The story starts with the philologist Elwin Ransom, some years after his return from Malacandra at the end of Out of the Silent Planet, receiving a new mission from Oyarsa, the angelic ruler of Mars. Ransom is to travel to Perelandra, home to a new Adam and Eve, to oppose the diabolically-inspired human physicist Professor Weston, who has been sent to tempt the Eve figure.
Ransom arrives in Perelandra and finds it to be an oceanic paradise. The sky is golden and very bright but opaque. The sun cannot be seen; hence the night is pitch black with no stars visible.
Strange, colorful, but peaceful creatures roam the planetary sweet-water ocean, which is dotted with floating rafts of vegetation. These rafts look like small islands, and actually have plant life growing on them and animals living on them; however, due to the ocean underneath, they are in a constant state of motion. A mountainous island, called the Fixed Land, is one of the few pieces of solid land-surface on the planet.
Ransom soon meets Tinidril, the Queen of the planet; unlike the inhabitants of Mars in Out of the Silent Planet, she is humanoid though with green skin. She and Tor, the King of the planet, are the only human inhabitants, the Eve and Adam of their world. They live on the floating islands and are forbidden to sleep on the Fixed Land.
Soon after Ransom's arrival, Professor Weston arrives in a spaceship and lands in a part of the ocean quite close to the Fixed Land. During his first encounter with Ransom, he invites demonic possession, which happens; he is thereafter referred to as "the Unman." The Unman finds the Queen, and tries to tempt her into defying God and spending a night on the fixed land. Ransom believes that he must act as a counter-tempter.
Ransom realizes that if the pristine green lady who never heard of Evil succumbs to the Unman's arguments, the Fall of Man will be re-enacted on Perelandra. He does his best during day after day of lengthy arguments illustrating various approaches to temptation, but the demonic Weston shows super-human brilliance in debate (though when "off-duty" he displays moronic, asinine behaviour and small-minded viciousness) and moreover appears in no need of sleep.
With the Unman on the verge of winning, the desperate Ransom hears in the night what he gradually realises is a Divine voice, commanding him to physically destroy the Tempter. Ransom is highly reluctant, and debates with the divine (inner) voice, but ultimately obeys.
Ransom attacks his opponent bare-handed, using only physical force. The Unman, though demonic, is only equipped with a middle-aged human body comparable to Ransom's so the match is even on the physical plane. After being worn down, the Unman flees, whereupon Ransom chases him over the ocean, both riding the backs of giant fish. During a fleeting truce, the "real" Weston momentarily re-inhabits his body, and the conversation between himself and Ransom displays Lewis' horrific vision of what Hell is: the damned soul is not consigned to the pain of flames, but is absorbed and "digested" by the Devil, eventually losing its personality completely.
While Ransom is distracted by his horror and his feelings of pity and compassion for the utterly damned Weston, the demon takes control of the body, surprises Ransom, and tries to drown him. The two find themselves trapped in a subterranean cavern. Ransom seemingly kills Weston and escapes the cavern, searching for a route to the surface. Weston's body, horribly injured but still animated by the devil, follows him. Finally, Ransom smashes the Unman's head with a stone and consigns the body to volcanic flames.
Returning to the planet's surface after a long journey through the caverns of Perelandra, Ransom recuperates from his injuries, all of which heal fully except for a bite on his heel which he sustained at some point in the battle, which continues bleeding for the rest of his life.
Ransom meets the King and Queen together with the Oyéresu of Malacandra and Perelandra, all of whom celebrate the beginning of a paradisal world. The story climaxes with Ransom's vision of "the Great Dance" of creation.
His mission accomplished, Ransom returns, rather reluctantly, to Earth to continue the fight against the forces of evil on their own territory.
The story starts with the philologist Elwin Ransom, some years after his return from Malacandra at the end of Out of the Silent Planet, receiving a new mission from Oyarsa, the angelic ruler of Mars. Ransom is to travel to Perelandra, home to a new Adam and Eve, to oppose the diabolically-inspired human physicist Professor Weston, who has been sent to tempt the Eve figure.Ransom arrives in Perelandra and finds it to be an oceanic paradise. The sky is golden and very bright but opaque. The sun cannot be seen; hence the night is pitch black with no stars visible.Strange, colorful, but peaceful creatures roam the planetary sweet-water ocean, which is dotted with floating rafts of vegetation. These rafts look like small islands, and actually have plant life growing on them and animals living on them; however, due to the ocean underneath, they are in a constant state of motion. A mountainous island, called the Fixed Land, is one of the few pieces of solid land-surface on the planet.Ransom soon meets Tinidril, the Queen of the planet; unlike the inhabitants of Mars in Out of the Silent Planet, she is humanoid though with green skin. She and Tor, the King of the planet, are the only human inhabitants, the Eve and Adam of their world. They live on the floating islands and are forbidden to sleep on the Fixed Land.Soon after Ransom's arrival, Professor Weston arrives in a spaceship and lands in a part of the ocean quite close to the Fixed Land. During his first encounter with Ransom, he invites demonic possession, which happens; he is thereafter referred to as "the Unman." The Unman finds the Queen, and tries to tempt her into defying God and spending a night on the fixed land. Ransom believes that he must act as a counter-tempter.Ransom realizes that if the pristine green lady who never heard of Evil succumbs to the Unman's arguments, the Fall of Man will be re-enacted on Perelandra. He does his best during day after day of lengthy arguments illustrating various approaches to temptation, but the demonic Weston shows super-human brilliance in debate (though when "off-duty" he displays moronic, asinine behaviour and small-minded viciousness) and moreover appears in no need of sleep.With the Unman on the verge of winning, the desperate Ransom hears in the night what he gradually realises is a Divine voice, commanding him to physically destroy the Tempter. Ransom is highly reluctant, and debates with the divine (inner) voice, but ultimately obeys.Ransom attacks his opponent bare-handed, using only physical force. The Unman, though demonic, is only equipped with a middle-aged human body comparable to Ransom's so the match is even on the physical plane. After being worn down, the Unman flees, whereupon Ransom chases him over the ocean, both riding the backs of giant fish. During a fleeting truce, the "real" Weston momentarily re-inhabits his body, and the conversation between himself and Ransom displays Lewis' horrific vision of what Hell is: the damned soul is not consigned to the pain of flames, but is absorbed and "digested" by the Devil, eventually losing its personality completely.While Ransom is distracted by his horror and his feelings of pity and compassion for the utterly damned Weston, the demon takes control of the body, surprises Ransom, and tries to drown him. The two find themselves trapped in a subterranean cavern. Ransom seemingly kills Weston and escapes the cavern, searching for a route to the surface. Weston's body, horribly injured but still animated by the devil, follows him. Finally, Ransom smashes the Unman's head with a stone and consigns the body to volcanic flames.Returning to the planet's surface after a long journey through the caverns of Perelandra, Ransom recuperates from his injuries, all of which heal fully except for a bite on his heel which he sustained at some point in the battle, which continues bleeding for the rest of his life.Ransom meets the King and Queen together with the Oyéresu of Malacandra and Perelandra, all of whom celebrate the beginning of a paradisal world. The story climaxes with Ransom's vision of "the Great Dance" of creation.His mission accomplished, Ransom returns, rather reluctantly, to Earth to continue the fight against the forces of evil on their own territory.
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