Which mythical couple inspires the central retelling in C.S. Lewis’s Till We Have Faces?

C.S. Lewis’s Till We Have Faces retells the myth of Cupid and Psyche.

Published in 1956, Till We Have Faces: A Myth Retold is narrated mainly by Orual, a princess in the fictional kingdom of Glome. The novel reworks the ancient story of Psyche and her mysterious divine husband, whom Lewis presents through the book’s own religious and psychological concerns.

The classical source is the Cupid and Psyche episode in Apuleius’s second-century Latin novel The Golden Ass. Lewis does not simply reproduce that story: he changes the setting, expands the roles of family members, and gives Orual a sustained first-person voice.

The book is often described as Lewis’s last novel and is notably different in tone from the Narnia books. Its title comes from a line about the need for “faces” before the gods, linking identity, self-knowledge, and honest speech. That theme helps explain why the novel is often read alongside Lewis’s works on faith and moral self-examination.