The Idea of an Essay, Volume 4

Analysis & Response 99 or see her grandchild” (Lewis 26-27). Lewis claims that he doesn’t know how H. exists anymore and his warrant is the great mystery of death. The data supplied is that no one truly knows for sure what is on the other side of death or the capacity in which souls exist; indisputable evidence. He despairs over this because it is so hard for him to acknowledge that his beloved wife doesn’t exist in the same way that he knew her. In this Logos argument, Lewis must accept his wife’s new identity. A mark of sanctification is letting go of everything save God. Grief unveils new, mortal human beings who suddenly wonder what kind of other horrors life holds for them once a loved one is ripped away. Ethos is introduced almost from the very beginning of Lewis’ writing. The raw levels of emotion that he uses in describing his very first reactions to the death of H. are painfully accurate to anyone who has experienced the death of a loved one. He describes the experience as being “concussed” (Lewis 3), a feeling that is too accurate for those who cannot quite grasp what they know is true. He uses the feelings and thoughts that race through a victim’s mind as data to warrant his claim of truly knowing and understanding what it means to lose a loved one. In this way, his audience can believe him to be credible when he uses something they have potentially felt themselves. Charles M. Sell writes in his book Transitions Through Adult Life, “Since grief is normal, it is not an enemy to be attacked with Scripture verses and sweet-sounding phrases. Grief is a tunnel to go through, not a fly over.” (Sell 179) A Grief Observed is credible in its portrayal of not knowing how to properly grieve with one another. Sell says exactly what Lewis alluded to: his grief is being attacked by well-meaning friends, as though it is unnatural. Sell acknowledges a concept that most would not want recognized: grief will never fully be worked through. It lingers. It is uncomfortable for those who know the griever, but it is harder for the bereaved to know their own pain as well as the discomfort caused to those around them. The process of sanctification also involves, as Lewis points out, a journey. Grief is not the enemy, but a natural part of life. Grief employs the use of long-suffering, perseverance, and the process of a journey. In many ways, grief is a parallel and a prerequisite to sanctification.