Lilith
'Lilith' Summary
Mr. Vane, the protagonist of Lilith, owns a library that seems to be haunted by the former librarian, who looks much like a raven from the brief glimpses he catches of the wraith. After finally encountering the supposed ghost, the mysterious Mr. Raven, Vane learns that Raven had known his father; indeed, Vane's father had visited the strange parallel universe from which Raven comes and goes and now resides therein. Vane follows Raven into the world through a mirror (this symbolistic realm is described as "the region of the seven dimensions", a term taken from Jacob Boehme).
Inside the world, Vane learns of a house of beds where the dreamers sleep until the end of the world in death: a good death, in which life is found. Vane's grandfather refused to sleep there and is, instead, forced to do battle with skeletons in a haunted wood. After a treacherous journey through a valley (where the moon is the only thing to keep him safe), Mr. Vane meets the Little Ones, children who never grow up, remaining pure children or becoming selfish and getting bigger and dumber, turning into "bags" or bad giants. After conversing with Lona, the eldest of the children, Mr. Vane decides to help them, and sets off to gather more information, although the Raven (who is also Adam) has warned Mr. Vane that he needs to sleep along with the dreamers before he can really help them.
While on his journey, he meets Lilith, Adam's first wife and the princess of Bulika.[2] Vane, although nearly blinded by Lilith's beauty and charms, eventually leads the Little Ones in a battle against Bulika. Lona, Vane's love, turns out to be Lilith's daughter, and is killed by her own mother. Lilith, however, is captured and brought to Adam and Eve at the house of death, where they struggle to make her open her hand, fused shut, in which she holds the water the Little Ones need to grow. Only when she gives it up can Lilith join the sleepers in blissful dreams, free of sin. After a long struggle, Lilith bids Adam cut her hand from her body; it is done, Lilith sleeps, and Vane is sent to bury the hand; water flows from the hole and washes the land over. Vane is then allowed to join the Little Ones, already asleep, in their dreaming. He takes his bed, next to Lona's, and finds true life in death.
Mr. Vane awakens in his home, then is afterwards unsure that he is really awake, but actually dreaming that he is awake. He does not attempt to re-enter the parallel world but waits "all the days of (his) appointed time ...till (his) change come"
Book Details
Author
George MacDonald
England, Scotland
George MacDonald (10 December 1824 – 18 September 1905) was a Scottish author, poet and Christian minister. He was a pioneering figure in the field of modern fantasy literature and the mentor of...
More on George MacDonaldDownload eBooks
Listen/Download Audiobook
- Select Speed
Related books
Ships That Pass in the Night by Beatrice Harraden
This short novel by Beatrice Harraden, who was known for her work as a suffragist, was a bestseller in its time. In it, teacher and activist Bernardin...
Hope and Have; Fanny Grant Among the Indians by Oliver Optic
Amidst the untamed landscapes of the American frontier, a young heroine's journey unfolds in "Hope and Have: Fanny Grant Among the Indians." Fanny, a...
Billy Budd by Herman Melville
Billy Budd, Sailor (An Inside Narrative) is a novella by American writer Herman Melville, left unfinished at his death in 1891. Acclaimed by critics a...
Lost Face (and Other Stories) by Jack London
It includes a total of eight short stories that revolve around themes of survival, adventure, and the human psyche. The collection was first published...
The Woman of the Wood by Abraham Merritt
The story follows a group of adventurers who set out to find a mysterious woman who is said to live in the heart of a dark and dangerous forest. Set...
What Diantha Did by Charlotte Perkins Gilman
Diantha Bell is a normal young woman desiring marriage and a home, but also a challenging career in a new territory which raises many eyebrows and set...
The Adventure of the Speckled Band by Arthur Conan Doyle
"The Speckled Band" is a classic locked-room mystery that deals with the themes of parental greed, inheritance and freedom. Tinged with Gothic element...
The Hunger Games-Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
It continues the story of Katniss Everdeen, the victor of the 74th Hunger Games, as she becomes a symbol of hope for the oppressed districts of Panem....
The Lady in Blue by Auguste Groner
A Joseph Muller Mystery originally published in 1905 in German as "Die blaue Dame" (The Blue Lady). Translated by American writer and translator, Grac...
Woodcraft Boys at Sunset Island by May Folwell Hoisington
What if a group of boys were stranded on a deserted island with no adults around? May Folwell Hoisington's classic children's novel Woodcraft Boys at...
Reviews for Lilith
No reviews posted or approved, yet...