Customer Reviews

Lilith

5 star:		(40)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The arena of twentieth century British Christian fiction, which includes authors from Chesterton to Auden to C.S. Lewis, appears to owe a great deal to George MacDonald, whose Victorian fantasy as demonstrated in "Lilith" has a primitive and dark undercurrent. Nightmarish yet optimistic, "Lilith" is possibly the most vivid life-after-death parable since Dante's Divine Comedy.

The protagonist and first-person narrator is an excitable man named Mr. Vane who lives in an old house that has been in his family for generations. One day he notices an odd creature making its way through the library; this turns out to be the birdlike Mr. Raven, who introduces him to a mysterious world beyond a magic mirror stored in the garret of the house. A more modern author might be tempted to give this world a name to distinguish it from the real one, but to MacDonald it is merely an extension of Mr. Vane's conscience.

Mr. Vane is understandably frightened of but fascinated by this world. Part of it appears to be a realm of the Dead where skeletal apparitions dance and fight as though they were still living; part a forest where stupid, brutal giants and innocent, benevolent "little ones" share their habitats; part a murky moor where leopardesses roam in search of babies to eat and enchanting women are to be found. At the center of this world, embodying its evil, commanded by an entity known as the "Shadow," is the demon princess Lilith, a direct allusion to the Assyrian goddess and to the legend of Adam's first wife.

As a guide to this netherworld, Mr. Raven acts as a kind of Virgil to Mr. Vane's Dante; the structure of the story has a vague analogy to the sequence of Inferno, Purgatory, and Paradise. Mr. Vane's role is less clear; he could be considered a crusader against evil or an emissary of the living in the land of the dead. However, I wouldn't want to restrict my interpretation to a religious allegory because the novel works as pure mythology, although supplementary to Judeo-Christian theology.

For all his antiquated, overly formal prose, MacDonald displays a very poetic sensibility for symbolism; for example, he personifies the sun as "he" and the moon as "she," as if they were a married pair of celestial luminaries. There is also an implied notion of a library as a gateway to the imaginations of the innumerable deceased, which is a comforting thought that connotes potential immortality through the written word. If nothing else, "Lilith" functions as a bridge between two enduring traditions -- imaginative classic literature and twentieth century fantasy.

Rich in symbolism, steeped in paradox, this is a tale of a man's journey and his coming to terms with the frailty of humanity when it is seen in the light of God. MacDonald never hides the basis of his paradigm--that there is a God who loves us, who knows better than we do what is best for us--rather, he weaves it into a rich tapestry of adventure wherein key characters make known the paradox that is at the heart of Chrisitianity: he who would be first must be last.

This is not an easy read. And, truly, anyone who is not willing to accept that an author may expound his faith through the words and deeds of his characters--indeed, through the fatherly nature of the narative itself--will little likely enjoy reading this tale. But to those who are ready to dive in to the heart of a realm of paradox in an attempt to better know the God that MacDonald worshiped, this may very well be a life-changing story.

I am not a man given to favorites. But no other work has colored my life so beautifully as MacDonald's LILITH. And no other story is more dear to my heart.

I don't think I even know how many times I've read this novel as it is truely my favorite. Each and every time I do, however, I see something I missed or understand something about the world I didn't understand or see previously. I am an avid fantasy reader but no author of the hundreds of fantasy novels I've read can even touch the world that George MacDonald creates in Lilith. The fact that it was written in the 1800's boggles the mind considering the depth that the author goes into theory of parallel universe and basic perception of "who" you are. From a Christian perspective, I think the word "pure" is what comes to mind often when reading this novel or Phantasies. George MacDonald also has several childrens stories which my nephews love, The Light Princess for instance. Whether your reading for spiritual reasons or strictly for a wonderous journey in the world of fantasy George MacDonald is, as C.S. Lewis said, "The Master".

I would give 5 stars, but for the fact that MacDonald's writing can get a bit hard to follow - others have said this better than I. But the story has stuck with me long after I finished the book. I have read C.S. Lewis' Pilgrim's Regress many times, and I can see the influence of MacDonald on his writings. The Madeline L'Engle quote on the back cover says it beautifully: "Surely, George MacDonald is the grandfather of us all - all of us who struggle to come to terms with truth through fantasy."

I want to address comments by the reviewer who felt the worldview was "clearly Universalistic" and not appropriate for Christians. I almost didn't finish the book based on his comments, but I am glad now that I did and could form my own impressions.

His statement is pure projection from my observation. Up until the end, free will determines whether a person is "good" - and that is the free will to be willing to die - completely - before one can became "changed" by God. I even re-read the ending to see if I could find out why this reviewer posted this, and I cannot.

He also felt Lilith's repentance was forced. Was Paul's conversion on the Road to Damascus voluntary, or forced? Was Jonah's repentance forced? The repentance of Lilith was not forced any more than these examples. But (I am putting my impressions of what the allegory means) God was fed up with the damage she was causing, and intervened to stop her evil. She had a choice to either repent, or to be destroyed. It was the end of the line, so to speak. She very nearly chose destruction.

Finally, he states that MacDonald believes Satan will eventually repent. I believe he refers to Chapter XL in the scene where Lilith is afraid to lie down and sleep the sleep of death - which is really living (dying to self - and it takes time to perfect us to life) - she fears the return of the Shadow. From http://www.online-literature.com/view.php/lilith/41/

"When the Shadow comes here, it will be to lie down and sleep also.--His hour will come, and he knows it will."

"How long shall I sleep?"

"You and he will be the last to wake in the morning of the universe."

And a bit later, as the sun rises and the Shadow is forced to depart: "It is the great Shadow stirring to depart. Wretched creature, he has himself within him, and cannot rest!"

"But is there not in him something deeper yet?" I asked.

"Without a substance," he answered, "a shadow cannot be -yea, or without a light behind the substance!"

I feel the reviewer has placed a negative theological interpretation that may or may not be what was in MacDonald's mind. There is no mention of how the Shadow will come to his hour, or what will happen when his hour comes. One would have to infer that.

At the end, Mr. Vane does wake up from his dream, and realizes it was a vision. This WAS a vision, not direct theological text.

I completely agree with him that the most important theme to a Christian is that true life is reached through death to self. About two thirds of the way through the book, I almost quit. Mr. Vane's repeated pig-headed refusal to "die" to his self, his headstrong following of his own will in spite of disastrous results, reminded me of how hard it is to die to our selves, even as we know we MUST, that we cannot enter into life without that self death. The point where I stopped was a point where Vane was metaphorically saying, "Okay, I know now that I am Yours, and I will need to face this death to self, but let me exercise MY will and do what my nature wants to do just this one more time before I give in." My discomfort with this may very well be the fact that Christians face this choice all their lives.

The theme of whether we are predestined to salvation / repentance or exercise free will is a huge theological issue that is about as understandable as how God can be three but one or how he could be timeless, omniscient, omnipresent, etc. I believe it is one of those issues we must take on faith, that our human understanding cannot fully comprehend this aspect of God, so it is fruitless to argue. MacDonald's allegory, I feel, beautifully represented both of these spiritual principles in comfortable proximity to each other. People who feel strongly polarized to one or the other may be uncomfortable with and criticize this proximity.

I agree one should not read this *for* theology (get that straight from your Bible), but I disagree that it is "unbiblical."

I hope that helps anyone else interested in MacDonald's writings and their influence on generations of writers after him.

This is the story of a man wandering through a dream-world -- or perhaps, out of our world of dreams. (Macdonald's story puts an interesting spin on the ancient Chinese riddle.) Whether dream or awakening, you may have to wander for a while before you get your bearings. The whole book works a strange magic on the susceptible reader, but it may take me a few more journeys to figure it out very well.

MacDonald tells his story, or weaves his magic, for a deeper part of the soul than most authors attempt to reach. There is a good kind of weird going on here: a raven who is a librarian, a moon that protects a traveler, a cat woman whose scratches heal. The villains in this book are nasty indeed, though Macdonald shows how pain and loss (which he embodies with some ghastly images) can bring about the worst person's redemption. (His thoughts on that subject bring to mind another image of hell, "the death room" of a communist prison camp where the Jewish pastor Richard Wurmbrand lived for two and a half years. "Fascists, Communists, saints, murderers, thieves, priests," he said, "none died without making his peace with God and man." So there is some empirical base for his hopes; though perhaps less Scriptural.)

This book is not for everyone -- it is not "science fiction," but fantasy, a genre some people cannot abide. A couple good companion volumes would be C. S. Lewis' The Great Divorce, and M. Scott Peck's The People of the Lie, both of which contain related insights into the nature of The Great Choice. (In fact, in the former, Lewis makes Macdonald his guide to heaven and hell.) ...

LILITH is best considered in the context of MacDonald's life, and remembering his earlier work PHANTASTES. PHANTASTES he wrote as a young man (35), LILITH he wrote at age 85. LILITH presents the maturity of the thoughts he introduced in PHANTASTES. To try to understand either work outside his religion (Christianity) would not do them justice. LILITH is considered a dark romance, but I don't think MacDonald would have called it so. It is full of a strange, mystical Christian hope; it is the tale of a spiritual journey, of dreams and visions just beyond our conscious reckoning -- always haunting us with the nagging question of whether our dreams are more real than what we call reality. The tale begins with a young man, Mr. Vane, come of age, and into the inheritance of a great estate. Mr. Vane is a man given to both inquiry and reflection. As he peruses the great library of books and manuscripts collected by his ancestors, his perception of reality is challenged and stretched to include, among other things, a talking raven. The raven becomes his guide into another world, strange to behold; the realm of the seven dimensions and the ten senses, MacDonald calls it. (What ever could he mean?) LILITH is introduced well into the work, an emaciated being near death, until Mr. Vane unwittingly nurses her back to health. MacDonald certainly patterns her after the demon of Jewish folklore for whom she is named. All the demon's traits are apparent: cold beauty, fierce pride, seduction, hatred of men and children, even vampirism. C.S. Lewis also picked up on this theme of the wicked female protagonist. In THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE he tells us the White Witch is descended from Lilith. As Mr. Vane bounces back and forth between physical and spiritual dimensions, he is confronted by the fact that he can do no good of himself. His futile attempts to prove his worth bring him sorrow and defeat, as when he leads a group of innocent children out of ignorance and simplicity to a city where their leader is murdered by her own estranged mother (Lilith). The raven's insistence that Mr. Vane sleep before he can be of any use or value is incomprehensible to Mr. Vane, so he continues his various exploits, each ending is greater despair. Finally, Mr. Vane agrees if sleep is what is required, that he must do. But when he discovers the raven's idea of sleep is to repose lifeless in a cold, dark catacomb full of ageless corpses for time unknown, Mr. Vane is not so willing. All of MacDonald's writing is heavy with Christian allegory. Deciphering his meaning is not a light undertaking. That he perceives death as a temporary state, where one emerges new as a butterfly transformed from a caterpillar is clear enough. That a true spiritual man must cease from his own labor (die to self), and rest in God's peace may be an interpretation of MacDonald's notions of sleep and death, but already I feel I am off solid ground. Mr. Vane's struggle with Lilith, is a most important theme. Lilith reminded me of scriptural references to Jezebel (both Old and New Testaments), and the harlot of Proverbs, and a few other seducers besides. I began to wonder: if Satan is the Father of Lies, might Lilith be The Mother of Harlots? Strange and mysterious, wrapped in secrecy, beguiling and subtle, she draws her victims near and feeds upon their strength, all the while narcotically enamoring them of her presence. (Mr. Vane plays the dupe as his life is drained by a white worm while he nurses Lilith back to health.) Certain passages are unforgettable, which may be good or bad, depending on your frame of mind when you read them. The warring dance of skeletons comes to mind, with their lid less eyes revealing their uncloaked passions to all who would see, and Lilith presiding over their deaths shouting, "Ye are men, slay one another!" But don't let me convince you LILITH is merely a dark tale of terror. MacDonald also, seasons it with passages of unique warmth and beauty. Reading LILITH, is like taking an adventurous journey, the likes of which I have never even come close to with a contemporary author. Fascinating? YES. Comforting? Definitely NOT. Worth the trip? Most assuredly!

Deep, philosophical, spiritual, this is one of the best books I've read all year. It made me think about my beliefs and offered so much insight into Christianity, although not conventional views. The story explores the battle between good and evil. MacDonald's conclusion to this struggle is utterly profound. "Annihilation itself is no death to evil. Only good where evil was, is evil dead. An evil thing must live with its evil until it chooses to be good. That alone is the slaying of evil." This story captures the heart of forgiveness, redemption, and that of the Christian God. This book is not for everyone and it wasn't an easy read, but if you like to reflect on spiritual and philosophical issues, this book was written for you.

I had mixed feelings after reading "Lilith."

On the literary side, I strongly recommend this book. MacDonald has a way with words that leaves one with an incredibly clear picture of what he's trying to portray, no matter how extraordinary the scenario. This is hard to explain, as he isn't a particularly good writer; his words, although somewhat jumbled, still get the images across clearly. The scene in which the main character reaches out for the butterfly, which promptly turns into a dead book in his hands, is among the most wonderful bits of imagery I have read. Although the story becomes confusing if not read closely and the characters switch into a very heavy-handed King James-like formal prose from time to time, MacDonald makes his creative genius clear in this novel.

However, if you hold to the teachings of orthodox Christianity (as I do), you may find yourself disappointed by the clearly Universalistic leanings in the story. The inhabitants of MacDonald's world, no matter how evil, will all invariably turn to good in the end (though some more slowly than others). I was unsatisfied with Lilith's "repentance;" it seemed rather that she was being forced against her wishes to become good. It is even said of The Shadow, who, I take, represents the devil, that he will eventually repent. While there are many good themes throughout the book, most notably that true life is reached through death to self, the unbiblical elements of "Lilith" put a damper on the book for me, as I went in with the knowledge that MacDonald was a Christian and therefore expected the worldview of the book to follow orthodox Christianity.

In short, read the book for the imagery and mythology, not the theology.

MacDonald's fantasy novel is actually the best modern treatment of what St. Gregory of Nyssa's theology of Apocatastasis (Universal Salvation) would be like, worked out in reality. I have recommended this novel to several students & colleagues for just such a purpose. This book, together with the writings of St. Gregory of Nyssa and of the Russian Philosopher Nicholas Berdyaev make the best case for how such a concept could be integrated into orthodox Christian thought, preserving both the free will of the creature and the loving universal salvific will of the Creator.

The real _masterpieces_ of fantasy, as opposed to the "entertaining reads," are not numerous. This is one of the masterpieces. It is not a perfect book, but it belongs in the company of the greatest, such as

The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion (Tolkien); Out of the Silent Planet, Perelandra, That Hideous Strength, and Till We Have Faces (Lewis); The Man Who Was Thursday (Chesterton); A Wizard of Earthsea (Le Guin); The Owl Service (Garner); Titus Groan and Gormenghast (Peake)... books of that caliber.

Don't miss MacDonald's magnificent tales such as "The Day Boy and the Night Girl" and "The Golden Key."

Read MacDonald's Lilith. If you are so moved, read it in conjunction with the detailed, free study guide available at the MacDonald "Golden Key" website: