The Great Divorce by C.S. Lewis
Week 11: Chapter 10 — The Ghost with the Lizard
Read Chapter 10 of The Great Divorce.
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Perhaps the book's most famous and theologically rich encounter: a Ghost who carries a whispering red lizard on his shoulder — the lizard of lust — and the Angel who offers to kill it.
Discussion Questions
7 questions1.The Ghost carries a red lizard on his shoulder that whispers constantly into his ear — representing lust, or sexual desire gone wrong. The Angel asks permission to kill it. The Ghost desperately wants to say yes but keeps hedging: 'Maybe tomorrow,' 'I'm not well enough,' 'Perhaps just quiet it a little.' What makes the process of surrendering this particular sin so difficult, even when the Ghost genuinely wants to be free?
2.The Angel will not act without the Ghost's consent. He asks again and again: 'May I kill it?' This is one of the book's most theologically charged moments. What does the repeated request for permission tell us about how God relates to human freedom, even in the work of sanctification?
a.Have you ever experienced God waiting for your 'yes' before doing something in your life that you knew needed to be done?
b.What was the barrier to giving that 'yes,' and what finally broke it down?
3.The Ghost's most revealing objection is: 'It'll kill me.' The Angel says: 'It won't. But supposing it did?' Here Lewis touches one of the deepest fears around repentance — that dying to our sin means dying to ourselves, losing our identity. How does the gospel answer this fear?
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