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Lewis’ approach to the afterlife in his work “The Great Divorce” is artistic, introspective,
and enlightening. As he wrote it with the intention of provoking interest in his readers and not in
making all his assertions completely and irrefutably accurate according to Scripture, he takes
some creative license in his depictions of both Heaven and Hell. Throughout the storyline, we
meet multiple colorful characters, all of whom react to the afterlife in unique ways. For most, the
baggage from their earthly lives was a tragically familiar presence that pulled them down, away
from eternal life in heaven. For one man, however, that baggage was a dreaded presence, and the
choice he made brought him the greatest joy imaginable.
The Big Ghost
The first character to be examined is referred to as the “Big Ghost.” A loud and
boisterous person, the Big Ghost’s arrival into what we come to realize is the outskirt of Heaven
is every bit as loud and argumentative as we could expect. Drawing upon his own selfish pride,
the first act of Big Ghost is accosting a denizen of heaven to bring to everyone else’s attention
that they are in fact a murderer, and should not be allowed: “’Well, I’ll be damned,’ said the
Ghost. ‘I wouldn’t have believed it. It’s a fair knock-out. It isn’t right, Len, you know. What
about poor Jack, eh? You look pretty pleased with yourself, but what I say is, what about poor
Jack?”1
The Big Ghost then proceeds to loudly exclaim to all those within hearing of how
unworthy Len is to receive the rewards of Heaven. Throughout his angry and self-righteous
tirade, the model he continually returns to for comparison is himself, as he claims that he is much
more deserving than Len because of the hard work he put in throughout his life. While he wasn’t
1 C. S. Lewis. The Great Divorce. HarperCollins Publishers. 1973. 26
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a religious man, he repeatedly claims that he was a hardworking man who should have earned
some sort of reward.
Len, in contrast, attempts to put things into perspective for the Ghost. He reassures him
that while he is now in Heaven, he was every bit the murderer and sinner that the Ghost makes
him out to be, but that those things don’t matter anymore in heaven. As Titus 3:5 says, “He saved
us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the
washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit.” (ESV) The Ghost refuses to
acknowledge any of this, selfishly clinging to his pride, and in doing so consigns himself to an
eternity of separation from God.
The Mother Ghost
The second character to examine is the Mother Ghost. Upon meeting a Heavenly Denizen
she recognizes, she immediately begins asking after her son, Michael. While in the first portions
of their conversation concerning Michael it is framed so that it appears that she is genuinely
concerned for her son, as the conversation progresses it becomes apparent that her love is a
twisted, possessive, ugly thing. When confronted with this, the Mother Ghost responds almost
violently, saying: “…Give me my boy. Do you hear? I don’t care about all your rules and
regulations. I don’t believe in a God who keeps mother and son apart. I believe in a God of love.
No one had a right to come between me and my son. Not even God. Tell Him that to His face. I
want my boy, and I mean to have him. He is mine, do you understand? Mine, mine, mine, for
ever and ever.”2
The Mother Ghosts love for her son turned into an unhealthy obsession, causing her to
turn against God, going as far as to say that God Himself had no right to take her son from her.
2Lewis. The Great Divorce. 102-103
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Blinded by the loss of the object of her obsession and filled with rebelliousness against the One
who took her son from her, the Mother Ghost refused to repent or even acknowledge her need to
change and come back to God, and in doing so refused her chance to enter Heaven.
The Ghost with a Lizard
The final character is unique in Lewis’ story, as he is the only “ghost” able to set aside
his sins and earthly attachments and accept the wondrous gift of God. This ghost is approached
by what we learn to be an angel after the ghost spends a moment trying to quiet what appears to
be some sort of reptile perched on his shoulder. As the conversation unfolds, we realize that the
reptile is a manifestation of lust that is intent on tempting the ghost and coercing him into leaving
his chance at Heaven behind.
When the angel asks why he is leaving and the ghost replies that his reptile tagalong will
not be silent with its wicked mutterings, the angel gently asks if the ghost wishes to be rid of it
forever. The ghost enthusiastically affirms this desire, and the angel tells him that he will kill the
thing, but in doing so the ghost begins to feel burning pain and shies away from the act. The
angel continues to gently to insist upon killing the thing, and the man continues to dance away
out of fear. Eventually, as Colossians 3:5 says “Put to death therefore what is earthly in you:
sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry”, the man
is backed into a corner and is forced to acknowledge that killing it is the only way forward:
“’Have I your permission?’ said the Angel to the Ghost.
‘I know it will kill me.’
‘It won’t. But supposing it did?’
‘You’re right. It would be better to be dead than to live with this creature.’”3
3 Lewis. The Great Divorce. 110
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Acting upon the blessing of the Ghost, the Angel kills the reptile while the narrator
watches in shock, as the Ghost transforms into a Solid Person and the reptile into a wondrous
steed, and both travel deeper into the territory of Heaven. With the release of his lust, the final
thing tying him to the world, the Ghost is finally free to go and embrace his eternity with God.
