What name did C.S. Lewis use for his science-fiction trilogy’s protagonist?

C.S. Lewis named the protagonist of his science-fiction trilogy Elwin Ransom.

Elwin Ransom is the central character of Lewis’s Space Trilogy, beginning with Out of the Silent Planet. Ransom is a philologist whose journey takes him from Earth to the planets Malacandra and Perelandra before the conflict returns to Earth in That Hideous Strength. The character’s academic background reflects Lewis’s own interest in language, medieval literature, and the intellectual traditions of Europe.

Ransom is not the narrator of every scene, and the trilogy’s focus expands considerably in its later books. Out of the Silent Planet presents his encounter with nonhuman cultures and planetary language, while Perelandra develops a new-world temptation narrative. That Hideous Strength shifts toward a struggle involving a modern institution and scientific power.

Readers sometimes confuse Ransom with Mark Studdock, a major character in the third novel, or with characters from Narnia such as Digory Kirke. Ransom is the recurring protagonist who links all three books.