The Inner Ring

 

I just finished reading a small collection of C. S. Lewis addresses, The Weight of Glory, I enjoyed the entire collection, but one of the addresses struck me more than the others: "The Inner Ring".

In that address he uses a passage from War and Peace to examine hierarchies, and more specifically, "inner rings". The inner rings include the people who are "they," "that gang," "the caucus"; they are the elite, the ones who are in the know and who have been accepted. Many of us strive to be a part of the inner rings in various parts of our lives. But even if we achieve acceptance, it can be easily lost as the requirements shift, or we change and grow

And sometimes, gaining entry into the inner circle requires us to compromise, to cut off others who are not part of the inner ring even if they were once important in our lives, and sometimes to engage in questionable even immoral acts. If we are aware, we might come to realize the error of this effort. If we are not aware, we might be lost.

I was reminded of the movie The Last Picture Show. One of the characters, Jacy, wants to be part of a group that is somewhat libertine and socially more elite in nature than the set to which her current boyfriend, Duane, belongs. One of the wealthy young men in the elite group, makes advances, but then refuses to have sex with her because she is a virgin. She then gets Duane to take her to a motel to have sex - even though she does not love him and is simply using him. Now no longer a virgin, she hopes for the wealthy young man to accept her, but he has already moved on.

She loses her virginity in a manipulative way bereft of love on her part, sins, uses a boy who likes her, all to gain acceptance to an inner circle. She spirals downward after this.

Lewis points on that "the quest of the Inner Ring will break your hearts unless you break it." You do things for the pleasure of ding it, not because it will gain you entry. You will find people you actually like to be with, as opposed to people you are with because just because they are the "right" people whom you may not actually like. You do things that you like with the people whom you like. "This is friendship. Aristotle placed it among the virtues. It causes perhaps half of all the happiness in the world, and no Inner Ringer can ever have it."

Good advice. I wish I had received it when I was younger and, sadly, got caught up in trying to be part of some unhealthy inner rings. Fortunately, though, being a natural outsider, I escaped those inner rings before it got too late!

************* 

Last post I talked about C. S. Lewis and Catholicism. I mentioned that I had not read Pearce's book C. S. Lewis and the Catholic Church. After finishing The Weight of Glory, I began reading it.  

C. S. Lewis and the Catholic Church

 

I'm currently reading The Weight of Glory a small collection of addresses by C. S. Lewis. As I was reading, I thought about how many times I've heard/read folks who wished that he had become a Catholic, and speculation about why he did not come home to Rome. I even own a book by Joseph Pearce talking about Lewis and the Catholic Church called, appropriately, C. S. Lewis and the Catholic Church. (I have not read it yet - mea culpa).

Lewis was an Anglican, starting out in the Church of Ireland. But he had Catholic friends - particularly J. R. R. Tolkien, who was a devout Catholic. His return to faith was heavily influenced by G. K. Chesterton. And he accepted some Catholic beliefs - such as Purgatory and invocation of the saints. He seemed to be moving in a Catholic direction. But never actually crossed the Tiber 

So what stopped him from taking the plunge?

I've seen a number of theories.

One was that he retained some anti-Catholic prejudices from his youth in Belfast, where there were strong feelings among Protestants about Catholics. Indeed, he himself reportedly mentioned that as one reason.

Lewis also said that while he accepted some Catholic beliefs, there were some he did not accept, like papal infallibility and some teachings about Mary. 

And while he was a Christian apologist - a proponent of "mere Christianity", that is, basic Christianity - he did not view himself as a theologian and avoided theological debates over specific issues. 

I have another thought on the matter. When he married Joy Davidman, a divorced woman. In the 1950s, the Church would have frowned on such a marriage. So, I wonder if that helped to prevent him from taking the final step.

Whatever the reason - or combination of reasons - Lewis did not become Catholic. But he remains a favorite spiritual writer among Catholics, including me. 

 

Movie Adaptations

 

I am a bit of a movie buff. So naturally I'm aware that some of the works of Chesterton, Tolkien, and Lewis have inspired movies and television shows. I have to admit I have not seen them all. I've also wondered about some of the works that have not been given film or theatrical treatment.

Chesterton's Father Brown has been the subject of film, and several television series. Alec Guiness played Father Brown in the 1954 movie Father Brown - released in the U.S. as The Detective. I enjoyed that film. There was apparently a 1934 movie, Father Brown, Detective. I have not seen that one, nor have I seen the 1979 television movie with Father Brown transplanted to Manhattan in the 1970s, Sanctuary of Fear.

I am aware to two television series based on Father Brown. There was a 13-episode one back in 1974, and the more recent BBC one that started in 2013 and is continuing. I have not seen the former; I've seen a few episodes of the latter, which is set in the 1950's. It's okay, but not enough to inspire me to watch it regularly. 

And there was an EWTN one episode Father Brown, "The Honor Of Gabriel Gow".

I know there are others out there, including ones in foreign languages. But it's safe to say Father Brown has drawn interest for adaptation.

One other work by Chesterton has apparently been made into film, The Man Who Was Thursday in 2016. I have not seen it but based on the reviews I've seen it's very loosely based on Chesterton's novel, and it sounds like a movie I don't care to see.

I'd like to see a good adaptation of The Man Who Was Thursday. I also would like to see an adaptation of The Napoleon of Notting Hill. 

With Tolkien we obviously have Peter Jackson's magnificent The Lord of the Rings trilogy, and his less successful trilogy, The Hobbit. There was also a Rankin/Bass animated version back in 1977. 

One story by Tolkien I'd love to see get a treatment - probably as a television show - is "Leaf by Niggle."

Again, there are others out there, but I do not know them.

As for Lewis, from 1988-90 the BBC adapted four of the books into three series. I watched them with my daughters and have fond memories of them - especially of Tom Baker's Puddleglum in the adaptation of The Silver Chair. 

Between 2005 and 2010 there were three live action films - with special effects for man of the Narnian characters. They were enjoyable, but plans to film more films fell through. I'd love to see a couple more.

There have been some play adaptations of The Screwtape Letters. I'd love to see a movie treatment.

 As far as I know, there have been no film adaptations of Lewis's science fiction trilogy - I'd love to see Out of the Silent Planet and That Hideous Strength adapted. I think Till We Have Faces could also be adapted.

As I've admitted repeatedly, I don't know all the adaptations. There may be some good ones out there with which I'm not familiar. 

Michael D. O'Brien - An Honorary Inkling?

I just finished Michael's D. O'Brien's latest book, Letter to the Future. Of the books I've read by him it was not his best, but it was still good, and far better than most popular fiction today. 

I was amused to see the protagonist was a fan of Chesterton, and that his uncle whose cabin he goes to includes works by Chesterton and Tolkien on his bookshelf.

It occurred to me as I read that O'Brien, a devout Catholic convert with a love of the classics, a concern with the secular government becoming totalitarian and repressing religious people, and the faith-filled nature of his fiction, might have fit in with the Inklings. I can imagine him sharing his works with the members of that illustrious group. 

And though Chesterton was not an Inkling, he did influence and inspire them. As an artist - O'Brien illustrates the covers of his books - he might have had a lively discussion about art with Gilbert, that noted doodler and former art student. 

Moreover, O'Brien's views about literature, children's literature, and the culture, are certainly in line with those of both Chesterton and the Inklings. 

I first encountered O'Brien back in the 1990s when I read Father Elijah: An Apocalypse and interviewed him for an article for the diocesan newspaper. The book was one of a number of such works that came out at the time filled with concern about society and the threats of government control guided by the antichrist/Satan. 

I later read others of his works. Eclipse of the Sun and Plague Journal continued with his apocalyptic/dystopian concerns, as does Letter to the Future. 

I also read The Fool of New York City, The Lighthouse, and By the Waters of Babylon, books that did not dwell on dystopian notions. I've heard that The Lighthouse (my favorite book by him) might even be developed into a movie.

The premise of Letter to the Future is the government and the culture are increasingly attacking people of faith. Indoctrination in schools, medical assistance in dying, censorship, and more dark forces with which we are currently dealing are all introduced. A group of devout Catholics are drawn together after having dreams/visions, and head to the mountain cabin of the protagonist's late uncle. Along the way they face the growing chaos and violence taking over society, but also find others who share their calling, or who need to be rescued. A community forms, with faith and friendship at its core. So, when the inevitable "apocalypse" comes, they have the means and necessary support to survive and thrive.

The book is a hope-filled one, not dark and cynical like too much dystopian fiction. 

I enjoyed the book. It is well-written. The characters are interesting - though there come to be so many of them that I got a bit confused (that may be my weakness). Given that he's dealt with some of these themes before it seemed less original, which in one of the reasons I say it's not his best. 

Still, well worth reading.

O'Brien is one of the few contemporary writers I always read with pleasure. Good thing I have a few more books by him on my bookshelf waiting to be read.

Meanwhile, I nominate O'Brien to be an honorary Inkling.

Chesterton Books Read

The March/April issue of Gilbert contained Part II of Geir Hasnes' article "How Much Did Chesterton Write?"

I read it with interest. Very comprehensive. Very challenging!

I have many of the books and collections he mentions - I tend to collect all the books I can of favorite writers - but I wondered how many of them I have actually read. Of these I am certain:

Saint Thomas Aquinas: The Dumb Ox 
St. Francis of Assisi

Orthodoxy 
The Everlasting Man

The Poet and the Lunatics 
The Scandal of Father Brown 
The Secret of Father Brown 
The Innocence of Father Brown
The Incredulity of Father Brown
The Wisdom of Father Brown

The Man Who Was Thursday 
The Flying Inn 
The Ball and the Cross 
Manalive 
The Napoleon of Notting Hill

The Surprise 
The Judgement of Dr. Johnson 
The Turkey and the Turk 
What You Won’t 
Magic 

The Ballad of the White Horse 
Lepanto: With Explanatory Notes and Commentary 
The Wild Knight and Other Poems
The Coloured Lands 
G. K. Chesterton’s Early Poetry

Autobiography 

What's Wrong With the World
In Defense of Sanity: The Best Essays of G. K. Chesterton
Chesterton in Black and White
Tremendous Trifles
The Well and the Shallows

There are also some individual essays and poems that I have read. 

Among my reading goals for this year is to read at least one book by him that I have not yet read. I have read several plays so far, but not a book per se. Fortunately, I have several shelves of books by him!  

I Get Cheesy (Browning Clerihew)

 

Gilbert magazine graciously published one of my clerihews in its March/April issue.

Elizabeth Barrett Browning
sat in her parlor frowning.
Robert had bought her something labeled "Serra da Estrela cheese,"
that clearly wasn't Portuguese.

By way of explanation, Elizabeth Barrett Browning is famous for her collection of 44 love sonnets, Sonnets from the Portuguese. "My little Portuguese" was a pet name given her by her husband, Robert Browning. The sonnets were her love poems to and inspired by him.

Serra da Estrela cheese is a special kind of cheese made in Portugal. Under the name "Queijo Serra da Estrela" it is a Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) in the European Union and in the United Kingdom.

Here's one of the most famous sonnets in the collection

How Do I Love Thee? (Sonnet 43)
Elizabeth Barrett Browning

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of being and ideal grace.
I love thee to the level of every day’s
Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light.
I love thee freely, as men strive for right.
I love thee purely, as they turn from praise.
I love thee with the passion put to use
In my old griefs, and with my childhood’s faith.
I love thee with a love I seemed to lose
With my lost saints. I love thee with the breath,
Smiles, tears, of all my life; and, if God choose,
I shall but love thee better after death.

(Blessed) Fulton Sheen and Chesterton

 

Archbishop Fulton Sheen has been in the news lately. The Vatican has announced he will be beatified September 24 in St. Louis. 

"Blessed" Sheen was a fan of Chesterton, and the two even met.

I was reminded of something Dale Ahlquist wrote a couple of years ago:

In addition to being a radio and television personality, Sheen was a popular author. He wrote over 30 books that were bestsellers. But his first book is less well-known. It was his doctoral thesis. He had the bright idea that it would be more attractive to a publisher if it had an introduction by a famous writer. Like G.K. Chesterton. Sheen recalled the encounter:

My first meeting was when I asked him to write the preface to my book God and Intelligence. Chesterton said, “I know nothing about Philosophy.” I retorted that he had written an excellent philosophy himself entitled Orthodoxy. Scratching his bushy head, he said, “I will write it! We both belong to the great mystical corporation called the Catholic Church in which we stand responsible for one another’s opinions. You know what I must believe, and I know what you must believe.”

The last meeting was in 1936, when Monsignor Sheen traveled from Catholic University to Beaconsfield, England, to attend Chesterton’s funeral.

One day a woman called me up because she wanted to tell me about the time she met Bishop Sheen. She had been a librarian at a university and Sheen was visiting. He was at the height of his popularity. He was being escorted through the library by university officials and one of them introduced her to the bishop by saying that she had read all of Sheen’s books. The bishop smiled and asked her: “But who’s your favorite author?”

She didn’t hesitate: “G.K. Chesterton.”

Sheen smiled even bigger. “Mine, too!”

Sheen said that the writer who influenced him the most was G.K. Chesterton. It is obvious to anyone who reads Sheen. In fact, many of those great Sheen lines are actually lines from GKC, such as: “We don’t need a Church that moves with the world, we need a Church that moves the world.”

But talk about moving with the world … 

Maybe someday we will be able to celebrate Blessed Gilbert Chesterton too!