u/SorbettoalLimone

A series of interviews where Ursula K. Le Guin talks about C.S. Lewis.

Conversation with Ursula K. Le Guin from 1988

Irv Broughton: C.S. Lewis, referring to science fiction, once said, “If you have a religion, it must be cosmic; therefore, it seems odd to me that this genre was so late in arriving” —at theological area.
Ursula K. Le Guin: I am an atheist and I always have been; I have a great deal of trouble with C.S. Lewis, with the way his mind works. I don’t really know what he’s talking about. I admire the first book of his trilogy, as a novel. He was one of the first writers to invent alien creatures who were truly alien and truly sympathetic. I think those Martians of his are magnificent. And the second two books of his trilogy I consider an abomination, because he started preaching. I do not like to preach, or be preached at.

Dancing at the edge of the world by Ursula K. Le Guin from 1989

Reviewing The Dark Tower by C.S. Lewis, she said: "The spitefulness shown towards women in these tales is remarkable [...] There's a good deal of hatred in Lewis, and it is frightening hatred, because this gentle, brilliant, loving, devout man never saw the need even to rationalize it, let alone apologize for it. He was self-righteous in his faith. That may be permissible to a militant Christian; but it is not permissible to a highly intelligent, highly educated man to be self-righteous in his opinions and prejudices.
[...] In Lewis, responsibility appears only in the form of the Christian hero fighting and defeating the enemy: a triumph, not of love, but of hatred. The enemy is not oneself but the Wholly Other, demoniac. This projection leaves the author free to be cruel, and cruelty is the dominant tone of several of these stories.”

Personally, I understand Le Guin's point, even if I don't share her opinions. Lewis's narratives are certainly influenced by his Christian beliefs, and some depictions can be a bit outdated, like the Calormen people and Susan's fate in The Chronicles of Narnia. However, it seems to me to be excessive to paint Lewis so cruelly. What do you think about it?