Charlie Carter from the Thinklings podcast talks with Chris about the rest of Owen Barfield's dystopian novella, Night Operation.
More description to come.
5/30: Owen A. Barfield, grandson of Owen Barfield, was kind enough to listen to this episode, and put forward his own interpretation of the parachutes--that they represent "Ethers," by which he means "Warmth, Light, Sound, Life".
While you are ruminating on that, here are a few of his other notes:
- OB referred to himself as the "First and Last Inkling" ... particularly as he was the first and last to be published. And he knew he was behind the Inkling impulse.
- OB was not a vegetarian.
- It was Maud (grandmother) who was concerned about children being trapped in wardrobes.
Maud was a good friend to CSL and is much overlooked.
See: https://www.owenbarfield.org/the-inklings/the-inkling-impulse/
- Lucy Barfield (OB's daughter) was CSL's God-daughter; as her God-father he wrote LW&W for her first.
See: https://www.owenbarfield.org/research/lucy-barfield-and-narnia/
- OB was a poet, author, playwriter, lawyer etc., but also had a career as a Professor in North America. This is much overlooked.
See: https://www.owenbarfield.org/research/recordings/
- OB's theory of 'Ancient Semantic Unity' is what so much influenced CSL & Tolkien and changed their worldview etc.
- The importance of naming for OB, as noted and also in 'The Silver Trumpet'.
- OB was the Philosopher of the Inklings.
- OB is the first to use the phrase 'Evolution of Consciousness' in publication. [He also uses the term co-inherence about a decade before CW.]
Next time: Perelandra.
