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

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

The novel is Lewis’s retelling of the classical story of Cupid and Psyche, drawn especially from the version in Apuleius’s ancient work The Golden Ass. Lewis presents the events through the perspective of Orual, Psyche’s older sister, rather than through the original myth’s conventional focus on the lovers.

Published in 1956, the book explores jealousy, love, self-knowledge, religious belief, and the difficulty of seeing other people clearly. Its title comes from the novel’s concern with the “faces” people show after illusion and self-deception have been stripped away.

The novel is not a simple translation of Apuleius. Lewis changes the setting, character emphasis, and narrative voice, creating a psychologically darker and more philosophical work. This is why it is often described as a myth retold rather than a direct version of the classical tale.