Charlie
W. Starr: "Light: C.S. Lewis's First and Final Short Story"
An
unknown C.S. Lewis MS?!? A mystery? Here are the facts.
The
“Light” MS appeared out of nowhere in the 1980s. Changed hands,
finally reached Dr. Edwin Duncan Brown. Earlier version, “The Man
Born Blind.” Late '80s, accusations that the story was a forgery.
Gresham & Barfield said it was authentic, claimed eyewitness, but
dated it differently. Where did it disappear to? Which version is
real? What about accusations of forgery? What about how strange and
shocking the story is?
The
Hooper-bonfire story. { Again. Sigh. }
Hooper
rescued “The Man Born Blind” and gave it that title.
Dr.
Brown collected Lewisiana. A British bookdealer acquired the “Light”
MS from a collector, who sold it to Ed Brown. 1997, Dr. Brown's Lewis
collection came here to Taylor. It's finally being published—TODAY!!
A
literary detective's adventure. When Hooper published it, he thought
only Barfield and JRRT had seen the story. Sent out to a magazine,
never returned? Could not be, since Gresham heard the story and saw
the MS sometime in the '50s. Was it written in the '20s, then, as
Barfield said? Or was “TMBB” written in the '20s and “Light”
in the '50s? When was it written? Where did it go?
The
ink of the “TMBB” MS was
“Quink,” available in the '50s. A Boy's Life,
1945, ad for Royal Blue Quink. Barfield must be wrong, then, because
this ink wasn't invented until 1931, and Royal Blue not until 1935.
Well,
couldn't “Light” be just a revision of “TMBB”? Heading: his
name and address. Written on sheets, rather than in a notebook. Has a
title. Changes name of Robin's wife from Mary to Ann. To avoid Robin
Hood allusions? There is a cross-out in “Light” that proves it
comes after “TMBB.”
Ed
Brown always thought the two were written at the same time. CSL
handwriting changed throughout his life. The letter “g” is the
most distinctive, and proves “Light” must be post-1931. The
letter “f,” too, points to this late dating. Perhaps there's a
“Q” manuscript?
So,
finally, Charlie Starr went to see Walter Hooper with his Q and
late-dating theory. And Hooper was fine with it. Hooper talked about
Lewis as writer and rewriter—Lewis did not see writing as a chore,
but as a necessary part of thinking. He very well could have written
and rewritten this story three times.
Tentative
conclusion, then? “The Man Born Blind” was written between the
spring of 1944 and Oct 1945. “Light” is a revision soon after.
There's probably still a Q, which was the one Barfield saw in the
1920s.
And
what about the interpretation of the story? Well, it's ambiguous. But
if the ending could be read positively, then, it is because Lewis
consistently uses light as an object: a Platonic metaphor. Glory is
made of light. Robin dives into the true light, into rebirth, into
enlightenment.
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