Out of the Silent Planet by C. S. Lewis
"Out of the Silent Planet," published in 1938 by C.S. Lewis, is the first book in a science fiction trilogy that explores themes of adventure, faith, and the nature of good and evil. The narrative follows Elwin Ransom, an academic who becomes a reluctant space traveler when he is kidnapped and taken to Malacandra, the planet known as Mars. The story unfolds as Ransom encounters three alien species: the hrossa, the sorns, and the pfifltriggi, each representing different aspects of society and culture. Throughout his journey, Ransom learns about the planet's harmonious existence under the guidance of a spiritual being named Oyarsa.
The novel delves into philosophical discussions about humanity, morality, and the consequences of colonialism, particularly through the contrasting actions of Ransom and his captors, Weston and Devine, who seek to exploit Malacandra. As Ransom navigates this vibrant world filled with colorful landscapes and intelligent beings, he grapples with his own beliefs and ultimately gains insights into his place within the universe. "Out of the Silent Planet" is not only a tale of adventure but also a thoughtful exploration of themes central to Lewis's Christian worldview, raising questions about redemption and the interconnectedness of all life. This book sets the stage for further exploration in the subsequent installments of the trilogy.
On this Page
Out of the Silent Planet by C. S. Lewis
First published: 1938
Type of work: Novel
Type of plot: Science fiction
Time of plot: Early twentieth century
Locale: England and the planet Mars
Principal characters
Elwin Ransom , a Cambridge philologistWeston , a renowned physicistDevine , a greedy academicSorns , tall, intellectual MartiansHrossa , friendly, otterlike MartiansHyoi , a hross who befriends RansomHnakra , a ferocious water beastPfifltriggi , dwarflike MartiansEldils , translucent spirit beingsOyarsa , the ruling spirit of Mars
The Story:
Elwin Ransom is on vacation, taking a walking tour alone through the English countryside. Seeking shelter from the rain and lodging for the night, he meets a farm woman, frantic that her mentally disabled son, Harry, has not yet come home from his job at a neighboring professor’s home. Hoping this professor might provide lodging, he promises to find Harry.
The professor’s house is dark and locked. Ransom squeezes through the hedge and finds Professor Weston and his friend, Devine, in a scuffle with young Harry. Startled, they let Harry go. Devine recognizes Ransom as an old schoolmate and then introduces him to Weston, a renowned physicist. They offer Ransom a drink, and Ransom realizes too late that he has been drugged.
Ransom regains consciousness aboard a spaceship. He overhears Weston and Devine say they are returning to Malacandra, where aliens called sorns ordered them to bring a human sacrifice. Ransom realizes he is that sacrifice.
As they travel, Ransom finds that space is not black, cold, or vacant but flooded with invigorating light. A month later, they land on Malacandra. The ground is covered by a rubbery pink vegetation, the sky is pale blue, and the distant mountains are lavender: It is a bright, pastel world. Since the gravity is so low, everything (mountains, trees, ocean waves) is thinner and taller than on Earth.
The three men set up camp. Six sorns approach, each one fourteen feet tall, pale, and spidery thin. Devine and Weston grab Ransom and pull him toward the sorns, but as they step into a lake, a large sea monster with crocodile-like jaws attacks them. As Devine and Weston shoot at it, Ransom escapes. The next day, Ransom encounters an alien that looks like a tall otter. They stare curiously at each other and try to communicate. The alien is a hross, and Ransom is eager to learn its language. After a long, choppy boat ride and a short walk, they arrive at the hross village.
Ransom lives peacefully among the hrossa for about five weeks, studying the language and becoming close friends with Hyoi, the hross who first found him. He learns that in addition to sorns and hrossa, there is a third intelligent species on the planet called pfifltriggi, crafters who make articles from gold. The three species, or hnau, live in harmony.
Ransom is also instructed in their religion: Maleldil the Young created all things, and now lives with the Old One. A spirit called Oyarsa rules the whole planet, and lesser spirit beings named eldil frequently visit the planet and talk to its inhabitants. The hrossa insist that Ransom should go to Oyarsa. Ransom tells the hrossa about the sea monster with the crocodile jaws. They get intensely excited: The hnakra has not been seen for many years. The greatest honor in their culture is to kill the hnakra. The entire village begins to prepare their boats and spears for the great hunt. Ransom is honored by an invitation to fight alongside Hyoi and Whin. As they seek the hnakra, an eldil appears and commands Ransom to go to Oyarsa. Ransom refuses. Immediately the hnakra appears. After a furious fight, Ransom, Hyoi, and Whin kill it. As they rest on the shore, jubilant in their victory, Hyoi is suddenly shot and killed by Weston, who had been hiding in the forest. As he dies, Hyoi calls Ransom his eternal brother because they have slain the hnakra together.
Whin tells Ransom that Hyoi has died because Ransom had disobeyed the eldil. Ransom leaves immediately to seek Oyarsa. He climbs a steep mountain, where he meets Augray, a sorn. Augray gives him oxygen and food, and shows him Earth through his telescope. Augray calls Earth Thulcandra, which means “the silent planet.” The next day, Ransom climbs onto Augray’s shoulder, and Augray carries him to Meldilorn, an island covered with huge golden flowers and filled with eldils. While exploring the island, Ransom sees a row of stone monoliths, each one bearing an intricate relief carving of significant events. One shows the solar system, and by studying it, Ransom realizes Malacandra is Mars. A pfifltrigg named Kanakaberaka carves a likeness of Ransom, Weston, Devine, and their spaceship into a monolith.
The next morning, Ransom is awakened by an eldil who announces, “Oyarsa sends for you.” Ransom walks between two long rows of hrossa, sorns, and pfifltriggi to where Oyarsa appears as a shimmer of light hovering over the water. Oyarsa says that he sent for Ransom to learn about Earth. He explains that each planet has its own Oyarsa, but that long ago the Oyarsa of Earth had rebelled against the Old One. Since then, no word has come from the silent planet. Weston and Devine also are brought before Oyarsa. They cannot see Oyarsa and suspect a trick. Weston bellows, in his broken version of the Martian language, “Everyone who no do all we say pouff! bang! we kill him.” Then Weston tries to bribe them with cheap beads. They burst out laughing: Weston is making a fool of himself.
Oyarsa orders Weston to be taken away and doused with cold water, hoping to bring him to his senses. Meanwhile, the Malacandrians sing a beautiful, elaborate funeral song to honor Hyoi and the two other hrossa that Weston had murdered. Then, with blinding light, Oyarsa disintegrates the three bodies. Weston returns dripping wet, and answers Oyarsa’s questions, with Ransom acting as interpreter. Weston says he wants to perpetuate the human race on other planets. He expects Oyarsa to be impressed, but instead Oyarsa becomes convinced that Weston is utterly corrupt. Oyarsa orders Weston and Devine to return to Earth. He gives them exactly ninety days’ worth of air and food.
Oyarsa dismisses Weston and Devine and talks with Ransom about Earth. He gives Ransom the choice to remain on Malacandra or to return to Thulcandra. Ransom chooses to return. On the trip back, the spaceship passes dangerously close to the sun. Then the moon cuts in front of them, and they are forced to turn the ship away from Earth. Realizing they are almost out of air and food, Ransom returns to his cabin to prepare for death. He falls asleep, and when he wakes up, he hears rain. The ship has somehow landed on Earth.
Ransom emerges from the ship and walks half an hour through the English countryside. Suddenly he hears a loud noise as the ship disintegrates. He walks into a pub and orders a pint of bitter. Ransom falls ill and fears that the trip was a delusion. Then he receives a letter from Lewis asking about the word “Oyarses,” found in an ancient book. Ransom tells Lewis the whole story. They agree no one would believe it, so they decide to write the novel. The postscript is a letter from Ransom to Lewis criticizing the “mistakes” in the book.
Bibliography
Dickerson, Matthew T., and David O’Hara. Narnia and the Fields of Arbol: The Environmental Vision of C. S. Lewis. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky, 2009. Devotes a separate chapter to Out of the Silent Planet and the other two books in the Ransom trilogy, examining Lewis’s ecological themes and his view of humankind’s relation to nature.
Downing, David C. Planets in Peril: A Critical Study of C. S. Lewis’s Ransom Trilogy. Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press, 1992. Exceptionally insightful, helpful, and complete study of the space trilogy. Begins with a discussion of Lewis’s life, showing how his values and Christian faith influenced these books.
Edwards, Bruce L. C. S. Lewis: Life, Works, and Legacy. 4 vols. Westport, Conn.: Praeger, 2007. Edwards assembled this multivolume collection of essays to provide wide-ranging views of Lewis’s life and work. Volume 1 focuses on his life, while volumes 2 through 4 discuss Lewis as a “fantasist, mythmaker, and poet,” as well as an apologist, theologian, philosopher, scholar, teacher, and public intellectual.
Hooper, Walter. C. S. Lewis: A Complete Guide to His Life and Works. 1996. New ed. San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 2005. A useful volume containing a 120-page biography, chronology, summaries of major works, sample reviews, explanations of key ideas, and a lengthy bibliography of Lewis’s works.
Howard, Thomas. Narnia and Beyond: A Guide to the Fiction of C. S. Lewis. 1987. New ed. San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2006. Contains a lengthy chapter about Out of the Silent Planet, providing a highly personal and energetic discussion.
Lobdell, Jared. The Scientifiction Novels of C. S. Lewis: Space and Time in the Ransom Stories. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland, 2004. In the 1940’s and 1950’s, the word “scientifiction” was sometimes used to describe a literary genre now defined as either science fiction or fantasy literature; Lewis’s Ransom novels and short story are examples of scientifiction. Lobdell devotes a chapter to an analysis of each of these four works, including Out of the Silent Planet, and also draws some general conclusions about the nature of Lewis’s “Arcadian” science fiction and its place within English literature.
Walsh, Chad. The Literary Legacy of C. S. Lewis. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1979. Evaluates the strengths and weaknesses of Lewis’s works, concluding that Lewis’s best work is his fiction. Praises Lewis’s ability to combine great literary skill with a distinctly Christian worldview.
Wilson, A. N. C. S. Lewis: A Biography. Reprint. New York: W. W. Norton, 2002. Chronological biography interpreting Lewis’s life and work from a Freudian perspective. Depicts him as neither a saint nor a full-time Christian apologist but as a writer of real passions and a contradictory nature unbefitting the cult following that developed after his death. Traces many of his preoccupations to the sometimes traumatic experiences of his early childhood and comes to some controversial conclusions regarding several of Lewis’s relationships.