray for the annoying things she does (O’Flaherty 262). Screwtape wants the Patient in intellectual isolation and for the Patient to “…abandon the people or food or books he really likes in favour of the “best” people, the “right” food, the “important books.” (Lewis 69).
The main strategy is not only to confuse the Patient, but for the Patient not to know himself, his flaws, or failings. Additionally, Screwtape wishes “To get a man’s soul and give him nothing in return- that is what really gladdens our Father’s heart.” (49-50). The demons want the Patient to have a smooth life because “…the safest road to Hell is the gradual one- the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turning, without milestones, without signposts…” (65). A past patient of Screwtape arrived at Hell, and the patient said to Screwtape, “I now see that I spent most of my life doing neither what I ought nor what I liked.” These demons want the Patient to do nothing substantial with his life and to live life in self-centered ignorance of his surroundings or the fact that he is on a “Highway to Hell”, as one of Screwtape’s other patients unfortunately discovered.
Besides confusing the Patient, another tactic Screwtape employs is demeaning humans in his letters to Wormwood, to keep Wormwood’s attention on the task at hand. In response to Wormwood’s excitement over the deaths occurring due to the War, Screwtape brutally chastises the young devil, “I am not in the least interested in knowing how many people in England have been killed by bombs…Please keep your mind on your work.” (Lewis 125). As a further way of putting down humanity, he uses derogatory language and refers to humans as “vermin” (68). He does not view them as individuals but as “cattle who can finally become food…” (46). While Screwtape views them as cattle, he also views humans as foolish by commenting, “Your Patient, thanks to Our Father Below, is a fool.” (16). By putting the humans down as foolish and lifting his boss up as a master manipulator, Screwtape places himself and his cause on a pedestal and portrays humans as simpletons. Screwtape additionally advises Wormwood “To keep this game up, you and Glubose must see to it that each of these two fools [The Patient and the Patient’s Mother] have a sort of double standard.” (22). By adding another demon to the mix, Lewis shows that Screwtape’s game is not limited to Wormwood attempting to steal a soul. This game involves multiple demons collaborating to cause the downfall of not only one, but two human souls.
Why does Lewis introduce the reader to this game and this demon? In the preface of the novel, he writes about errors humans have in their thoughts about devils. “One is to disbelieve in their existence. The other is to believe, and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them.” (1). Lewis additionally tells the reader to “…remember that the devil is a liar. Not everything that Screwtape says should be assumed to be true even from his own angle.” (1) Although he writes these disclaimers in the preface, readers are still left reflecting on a horrifying demon who longs for nothing more but to satisfy his thirst for anguish by tormenting an individual’s soul (and leave them with a false version of reality and in constant states of confusion). By telling spiritual truths “upside down,” Lewis attempted to create spiritual awareness of inner warfare and the entire novel could be summarized as “reading your enemy’s mail that details what he thinks about you and what he is going to try to do to ruin your life.” (O’Flaherty 257). O’Flaherty believes the purpose in writing Screwtape was to assist the reader and provide insight into the devil’s plan and how to defend yourself from those spiritual attacks (258).
This insight into diabolical forces working against the individual not only informs the reader on spiritual warfare, but forces the reader to confront the fact that there is evil within this world bent on destroying human worth. Lewis’ devil is not only horrifyingly grotesque, but stalks souls that are unaware of his presence (Stutz 230). Raymond Potgieter admitted that these letters do fall into the fiction category, yet they can enrich and introduce to generations past, present, and future the gravity of not taking the spiritual warfare seriously (7). One concept that comes to mind is from a book Lewis studied vastly: “…we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” (King James Version, Eph. 6.12). In response to playing Screwtape on the stage, actor Max Maclean said: “I am so much more aware of Satan than I’ve ever been before…It’s like I know who the Enemy is now…” (qtd. in Moring 47).
In addition to taking spiritual warfare seriously, Screwtape causes the reader to take the fight of good versus evil with grave seriousness. Whatever the reader’s beliefs about the supernatural, the character of Screwtape and the world he presents leave lasting impressions which evoke both horror and awareness to the evil lurking in life. Considering the era and despicable acts being committed during World War II, Lewis created a character that people loved to hate and could personally fight against. The basic citizen could not fight and defeat figures such as Hitler or Stalin; however, they could fight the evil in their own life. Not only could they fight the battle against evil, they did not have to fight the battle alone. The Enemy of Screwtape’s story (God) would protect and guild the Patient throughout the story and eventually would take the Patient up to Heaven. Because Screwtape’s story ended with the Patient escaping Wormwood’s clutches and preserving the Patient’s soul, the war-worn citizens could have the hope that evil would not win at the end if they stayed strong. Thus, if the citizens remained on the path of righteousness, people such as Hitler and Stalin would not win in the end and would fall as all evildoers do. The love Screwtape bitterly despises throughout his letters and cannot understand will triumph and lead people such as the Patient to a nobler, brighter life.
Works Cited
Lewis, C.S. The Screwtape Letters. Book-of-The-Month Club, Inc., Macmillion and Harcourt, pp. 5-160.
Moring, Mark. “Devilish and Divine.” Christianity Today, vol. 53, no. 3, Mar. 2009, pp. 44-47. EBSCOhost, proxy.hvcc.edu:2048/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=rlh&AN=36837433&site=ehost-live.
O’Flaherty, William. C.S. Lewis Goes to Hell. Hamden, Connecticut: Winged Lion Press, 2016. pp. 257-262
Potgieter, Raymond. “Revisiting C.S. Lewis’ Screwtape Letters of 1941 and Exploring Their Relation to ‘Screwtape Proposes a Toast’.” In Die Skriflig, vol. 50, no. 1, 2016, pp. E1-E8. EBSCOhost, doi:10.4102/ids.v50i1.2168.
Stutz, Chad. “No “Sombre Satan”: C. S. Lewis, Milton, and Re-Presentations of the Diabolical.” Religion & the Arts, vol. 9, no. 3/4, Sept. 2005, pp. 208-234. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1163/156852905775008804.
The A.W. Tozer Bible. King James Version. Hendrickson Marketing Publishers, 2012. p. 1382.