A Grief Observed

C.S. Lewis is the narrator of A Grief Observed and “a man whose extraordinary scholarship and intellectual ability isolated him from much of mankind” (XV). The product of a middle-class British upbringing, Lewis exemplified the traditional values of “personal honour, total commitment to one’s given word, and the general principles of chivalry and good manners” (XVI). Lewis’s writings about his grief reveal an introspectiveand painfully-honest man, unafraid to examine his own assumptions. A committed Christian, Lewis has the courage to explore and expose the darkest thoughts about God and faith from the depths of his despair. He is sincere, serious, and self-critical, berating himself throughout the book for being more focused on himself than Helen. Lewis had been a happy and contented bachelor before meeting and marrying Helen, the great love and great loss of his life.