In order for Mark to “condition himself with the Cause (Lewis 237),” he has no option but to be the “Conditioned,” expressing the extent of power “Conditioners” have and continue to have when they assert their power over others. And it isn’t easy even for a person who holds strong convictions (Solzhenitsyn 44).” The connection to the “banality of evil” is that Frost, along with Mark’s other coworkers, appear to be harmless and caring on the outside, but in reality, they are attempting to destroy his life, so that he fears for his life, and thus, sends for Jane to support him.
As this method proves unsuccessful, Frost employs his methods of intimidation and fear, stating that he had “proposed to leave him to himself for several hours - to allow the psychological results of the arrest to mature (Lewis 238).” While this may seem harmless, in The Gulag Archipelago, Solzhenitsyn argues that psychological “methods have enormous and even annihilating impact on rabbits who have never been prepared for prison suffering. However, it is discovered that this tactic was used to develop Mark’s “desire (Lewis 237)” for Jane, in the hopes that he would “beg” Jane to join him at N.I.C.E. In The Abolition of Man, Lewis states “it is held that the instinct for preserving the species should always be obeyed at the expense of other instincts (Lewis 36).” Once Mark is overcome with the idea that one should always strive to preserve his/ her species, he will, based on Lewis’ argument, ignore his instincts of right and wrong, for example, oblivious to the false claims made against himself later on in the novel, concerned with his own sense of preservation ultimately, leading Jane to the headquarters of N.I.C.E.įurther on in Frost’s masterplan, he reveals how Mark will be overcome with feelings of overwhelming fear and intimidation, expressing the idea of the “banality of evil.” Throughout That Hideous Strength, Mark’s coworkers at N.I.C.E “appear” to have his best interest at heart, specifically, when it comes to Jane’s wellbeing. Once Mark understands the true “Cause” at hand, he will have no choice but to follow it, and thus, will send for Jane, himself. Frost is intending to replace all of the swarming thoughts in Mark’s head with a single ideology: preservation of the human race.
Either by supplying him with some motive on the instinctive level, such as fear of us or desire for her or else by conditioning him to identify himself so completely with the Cause that he will understand the real motive for securing her person and act on it (Lewis 237).” In connection with totalitarianism, this scene represents the idea of isolation. That, of course, can be done in two ways. “‘I was saying that he must be induced to send for the woman himself.
While many individuals provide his/ her input on how to secure ultimate control over Mark, planning to use this power to convince him to send for his wife, Jane, it is Frost who provides the real plan.
In That Hideous Strength, during section 2 of Chapter 11, Frost and Wither discuss the tactics they plan to employ against Mark, the protagonist, in the hopes of gaining access to his “physic” wife, therefore expressing how and when “Conditioners” intimidate the “Conditioned” and the consequences of those methods.