The C.S. Lewis novel Till We Have Faces retells which ancient myth?

C.S. Lewis’s Till We Have Faces retells the ancient myth of Cupid and Psyche. Published in 1956, it reimagines the story from the viewpoint of Psyche’s older sister, who is called Orual in the novel.

The original myth appears most famously in Apuleius’s Latin work The Golden Ass. In that story, Psyche is visited by a mysterious husband whom she is forbidden to look at, but curiosity leads her to break the rule. Lewis keeps the myth’s central pattern while developing a darker psychological and philosophical narrative.

Lewis considered Till We Have Faces one of his best works. It is not a direct retelling in the style of a children’s fairy tale; it changes the narrator, setting, tone, and emphasis. The novel explores jealousy, love, self-knowledge, and the difficulty of understanding the gods.