Which Greek myth inspired the plot of C.S. Lewis’s Till We Have Faces?

Cupid and Psyche inspired the plot of C.S. Lewis’s Till We Have Faces.

Published in 1956, Till We Have Faces: A Myth Retold is Lewis’s last completed work of fiction. It retells the ancient story of Cupid and Psyche from the viewpoint of Psyche’s older sister, who is called Orual in the novel. The change in narrator gives the familiar myth a new psychological and philosophical emphasis.

The novel is divided into two parts. Orual recounts her relationship with Psyche, her resentment toward the gods, and her later re-evaluation of her own motives. Lewis’s version explores love, jealousy, self-deception, and the difficulty of seeing oneself honestly.

The title comes from the book’s concern with identity and truthful self-knowledge. It is not a simple retelling with the original Greek names and setting preserved throughout. That difference explains why the book is sometimes described as both a myth retelling and an original novel based on the Cupid-and-Psyche narrative.