What name did C.S. Lewis use for the science-fiction trilogy’s main character?

C.S. Lewis named the science-fiction trilogy’s main character Elwin Ransom.

Ransom is the central figure of Lewis’s Space Trilogy, which consists of Out of the Silent Planet, Perelandra, and That Hideous Strength. He is a philologist who becomes involved in conflicts extending beyond Earth, including encounters with extraterrestrial civilizations and cosmic spiritual powers.

In the first novel, Ransom is abducted and taken to Malacandra, the planet known to humans as Mars. The later books move from planetary exploration toward theological, moral, and political questions. Lewis used science fiction to examine humanity’s relationship with technology, power, temptation, and the wider created universe.

Readers sometimes confuse Ransom with Mark Studdock, who becomes a major character in That Hideous Strength but is not the trilogy’s continuing protagonist. The surname also echoes Lewis’s interest in Christian ideas of rescue and redemption.