The Half Hnau of Earth

Proverbs 14:12 says, “There is a way that seems right to man, but its end is the way to death (ESV). This verse asserts that the usual ways of man are not natural to him, but he desires to continue in a corrupted manner. As one can see from this verse, perverse ways only lead man to harm. Through Out of The Silent Planet, C.S. Lewis reveals the corrupted nature of humanity by comparing the earth to Malacandra, therefore demonstrating the harm humans distribute to themselves and others by relenting to a bent nature.

Lewis compares the love that the hnau have for their fellow intelligent beings to the contempt humanity demonstrates to their own kind. Hnau is the term that the creatures on Malacandra use to describe a rational being with a soul. Eventually, Ransom realizes that the hnau on earth follows perverse desires instead of what should be a natural process to follow higher ideals. He finds out that his fellow humans are so bent (corrupted) that they have forgotten their true and natural idealizations. Lewis highlights the exact moment this revelation becomes clear to Ransom: “At last it dawned upon him that it was not they, but his own species, that were the puzzle. That the hrossa should have such instincts was mildly surprising; but how came it that the instincts of the hrossa so closely resembled the unattained ideals of that far-divided species Man whose instincts were so deplorably different? (75). Ransom’s revelation shows readers the utter depravity of mankind. Man follows unnatural instincts rather than chasing after the perfect ideals found within the Word of God. Lewis goes on to show how the concept of love might exist in an unfallen world, leading to a sort of peaceful coexistence. Hyoi, a hrossa, explains the relationship of their species to the other cohabitants on Malacandra well by saying statements such as: “The hnakra is our enemy, but he is also our beloved” (76) and “They would even kill a hnau, knowing it to be hnau, if they thought its death would serve them” (83). Although Hyoi describes the hnakra as being the enemy of the hrossa, both species still love and coexist together peacefully. They can coexist in this manner because neither species intends to cause each other harm outside of natural preservation, unlike the ways of men. Man kills one of his own kind in order to serve his own purpose. Sometimes, this purpose includes self-preservation, but often man’s intent is far more sinister than the preservation of himself. For instance, one of Ransom’s kidnappers would entrap and kill a man simply for gold. Lewis uses both of Ransom’s kidnappers (Weston and Devine) to demonstrate corrupted nature of man.

Lewis conveys how humans believe every creature has the same harmful intent that they do by the utilization of his human characters. Lewis asserts the dominant instinct in a bent man, which is to respond in fear of harm. Because most men desire to harm others, they expect that all other hnau mean to harm to them too. Lewis uses Oyarsa (a godlike being) to convey this fact: “Because you thought I meant evil to you, you went as a beast goes against a beast of some other kind and snared this Ransom. You would have given him up to the evil you feared” (133). Oyarsa rightfully gathers that the Ransom’s kidnappers’ love of humanity is based more in the love that they have of themselves rather than their fellow man. The divine hnau insightfully comprehends their thought process after he finds out that Weston and Devine would have sacrificed one of their own kind for the safety of themselves. The bent nature of man is further revealed by Oyarsa and Weston’s philosophical conversation. Oyarsa is genuinely surprised that these men would kill their own kind for pleasure (133). Lewis employs this surprise to show how a bent man will always kill to serve their own end as this kind of man has no respect for life. Through Oyarsa words, Lewis explains the completely perverse ways of humankind:  

There are laws that all hnau know, of pity and straight dealing and shame and the like, and one of these is the love of kindred. He (the bent Oryarsa of planet earth) has taught you to break all of them except this one, which is not one of the greatest laws; this one he has bent till it becomes folly and has set it up, thus bent, to be a little, blind Oyarsa in your brain. (137).  

Lewis shows the difference between a bent man versus an unbent man by using character such as Weston against the good character of the hnau on Malacandra. Weston claims to have love for humanity, but his love is bent because it is borne out on what man can accomplish in the future rather than what man is in actuality. However, in Malacandra, love is borne out of respect for one another and their differences. Only destruction can follow when man love only himself rather than his fellows.  

    Lewis goes on to demonstrate how a man strays from his natural path by way of a bent nature, thus bringing harm instead of love to his fellow man. The hnau on Malacandra rarely suffer strange twists into a perverse nature, but the men on earth are often given to their wicked ways. Lewis uses Hyoi to relate the fact that such perversions are extremely rare among the hrossa: “Among the hrossa, anyway, it was obvious that unlimited breeding and promiscuity were as rare as the rarest perversions” (75). Through Hyoi’s explanation, Lewis attempts to reveal how strange it is that humans follow their harmful instincts so often. Furthermore, Lewis goes on to highlight the bent nature of man by using the death of Hyoi. After Hyoi’s death at the hands of bent men, Lewis uses Ransom to explain the debauchery of mankind to another hross named Whim. Ransom divulges, “We are all a bent race. We have come here to bring evil on Malacandra. We are only half hnau” (Lewis 82). Essentially, Ransom tells Whim that his species are only half intelligent and have not reached the same easy state of coexistence as the hnau from this planet. Lewis uses these conversations between a bent man and unbent hnau to explain how humans cause harm and hurt when they recede into their bent natures.   

    Every person should strive to be more like the hnau found on Malacandra for they are an excellent example of an unbent mindset. The hnau on this planet prove that a bent nature should not be the natural state of man because it leads to harm and despair. When man begins to value himself over other human beings, he corrupts himself further. As readers can see from the character of Weston, mankind begins to only matter as a product of a future rather than the person he is inside. Man is only half hnau because he chooses to follow a bent path by forfeiting higher ideals in favor of himself.