"Saving The Appearances" by Owen Barfield Is Our Book For July

Owen Barfield was C.S. Lewis's friend of the second kind.  He was also C.S. Lewis's soliciter and handled his financial affairs.  Lewis describes a friend of the second kind in his autobiography, "Surprised by Joy" as:

"... the Second Friend is the man who disagrees with you about everything.  He is not so much the alter ego as the antiself.  Of course he shares your interests; otherwise he would not become your friend at all.  But he has approached them all at a different angle.  He has read all the right books but has got the wrong thing out of every one.  It is as if he spoke your language but mispronounced it.  How can he be so nearly right and yet, invariably, just not right? ..."

That was the relationship that Jack Lewis had with Owen Barfield.  They went at each other hammer and tongs in what Lewis, at least, characterized as The Great War.  Lewis came out of it cleansed of his chronological snobbery while Barfield emerged largely unscathed.  We'll be exploring Barfield this month and on July 11th Elizabeth will be our discussion leader on Barfield's Saving the Appearances.

July 11th Owen Barfield's Saving the Appearances led by Elizabeth
August 8th Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility led by Cristabel
September 12th The Magician's Twin a group of essays edited by John West and our discussion leader will be Peggy (We'll also agree on the selection of essays to read from God In The Dock)
October 10th Selected Essays from God In The Dock by C.S. Lewis led by Melissa
November 8th The Literary Impact of the Authorized Version an essay by C.S. Lewis (17 pages) led by Iain 
December 12th or thereabouts The Annual C.S. Lewis Society Christmas Party where we bring a snack to share and discuss the plans for the coming year 

Discussion Questions For Our June 13th Meeting

The Inklings  
       C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, Charles Williams, And Their Friends by Humphrey Carpenter

Discussion Questions: (June 13th meeting Ray as discussion leader)

1) What is this all about anyway?  How would you summarize what Carpenter is trying to accomplish with the book?  Do you think he succeeded?  Why? or Why Not?
2) What is it like ... comparables? How does this book compare with other biographical books about C.S. Lewis and his friends that you may be familiar with.
3) What are the fundamental common threads that joined the company, the Inklings, and how did they change over time?  What were the factors that drew them together and what were the factors that tended to drive them apart?
4) Share something you strongly agree with or strongly disagree with that is in the book.
5) Lewis and Tolkien shared a common sense of myth that was not widely shared outside their group.  What is your view of myth and Mythopoeia?
6) Carpenter goes looking for a 'A fox that isn't there' is Part Three (153).  What did you think of his search?  Do you agree or disagree?
7) Carpenter seems to be very critical of Lewis, especially towards the end of the book.  Comment on your perceptions of his criticisms.
8) What did you make of the treatment of Charles Williams in the book?  Was Williams an attractive or unattractive individual based on your perspective?
9) Is the treatment of the Inklings as an instance of an Inner Ring fair or unfair to the Inklings?
10) What do you carry away after reading it?

Schedule:

July 11th Owen Barfield's Saving the Appearances led by Elizabeth
August 8th Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility led by Cristabel
September 12th The Magician's Twin a group of essays edited by John West and our discussion leader will be Peggy (We'll also agree on the selection of essays to read from God In The Dock)
October 10th Selected Essays from God In The Dock by C.S. Lewis led by Melissa
November 8th The Literary Impact of the Authorized Version an essay by C.S. Lewis (17 pages) led by Iain (http://www.biblicalstudies.org.uk/pdf/kjv_lewis.pdf )
December 12th or thereabouts The Annual C.S. Lewis Society Christmas Party where we bring a snack to share and discuss the plans for the coming year

The website for the C.S. Lewis Society of Harrisonburg can be found at:

http://cslewissocietyhburg.blogspot.com/