Till We Have Faces

The theme of identity is most obviously connected to the novel’s narrator, Orual. As a young girl, she has an identity imposed upon her, primarily by her father, who thinks that because she is ugly she has no value.

Her sense of identity is also shaped by her relationship with the Fox. Having lived in Glome all her life, Orual has always believed in the gods and their power. When the Fox, who is originally from Greece, teaches her that the world consists primarily of what she can see or feel, however, her faith in the gods is shaken and she wants proof of their existence. She expresses this conflict between her religious faith and her philosophical education as the experience of living her life in “two halves” (72), not belonging fully to one world or the other. This conflict continues even when she is queen, as is evident in that, apart from the Fox, Bardia, a believer, is her most trusted adviser.

When she loses Psyche, Orual finds herself overwhelmed by grief; not only is it her “great central sorrow” (90), but it becomes the center of her being, too.