1. The priest is hard to figure out, probably because most of the characters have completely different views on him. The Fox thinks (and has taught Orual to think) that he is nothing more than a scheming politician. Bardia, on the other hand, thinks that the priest is who he says he is, the mouthpiece of Ungit, and Bardia has no reason to doubt him. I think the king is somewhere in between. The king thinks that the priest is a scheming politician, but he is a politician for Ungit. Redival definitely plays a part in the priest's schemes, but I don't think everything can be attributed to her. I think the priest is both a politician and a priest, which is a dangerous combination. *hopes that made sense*

2. The king is also hard to figure out. I think he shows a fear of the gods because it is expected of him. Whether he is afraid of the gods or not, that fear does not carry over to the priest. I think his temper got the better of him as usual. But it could easily be argued that he is only afraid of the gods if he himself is threatened.

3. I'm not sure about this one, I'll have to think about it some more.

4. The victim must be perfect because he/she will either be the mate of Ungit, or the mate of Ungit's son. I have read the book several times, and this part is still rather confusing. In order to be the Accursed, the victim must have committed some sort of treachery or treason against the gods, how then, if the victim has sinned against the gods can he/she be perfect? It's contradictory, but I think that is probably the point. The biblical parallel that immediately comes to mind is Christ. He was the perfect victim. But he was not both the Accursed and perfect at the same time. He became the Accursed for we who are really the Accursed so that we might be perfect.

My internet crashed right after I wrote most of this post, I hope I remembered everything I wanted to say.

1. I can't see any benefit that the priest gets out of Psyche's death. It does, of course, show his power over the king. I find this whole situation very confusing. Why does Redival go to the temple in the first place? Why does she "tattle" about Psyche? What does she even say? All questions I can't answer. It seems all steeped in myth and a fog of confusion. I wonder if that is what Lewis intended or if we are supposed to understand what is going on.

3 & 4. To me, it seems like the Accursed is a scapegoat. There was war and pestilence before Psyche did anything. But she is the one the blame falls on. There is a very obvious parallel between the sacrifice of the Accursed and Christ's sacrifice:

The victim is led up the mountain to the Holy Tree, and bound to the Tree and left. Then the Brute comes...In the Great Offering, the victim must be perfect.

Of course, there is the odd "wedding" bit, but it's hard for me to see someone "perfect" sacrificed on a "Holy Tree" without thinking of Christ. Christ is the ultimate scapegoat because he, very literally, takes responsibility for everything bad and takes the fall for it. Someone needs to die to appease Ungit, but that person must be perfect (Psyche is blameless), yet the Accursed (all sins heaped upon their shoulders) so that at once, they are both full of sin, yet blameless.

1. At first I thought that Psyche was just a scapegoat for a lot of stuff that was already going wrong (and she may still be) but I'm leaning towards the idea that the King's irreverence coupled with Psyche's apotheosis "broke the camel's back" and released Ungit's wrath. I think Redival wanted to tattle on Psyche out of jealousy but was surprised when the Priest (and the people) took her so seriously and things quickly got out of hand. I think the Priest really does believe that the plagues are Psyche's fault. The Priest may be a schemer, but as Kate says, I don't see much benefit to the Priest is Psyche dies.

Why does Redival go to the temple in the first place? Why does she "tattle" about Psyche? What does she even say?

It just seems like childish jealousy to me. Redival is a brat and is trying to get her sister in trouble. Perhaps she feels that Psyche is getting in the way of her getting a husband, or perhaps she was just toying with Psyche out of spite or mindlessness. (Redival doesn't strike me as the sort of person who does a lot of moral questioning.) A lot of teens in real life have done damaging or even criminal things simply because they thought it would be fun and never stopped to think of the consequences.

2. I think the king respects the gods, but doesn't respect the priest beyond his political power. It seems to me that the king stabs the priest out of desperation, not disrespect. The king already feels cursed by the gods. Perhaps in that moment he feels (like Orual does in the introduction) that he has nothing left to lose? In this chapter the king seems to be affected cheifly by stress, not temper.

3. Yes, since I am assuming that within the story the gods exist. Perhaps I'll answer differently after I've read the entire book. As far as the question about the biblical parallel is concerned, I think other people have already answered this question better than I could.

4. Perhaps Psyche is "accursed" because of her apotheosism, but is otherwise perfect.

1. To what extent do you believe the Priest's accusations? Does he believe in them, or is his mandate to kill Psyche a ploy from Redival? Does he have any credibility with you, or do you agree with the Fox that he is a scheming politician?

Eh, with being told from Orual's point of view, I'm not totally certain. I'm inclined to think he believes it, as Redival would have little likelihood of gaining the crown if the king is disposed of (none with Psyche being sacrificed), which means she does not have much to offer in regards to politics and such. But, as I said, hearing Orual's view of the situation, knowing that she's so tied to Psyche and clearly emotionally involved, makes it hard to have a clear view of the Priest in the limited interaction we have had with him thus far.

2. Is the King of Glome scared of the gods? If so, why does he treat the Priest of Ungit so casually and carelessly? He insults, berates, and even threatens to kill the Priest. Is it because his temper, as in most circumstances, simply carries him away, or does he really have no real regard for the gods?

I think he thinks himself to be unafraid of the gods, yet I think he does fear them (or, at least, the possibility of them) and he does know this. I think his behavior to the Priest was more an attempt to protect himself, as all the rudeness (if you will) took place when he either didn't know what was happening or else when he thought he was the one to be offered.

3. In this chapter, the Priest of Ungit gives several examples of what happened when there was a sinful person, "the Accursed," among the people. Do you think that these Accursed people are really responsible for the misfortunes attributed to their sin? Is there a biblical parallel to the concept of an accursed person?

No, I don't think they were the cause. I sincerely doubt that the Accurese were the only ones who had done things that could anger the gods all the time between each occurrence. Kate phrased it much better then I could have.

4. The Priest says, "In the Great Offering, the victim must be perfect." Why must the victim be perfect? How can a person be the Accursed and perfect at the same time? What does it mean to expiate sin? And again, what biblical parallel can be drawn from this idea?

Again, what Kate said.

My internet crashed right after I wrote most of this post, I hope I remembered everything I wanted to say.

Off topic, but if you use Firefox, you can get and use Lazarus. Hands down, the best add-on; it saves your posts, so when you lose one, it still has it in it's database.

Why does she "tattle" about Psyche?

I'm as confused about your other questions as you are, but as to Redival tattling on Psyche, I understood it to be a very deep jealousy. She was so used to being "the pretty one" and being cooed over. Then Psyche came along and Redival was no longer being petted and praised for her beauty. Perhaps she didn't want to see Psyche killed, but I do think she wanted her punished/humiliated/hurt in some form, a sort of revenge. Reading more into it, she may even be acting out on the fact that she's supposed to be watched by the Fox and Orual, so Psyche (a pet of both Fox and Orual) being hurt is a way to hurt her "jailers."

1. To what extent do you believe the Priest's accusations? Does he believe in them, or is his mandate to kill Psyche a ploy from Redival? Does he have any credibility with you, or do you agree with the Fox that he is a scheming politician?

I think the Priest believes. He was so sure of Ungit, so certain of what he thought the gods required, that though he may have acted on Redival's report of Psyche stealing worship, he believed that Psyche was really the Accursed. In that scene where the King stabs him, and Orual looks in his eyes and sees 'he was sure of Ungit'--that did seem to show that, whatever political aims he may have (and I think he does have some), he truly believes in Ungit. He may be a politician, but he's her politician.

2. Is the King of Glome scared of the gods? If so, why does he treat the Priest of Ungit so casually and carelessly? He insults, berates, and even threatens to kill the Priest. Is it because his temper, as in most circumstances, simply carries him away, or does he really have no real regard for the gods?

I think he is pretending to be unafraid. Deep down, he does fear the gods, but he's trying to show he doesn't. I think he also fears for his own life--he doesn't love the gods that much. So its is mainly his fear for his own life that leads him to attack the Priest. But I think he does have at least a little regard for them, though mostly fear. But I don't think his regard for the gods carries over to the Priest.

3. In this chapter, the Priest of Ungit gives several examples of what happened when there was a sinful person, "the Accursed," among the people. Do you think that these Accursed people are really responsible for the misfortunes attributed to their sin? Is there a biblical parallel to the concept of an accursed person?

I'm not sure they really are. There has to be more than one sinful person in the whole country, so how could one person's sin be the sole cause of trouble? But I remember a story in the book of Joshua where the men of Israel are defeated because a man named Achan has stolen some of the spoils that rightly belong to God. They kill Achan, and then they are victorious again.

4. The Priest says, "In the Great Offering, the victim must be perfect." Why must the victim be perfect? How can a person be the Accursed and perfect at the same time? What does it mean to expiate sin? And again, what biblical parallel can be drawn from this idea?

Kate and daughter of the King already mentioned the parallels to Christ, and that was one of the first things I though of when I read that passage. Other than that, I found it rather confusing, unless--it is the others who are sinful, the victim is perfect, yet accursed with the sins of the people for which they die. That is the only way I can really explain that. To 'expiate' sin seems to be to make payment for it, like the Israelites would make sacrifices after sinning.

1: The Priest of Ungit has always been a very interesting character in my opinion. I think that the whole problem of Glome could just as easily be traced to the King rather than Psyche. The King is the one who cannot produce an heir. He is the one who cannot get into an alliance with a neighbouring land. But I think that Redival's jealousy of Psyche (fueled, as Lady_Liln said by jealousy over beauty) is what led to her tattling, and what led the Priest to consider Psyche as a possibility. I don't think the Priest wanted to accuse the King because he would have been in fear of his life. . . attacking his daughter in order to offer salvation to the King wouldn't have been so inflamatory.

2: I think that the King is worred about his own safety. Deep down, he really does fear the gods, otherwise he would have killed the Priest long ago (he's always mentioning that the Priest is a pain). But I think that as much as he does fear the gods, he fears the Priest more. The gods are silent, but the Priest wields enough power to claim the life of one of the royal family, and the people are always behind him.

3: I think that the accursed people of Glome were responsible for the downfall of their city. If we're going under the assumption that this is a mythical city, and if we're going to operate on the assumption that the gods are real, then we have to assume that what we've been told of them is true (Unless the Priest is a crook. . . which is definitely a possibility). The Bible has at least one parallel (I can never remember how to spell that word ;P ), Achan. He sinned against the children of Israel, spoiling a city that God had said not to spoil. The children of Israel than went on to lose to a puny little city called Ai (pronounced Ay-eye). Much like in Till We Have Faces, holy lots were drawn, and Achan came up as the accused. He, and his entire family, and all of his posessions were destroyed.

4: So many people have mentioned my thoughts on this already. Christ is the example. The Priest, however, doesn't seem to realise that there are no perfect people on the earth. . . not even Psyche.

1. To what extent do you believe the Priest's accusations? Does he believe in them, or is his mandate to kill Psyche a ploy from Redival? Does he have any credibility with you, or do you agree with the Fox that he is a scheming politician?
This one is hard. I think Redival has a lot to do with it. I’m not sure what the Priest believes. I’m having a hard time deciding if Ungit exists or not, so I tend to believe that the Priest made it up but then he was so calm when the King threatened him that it seems that he believes it. He does seem a lot like a schemeing politician. In other words I don’t know.

2. Is the King of Glome scared of the gods? If so, why does he treat the Priest of Ungit so casually and carelessly? He insults, berates, and even threatens to kill the Priest. Is it because his temper, as in most circumstances, simply carries him away, or does he really have no real regard for the gods?
I don’t think he has much real regard for the gods. He seems to care about his own well-being first and for most.
3. In this chapter, the Priest of Ungit gives several examples of what happened when there was a sinful person, "the Accursed," among the people. Do you think that these Accursed people are really responsible for the misfortunes attributed to their sin? Is there a biblical parallel to the concept of an accursed person?
I tend to think that this is just people’s way of getting rid of people they don’t like, but I’m going under the assumption that the gods aren’t real, which I’m beginning to think is a wrong one, so it makes since that I would think that. There are biblical parallels: Jonah was thrown off of the ship because his sin was the reason for the storm, there is the story where David numbers the people and then they are punished with the plague (that one is interesting because the people sinned first and then David sinned so God could punish the people)(I think the passage is somewhere near the end of 2 Sam.). I just read a Bible about a situation where such practice was misused. 1 King 21 from what I can gather there was a certain kind of fast that was used to determine if there was a guilty person that needed to be killed. Jezebel used this practice to bring false charges against Naboth so he would be killed and her husband could take his vineyard.

4. The Priest says, "In the Great Offering, the victim must be perfect." Why must the victim be perfect? How can a person be the Accursed and perfect at the same time? What does it mean to expiate sin? And again, what biblical parallel can be drawn from this idea?
I’m guessing the gods wouldn’t like imperfect sacrifice. They would want the best not the worse. I suppose one could be blameless but be considered Accursed by the people. Expiate sin would mean to atone for it. I suppose Jesus could be considered both Accursed and perfect. In the context of the story I don’t think it is possible for Psyche to be both.

1. I think the Priest is both a scheming politician and a sincere believer in his deity. The thing is, he has absolutely no problem with using his power and influence as a priest of Ungit to manipulate and control and get his own way. Psyche being hailed as a goddess is probably a threat to his power in his eyes and so he has to destroy her.

2. If the King ever believed in the gods, I think the fact that they didn't shower him with whatever he wanted killed his faith. He mocks and belittles and threatens the Priest with no apparent concern for vengeance from the gods. In fact, the only thing he seems worried about is the people rising up against him and overthrowing him.

3. I would love to know exactly how the Priest knows peoples' thoughts. Sounds to me like a typical witch hunt scenario. "Oh we're suffering, the gods must be angry! I don't like that person, they looked at me wrong yesterday. They must be evil! KILL THEM!!!"

4. Obviously Lewis meant to draw parallels with the sacrifice Jesus made upon the cross. In the world of the story though, I think the Priest is talking sheer nonsense. He goes from describing a person who committed a crime against the gods to a perfect person. So which is it? Does the sacrifice have to be a great sinner or a perfect person? Humans can't be both.

1. To what extent do you believe the Priest's accusations? Does he believe in them, or is his mandate to kill Psyche a ploy from Redival? Does he have any credibility with you, or do you agree with the Fox that he is a scheming politician?

I thought he was just a scheming politician until he seemed willing to die for Ungit. I can’t figure out if he was really willing to die or if he was calling the kings bluff. As for Redival, she doesn’t think anything through. She might not have meant to get her sister into this much trouble, but I think she's still partially to blame. She like a drunk driver who “accidently” kills someone. It might not have been her intent, but she is still one of the causes of this.

2. Is the King of Glome scared of the gods? If so, why does he treat the Priest of Ungit so casually and carelessly? He insults, berates, and even threatens to kill the Priest. Is it because his temper, as in most circumstances, simply carries him away, or does he really have no real regard for the gods?

He fears them when it befits him. He fears them to avoid punishment. But when he thinks they want his life then he has no fear of them.

3. In this chapter, the Priest of Ungit gives several examples of what happened when there was a sinful person, "the Accursed," among the people. Do you think that these Accursed people are really responsible for the misfortunes attributed to their sin? Is there a biblical parallel to the concept of an accursed person?

I don’t know about this one. Adam and Eve can kind be a parallel to the Accursed. Simply because when they sinned it effected all of creation.

4. The Priest says, "In the Great Offering, the victim must be perfect." Why must the victim be perfect? How can a person be the Accursed and perfect at the same time? What does it mean to expiate sin? And again, what biblical parallel can be drawn from this idea?

Christ was the perfect sacrifice for our sins because he himself was sinless. He was not dying for his own sins. This is kind of the opposite of Psyche who was dying for her sins (or at least the sins people claimed she committed).

1. To what extent do you believe the Priest's accusations? Does he believe in them, or is his mandate to kill Psyche a ploy from Redival? Does he have any credibility with you, or do you agree with the Fox that he is a scheming politician?

I agree with the Fox that the Priest is a scheming politician, who hardly needed Redival's tattling to take the line he did. In my reading, I had the impression that the Priest doesn't like the King very much and would relish the chance to bring him down. And I can see how the Priest would gain from Psyche's death. Sitting back and watching people suffering isn't the best way to be popular with the people. Psyche's trying to help at least shows she cares about them and wants to help. Sacrificing her means the Priest would get rid of not only someone whom the people might like but also a legitimate heir of the King.

2. Is the King of Glome scared of the gods? If so, why does he treat the Priest of Ungit so casually and carelessly? He insults, berates, and even threatens to kill the Priest. Is it because his temper, as in most circumstances, simply carries him away, or does he really have no real regard for the gods?

I think that the King of Glome is scared of the gods and also scared of the Priest, who has quite a bit of power in the running of affairs. In accusing Psyche, as well as others, the Priest is showing just how powerful he is. I think that the King is carried away with his temper, as usual. But in this instance, I'm sure the King is also aware that he has been got at by the Priest, especially as the King is about to lose the loveliest of his daughters, and his best asset among them.

3. In this chapter, the Priest of Ungit gives several examples of what happened when there was a sinful person, "the Accursed," among the people. Do you think that these Accursed people are really responsible for the misfortunes attributed to their sin? Is there a biblical parallel to the concept of an accursed person?

No I don't think "the Accursed" are really responsible for the misfortunes attributed to their sin. I'm not saying that sinfulness is excusable and that neglect of their resources might not have been a factor in the King's disasters. The King, himself, doesn't seem to have much idea of looking after others, whilst the Priest is milking these disasters for all that they are worth in stirring up trouble for the King. "The Accursed" are in most instances, only those who got caught, and are not necessarily the real guilty ones, or the only ones. A biblical parallel might be the scapegoat sacrificed for people's sins. The temple sacrifices are also called to mind. Also Jesus Christ, himself. And Jephthah's daughter in Judges.

4. The Priest says, "In the Great Offering, the victim must be perfect." Why must the victim be perfect? How can a person be the Accursed and perfect at the same time? What does it mean to expiate sin? And again, what biblical parallel can be drawn from this idea?

The Levitical rulings stress that a sacrificed animal had to be perfect without blemish to be worthy to be sacrificed to God. Anything less would not be acceptable. "The Accursed" could also be perfect in the sense that they are the most suitable sacrifice to expiate the sin. Hence we have Capital Punishment. Psyche is the perfect sacrifice if she is guilty of the sin the Priest accuses her of, especially as she is perfectly lovely in other ways.

To expiate sin is to make up for it, to serve the punishment for the sin, or to recompense those who have been hurt by that sin. Jesus Christ, again is the perfect sacrifice, matching the Temple sacrifices and those others I mentioned earlier.

1. To what extent do you believe the Priest's accusations? Does he believe in them, or is his mandate to kill Psyche a ploy from Redival? Does he have any credibility with you, or do you agree with the Fox that he is a scheming politician?

I really don't know. I think that Ungit is real, & that he believes that Ungit is real, but for some reason, it seems like he's acting as if there's something for him to gain from Psyches death. But I don't know what. He does seems like a scheming politician though, but I don't know what his motivation is. The fear of Ungit, maybe?

2. Is the King of Glome scared of the gods? If so, why does he treat the Priest of Ungit so casually and carelessly? He insults, berates, and even threatens to kill the Priest. Is it because his temper, as in most circumstances, simply carries him away, or does he really have no real regard for the gods?

I think that the king used to believe in them, but now he's kinda irritated with them because they sent the drought onto the land, so he's showing his anger towards the priests. Possibly even beginning to doubt their existence.

3. In this chapter, the Priest of Ungit gives several examples of what happened when there was a sinful person, "the Accursed," among the people. Do you think that these Accursed people are really responsible for the misfortunes attributed to their sin? Is there a biblical parallel to the concept of an accursed person?

I think it's possible that "the Accursed" person is really responsible for the misfortunes attributed to their sin. If the gods are real, of course, like DigoryKirke said. If Psyche was blamless, or such a good girl as Orual describes, & was the person to take all the sins of the people, & must be killed for them to make things right, then it sounds like the parallel of Jesus. He was perfect on earth, but he took all of our sins, & died for them to make things right.

4. The Priest says, "In the Great Offering, the victim must be perfect." Why must the victim be perfect? How can a person be the Accursed and perfect at the same time? What does it mean to expiate sin? And again, what biblical parallel can be drawn from this idea?

Psyche was a good girl, or "perfect", like the Priest said. But by some sort of spiritual interventions, she was "the Accursed", having be punished for all of the peoples sins, had to die in order to set the people right with Ungit. Like I said in question 3, it sounds like the biblical parallel is Jesus.