Tammy’s Reviews > Out of the Silent Planet > Status Update

Ch. 8 Ransom has gone from being a Pedestrian on Earth, to one on Malacandra. He is alone, wandering, and no human that he cares about is aware of where he is. He is unprovisioned with no succour in sight. He prayed, but he also is comforted by his knife (cold hard steel). Between the red creature and the knife, is he under the influence of Mars? He is meditating and no longer considering suicide. He’s resolved.

They are representatives of the Oyarsa so they are messengers of God in a way. D and W are trying to force him into the water. A shining water creature with a shnapping jaw speeds toward them like a torpedo which causes Weston to fire his revolver many times. The distraction gives Ransom a chance to run away which he does at full speed. He runs towards the woods. He goes away from the water up into the forest.

Ransom looks for an opportunity to dash for liberty. He quickly devours his food. More Mercury. Devine and Weston move their eyes back and forth over the landscape. When they stand, Ransom gulps down his whiskey. It takes him a few moments of reflection but he perceives six tall, white seroni walking toward them (he’s being guarded by his captors). The seroni have a horn-like voice (heralds).

Nature produces a gothic effect. Everything stretches up, pulled to heaven. Tall and light, like the spires of a cathedral. Waves shoot up higher. He again notices that his perspective is off. The vegetation is not green; colors are warm, not cool. Ransom is amazed at the beauty, even though he’s puzzled at how everything looks. Devine calls lunch break and Ransom is short of breath (Mercury is linked to lungs).

The colors are pale, which goes with the light. I love the idea of a watercolor paint box. He’s not sure of what he’s seeing so there’s more problems with perception. He’s shocked to see a human-style house out of local materials but it turns out that Devine and Weston built it. There is more flurry of Mercury activity in moving supplies into the hut. Ransom notices the hut’s squallor versus Malacandrian beauty.

Ch. 7 As they land, Ransom appears to be daydreaming and Devine calls him out. Mercury is known for wit and eloquent; Devine tries to be that but he is decidedly NOT. At this point Ransom is filled with more curiosity than fear (all the sunbathing). He seems to be crawling out of the manhole of the craft for his hands dig into the soil. All THREE are armed (two with guns and one with a knife).

Devine is clearly all about the body and flesh. His nerves are on edge and he resorts to drinking spirits from a flask (in contrast to Ransom drinking the spirit from the heavens). What comes out of his mouth (Matthew 15:11) are strange blasphemies, curses, and coprologies (in contrast to Ransom, the philologist who ponders the heavens like a philosopher).

Brain fog sets in as he tries to grasp for bigger ideas. He’s shocked that he’s now in a new world while his ideas were on philosophical speculation.

They find eating and drinking difficult. He uses “nursed” for caring for his bruised limbs. Their bodies feel like lead. They put on woolen underwear, sheepskin jerkins, fur gloves, earred caps. It sounds like the clothing of animals. The ship is going too fast (Mercury). Ransom is sad to lose the splendor. He now knows the heavens as alive and planets as dead holes. He wonders about what is outside the solar system.

Temperature drops as they draw closer to Malacandra. He died as an earthbound creature and was reborn in the sunlight as a heavenly being (naked). They are putting on clothes and they are winter clothes with natural winter materials. They turn on an electric heater. The sunlight is less but not the spiritual radiance. That was still strong. Down shifts from the center of the craft to the control room’s outer wall.