Describing his fear of meeting his new teacher, whom he heard was particularly sentimental, Lewis writes:
It is one of my lifelong weaknesses that I never could endure the embrace or kiss of my own sex. (An unmanly weaknes, by the way; Aeneas, Beowulf, Roland, Lancelot, Johnson, and Nelson knew nothing of it.)
-C.S. Lewis, Surprised by Joy, p.134
I’m with him on this one. For a while in college I went to a man-hugging church and well, never got into it. If Beowulf could do it though, perhaps I should toughen up. Though it might make it easier if I was in armour and had the heads of my enemies hanging from my belt. Yeah that would definitely make it easier.
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June 6th, 2009 at 3:09 AM
I was/am blessed to have a father (and many male relatives) who had/has no qualms about hugging my brothers and I. We grew up understanding that there was nothing unmannly about hugging (and sentimentalism had nothing to do with it).
If I remember correctly, CSL’s father was a rather distant man – was he not? (Or am I thinking of someone else?)
Good luck finding that suit of armor (even more so, acquiring those heads). I’d love to see the pictures, though.
June 8th, 2009 at 4:36 PM
All accounts show that CSL’s father was sort of an odd duck. I don’t know of hardly any fathers that show that kind of affection though – not first hand at least. I would suspect it’s largely a cultural thing.