Abstract
Food is a recurring subject in Lewis’s fiction, and particularly in the Ransom trilogy and Narnia novels. There are two primary topics examined in this chapter. The first is Lewis’s creative interactions with food references in biblical myth. According to Genesis, predation and meat consumption are consequences of the fall (1:29 cf. 9:2–3). This chapter argues Lewis evades images of biblical vegetarianism in subtle ways. The second is an examination of Lewis’s attitudes toward hunting.
And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat . And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so.
—Genesis 1:29–30
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsReferences
Brown, Devin. Inside Narnia: A Guide to Exploring The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Grand Rapids: Baker, 2005.
Duriez, Colin. The A–Z of C. S. Lewis: An Encyclopedia of His Life, Thought and Writings. Oxford: Lion Hudson, 2013.
Gilmour, Michael J. “A Martian Hunting Expedition in C. S. Lewis’s Out of the Silent Planet.” In God, Nimrod, and the World: Exploring Christian Perspectives on Sport Hunting. Sports and Religion Series. Edited by Bracy V. Hill II and John B. White. Macon: Mercer University Press, forthcoming.
Hooper, Walter. C. S. Lewis: A Companion and Guide. New York: HarperCollins, 1996.
Jacobs, Alan. The Narnian: The Life and Imagination of C. S. Lewis. New York: HarperSanFrancisco, 2006.
Kemmerer, Lisa. Animals and World Religions. New York: Oxford University Press, 2012.
Kort, Wesley A. C. S. Lewis Then and Now. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001.
—–—. Reading C. S. Lewis: A Commentary. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2016.
Lewis, C. S. All My Road Before Me: The Diary of C. S. Lewis. Edited by Walter Hooper. San Diego: Harvest, 1991.
—–—. The Collected Letters of C. S. Lewis. Volume 2. Books, Broadcasts, and the War 1931–1949. Edited by Walter Hooper. New York: HarperCollins, 2004.
—–—. The Collected Letters of C. S. Lewis. Volume 3. Narnia, Cambridge, and Joy 1950–1963. Edited by Walter Hooper. New York: HarperCollins, 2007.
—–—. The Dark Tower and Other Stories: The Complete Collection of C. S. Lewis’s Short Fiction. Edited by Walter Hooper. Boston: Mariner, 2012.
—–—. The Last Battle. New York: HarperCollins, 1994.
—–—. Letters to Malcolm: Chiefly on Prayer. Boston: Mariner, 2012.
—–—. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. New York: HarperCollins, 1994.
—–—. Narrative Poems. Edited by Walter Hooper. New York: HarperOne, 2017.
—–—. Out of the Silent Planet. London: HarperCollins, 2005.
—–—. Perelandra. London: HarperCollins, 2005.
—–—. The Pilgrim’s Regress: An Allegorical Apology for Christianity, Reason and Romanticism. Glasgow: Collins, 1977.
—–—. Poems. New York: HarperOne, 2017.
—–—. Present Concerns. Edited by Walter Hooper. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1986.
—–—. Prince Caspian: The Return to Narnia. New York: HarperCollins, 1994.
—–—. The Silver Chair. New York: HarperCollins, 1994.
—–—. Surprised by Joy: The Shape of My Early Life. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2012.
—–—. That Hideous Strength: A Modern Fairy-Tale for Grown-Ups. London: HarperCollins, 2005.
—–—. Till We Have Faces: A Myth Retold. San Francisco: HarperOne, 2017.
—–—. “Transposition.” In The Weight of Glory and Other Addresses. 91–115. New York: HarperOne, 2000.
—–—. “Vivisection.” In God in the Dock: Essays on Theology and Ethics. Edited by Walter Hooper. 224–228. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1970.
—–—. The Voyage of the ‘Dawn Treader’. New York: HarperCollins, 1994.
—–—. “Why I Am Not a Pacifist.” The Weight of Glory and Other Addresses. 64–90. New York: HarperOne, 2000.
Lindsley, Art. C. S. Lewis’s Case for Christ: Insights from Reason, Imagination and Faith. Downers Grove: IVP, 2005.
Linzey, Andrew. Animal Gospel. Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 2000.
—–—. Animal Theology. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1994.
—–—. “So Near and Yet So Far: Animal Theology and Ecological Theology.” In The Oxford Handbook of Religion and Ecology. Edited by Roger S. Gottlieb. 348–361. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2006.
———. Why Animal Suffering Matters: Philosophy, Theology, and Practical Ethics. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009.
Manguel, Alberto, and Gianni Guadalupi, eds. The Dictionary of Imaginary Places. Toronto: Vintage, 2001.
McGrath, Alister E. The Intellectual World of C. S. Lewis. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell, 2014.
Sayer, George. Jack: A Life of C. S. Lewis. Wheaton: Crossway, 1994.
—–—. “Jack on Holiday.” In C. S. Lewis at the Breakfast Table and Other Reminiscences. Edited by James T. Como. 202–209. San Diego: Harcourt Brace & Company, 1992.
Schwartz, Sanford. C. S. Lewis on the Final Frontier: Science and the Supernatural in the Space Trilogy. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009.
Ward, Michael. Planet Narnia: The Seven Heavens in the Imagination of C. S. Lewis. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008.
Williams, Rowan. The Lion’s World: A Journey into the Heart of Narnia. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012.
Zaleski, Philip, and Carol Zaleski. The Fellowship: The Literary Lives of the Inklings: J. R. R. Tolkien, C. S. Lewis, Owen Barfield, Charles Williams. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2015.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Copyright information
© 2017 The Author(s)
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Gilmour, M.J. (2017). Genesis and Food. In: Animals in the Writings of C. S. Lewis. The Palgrave Macmillan Animal Ethics Series. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-55298-3_5
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-55298-3_5
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Print ISBN: 978-1-137-55297-6
Online ISBN: 978-1-137-55298-3
eBook Packages: Religion and PhilosophyPhilosophy and Religion (R0)