Perelandra

Ransom lands on the planet fully nude. The Queen is likewise nude, but Ransom does not sexualize her. This is our first inclination that we are reading an allegory of Adam and Eve, as, in that story, Adam and Eve are naked in the garden but unashamed. Lewis states, “If he was a little ashamed of his own body, that […] had nothing to do with difference of sex” (52). Soon, Ransom’s only concerns about his naked body have to do with the dangers of moving around the environment. This recurring image of the innocence of the naked body helps to reinforce the innocence of Perelandra in its unsullied form. When Weston arrives, he does so full dressed and wearing his pith helmet. This contrast, and his suggestion that Ransom’s purpose in being nude is “the seduction of a native girl,” creates a sense that knowledge does not always lead to good (75). One of the Un-Man’s major tactics is to try to get the Queen to externalize her value by giving her a mirror (118). After defeating the Un-Man, Ransom sees the two eldila in masculine and feminine forms and perceives that there is nothing sexual about gender except that which is attached to it by imperfect men (172).