Till We Have Faces Justice Quotes

Justice, in its most basic sense, is defined as the administering of a deserved punishment or reward, but justice itself is far from basic. Who is to decide what is just, and how are those who decide what is just to punish their perceived wrong? It is only through the pursuit of justice that an individual can come to clearly see what is right, and find his or her sought after reward or punishment. In Till we Have Faces by C.S. Lewis, Orual’s pursuit of justice and its eventual resolution play a significant role in the book and her development as a character, while showing us how she views justice itself. Throughout the novel, Orual’s idea of justice is rather self-centered, and largely motivated by anger. She focuses exclusively on her own perceived slights and abuse; most notably towards gods such as the Son of Ungit. Orual’s perceived injustice revolves around the Son of Ungit banishing Psyche …show more content…
However, Orual doesn't get the resolution she expected as shown in the following quote “The complaint was the answer; to have heard myself making it was to be answered”. (Lewis 304) As soon as she is made to hear the supposed injustice she came to realize the truth and discovers maybe the gods are not unjust after all. She realizes her own selfish action, forcing Psyche to betray the god so her sister would return, was wrong of her. She becomes more mature and better understands herself through this realization. Also, at the end of her quest she finds her sister Psyche and sees that she is happy. Considering the ill treatment of her sister was the core reason of her search for justice, seeing her returned and happy can be considered a form of justice or amends for Orual. Even though the gods are not punished, her quest is a success; she discovers the error and falsity of her own injustice and finding peace with herself and the