Response to A Grief Observed: 1-2

The first two chapters on A Grief Observed are really fascinating and deal with some important issues.  These would be of death, God, and love.  The initial story and reason C.S. Lewis is writing this is very sad considering he just lost his wife and the way he is so real and portrays the sorrow, grief, anger, and confusion because of this really is amazing.  I like the way it is written in a way that almost seems that the text was being written in a more real setting than having been a story and edited.  Along with the pain he is feeling, he talks about the love him and his wife, “H”, as he called her, shared.   A good quote to describe this is when he describes their love as “no cranny of heart or body remained unsatisfied.” This shows that though their marriage was cut short, they made the most of it and were still really happy. 

A story that we have read this semester that could be applied to this piece is that of “What Do We Talk about When We Talk about Love?” by Raymond Carver. When looking at the two different couples from the story in relation to the couple of Lewis and H one would see on the surface that they would be most similar to that of Nick and Laura.  This is because their love for each other comes across as strong and somewhat flirtatious as C. S. Lewis somewhat describes his  marriage with jokes such as “how many bubbles of mine she pricked.”  Another comparison could be made to the couple in the story that was happy and died of old age.  Now while Lewis and H did not receive the same happy ending, it is a good example of how Lewis almost yearns for her and wishes her the best even when she is gone.  All the old man in the story could worry about was his wife and that he could not see her.  It just shows the kind of strong love that both couples shared. 

The last thing to take away from these chapters is the references to God and religion.  These are not the sugar coated or watered down references to it was “God’s will”, or “He knows better so let it be” but more of a where is god and the emptiness of having the door shut in one’s face. This is a really neat thing that has been incorporated in the text because it shows Lewis’s true weakness.  He is supposed to be an advocate for Christ and an apologist yet he still shows the reality of having denial and doubt and how it can only be used to strengthen our spiritual lives.