Dopplegangers are all around us

I will not be the first to say, if any think like me, that Charles Williams Descent into Hell confused me. I couldn't seem to latch onto too much out of the entire thing. However one thing kept playing out in my mind."I know it's Fantasy But how in the world is this happening?" I just couldn't understand. It seemed just like any other fiction novel that was modern day (well past) that was just telling a story. But the story was so out there, I couldn't grasp it.

The only thing that really connected with me was the intense spirituality of Battle Hill. This was a section of the world where the spiritual seeped into the reality with such force that the fantastic and the spiritual became living and breathing.

The past and present meld as characters from the past meet those of the present, and as these characters move around and through Heaven and Hell.

There are two stories that coincide through the stories that are the two opposite sides of those dealing with these cries of the past. The first is Pauline, who is terrified to meet her true self to find who she really is because of the doppleganger that haunts her. So as a real hero, Stanhope takes the burden upon himself, quoting Galatians 6:2, which reads to bear each others burdens so you can fulfill the will of Christ. While normally taken metaphorically, Stanhope takes it literally, Taking Pauline's fears so that she can face her fear, herself.

This seems to speak to a persons unwillingness to see themselves as they truly. It often takes an honest friend to get a person to take a good look at themselves. The taking of bible verses literally is probably how many need to approach the bible. All in the Word is not symbolic or metaphorical.

However, the other character Wentworth descends into hell, as he makes a false representation of the woman he loves who doesn't love him back. Her image keeps him alive and at times seems almost more real than he. The fact that he makes her perfect and can't let go shows the true ego and that man cannot and should not have a kind of human perfection, for it is unattainable and leaves us wanting more of what we cannot have. We descend a silver rope into our own dark pit.