KELSO, DENISE A.

That Hideous Strength is a treatise on C. S. Lewis's unique conception of mythology. He believed myths conveyed the inexplicable, transcendent reality existing at the universe's center. Distortions as well as accurate reflections have existed in myth thoughout time. That Hideous Strength symbolically exposes the falsity of distorted myths because the institute that is constructing an "ideal" society, founded on evolutionism and utopianism, is annihilated. The veracity of true myths is exemplified in the triumph of a small insurgent group aided by the Graeco-Roman deities and a revived Merlin. The novel's symbolic core is the "myth which became fact," which Lewis believed is the prime reality accurate myths mirror. Ultimately, denial of that reality condemns those deceived by false myths. But affirmation of the "myth which became fact" ensures victory for those enlightened by true myths.