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=                           Lilith_(novel)                           =
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                            Introduction
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'Lilith: A Romance' is a fantasy novel by Scottish writer George
MacDonald, first published in 1895. It was reprinted in paperback by
Ballantine Books as the fifth volume of the Ballantine Adult Fantasy
series in September 1969.

'Lilith: A Romance' is considered among the darkest of MacDonald's
works, and among the most profound. It is a story concerning the
nature of life, death, and salvation. In the story, MacDonald mentions
a cosmic sleep that heals tortured souls, preceding the salvation of
all. MacDonald was a Christian universalist, believing that all will
eventually be saved. However, in this story, divine punishment is not
taken lightly, and salvation is hard-won.


                            Plot summary
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Mr. Vane, the protagonist of 'Lilith', owns a library that seems to be
haunted by the former librarian, who looks much like a raven from the
brief glimpses he catches of the wraith. After finally encountering
the supposed ghost, the mysterious Mr. Raven, Vane learns that Raven
had known his father; indeed, Vane's father had visited the strange
parallel universe from which Raven comes and goes and now resides
therein. Vane follows Raven into the world through a mirror (this
symbolistic realm is described as "the region of the seven
dimensions", a term taken from Jacob Boehme).

Inside the world, Vane learns of a house of beds where the dreamers
sleep until the end of the world in death: a good death, in which life
is found. Vane's grandfather refused to sleep there and is, instead,
forced to do battle with skeletons in a haunted wood. After a
treacherous journey through a valley (where the moon is the only thing
to keep him safe), Mr. Vane meets the Little Ones, children who never
grow up, remaining pure children or becoming selfish and getting
bigger and dumber, turning into "bags" or bad giants.  After
conversing with Lona, the eldest of the children, Mr. Vane decides to
help them, and sets off to gather more information, although the Raven
has warned Mr. Vane that he needs to sleep along with the dreamers
before he can really help them. Mr. Vane learns that the Raven is also
Adam and his wife is Eve.

While on his journey, he meets Lilith, Adam's first wife and the
princess of Bulika. Vane, although nearly blinded by Lilith's beauty
and charms, eventually leads the Little Ones in a battle against
Bulika. Lona, Vane's love, turns out to be Lilith's daughter, and is
killed by her own mother. Lilith, however, is captured and brought to
Adam and Eve at the house of death, where they struggle to make her
open her hand, fused shut, in which she holds the water the Little
Ones need to grow. Only when she gives it up can Lilith join the
sleepers in blissful dreams, free of sin. After a long struggle,
Lilith bids Adam cut her hand from her body; it is done, Lilith
sleeps, and Vane is sent to bury the hand; water flows from the hole
and washes the land over. Vane is then allowed to join the Little
Ones, already asleep, in their dreaming. He takes his bed, next to
Lona's, and finds true life in death.

Mr. Vane awakens in his home, then is afterwards unsure that he is
really awake, but actually dreaming that he is awake. He does not
attempt to re-enter the parallel world but waits "all the days of
(his) appointed time ...till (his) change come".


                         Critical reception
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James Blish ranked 'Lilith' as "one of the great originals," saying
that its "allegory is far from obtrusive, and the story proper both
tense and decidedly eerie." E. F. Bleiler described it as "a long
parabolic narrative heavily laden with Victorian Christian symbolism"
and noted that critical opinion of the novel was sharply divided:
"Some critics regard it highly for its fine images and verbal
flashes", while others regard it as a most unpleasant work with an
unpalatable message." Neil Barron argued that 'Lilith' "has parallels
with 'Phantastes' (1858) and shows the slight influence of Carroll,
but it is easily the strangest product of Victorian fantasy. It is the
obvious parent of Lindsay's 'Voyage to Arcturus' (1920) and fascinated
C. S. Lewis; as an allegory of heterodox Christianity it bears an
interesting relation to the works of T. F. Powys."


                              Sources
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*MacDonald, George. 'Lilith.' Grand Rapids, Michigan: Eerdmans
Publishing Company, 2000.
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                           External links
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* [https://ccel.org/ccel/macdonald/lilith Lilith] at Christian
Classics Ethereal Library
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