The Screwtape Letters

The story, published in 1942, is set amid two wars: World War II and the ongoing battle between Heaven and Hell. Indeed, Screwtape uses explicitly militaristic language in many of his descriptions of the devils’ conflict with God; he refers, for instance, to the “barbarous methods of warfare” of “the Enemy,” which include a “blockade” impeding the demons’ access to the human souls that they wish to consume (22). However, while Lewis draws parallels between WWII and the war the devils are waging on God, he does not suggest the two are in any sense equivalent. Though WWII presents serious moral issues, it does so in the context of a struggle that plays out within each human. The motif of war thus develops the theme of Love, Self-Love, and the Conflict Between Good and Evil.

This is especially evident in Screwtape and Wormwood’s disagreement on the challenges and opportunities the war provides. Wormwood views the war as a straightforward “good” in part because of all the human suffering it will cause, but Lewis is comparatively uninterested in viewing the war in these sweeping, global terms. Certainly, these consequences of the war are evils—otherwise the devils would not delight in them—but they are ultimately the results of many individual decisions and actions, and it is here, Lewis suggests, that the real conflict occurs.

As the more experienced devil, Screwtape thus becomes impatient with Wormwood’s naïve assumptions. What interests Screwtape is whether the war makes people more sinful or less, and this is not an easy thing to calculate. The patient is of draft age, and Wormwood assumes that in wartime, his charge will be easily tempted to acts of cruelty. Killing other humans is, after all, what war is about. However, Screwtape reminds Wormwood that it is equally possible that the patient will become closer to God as his life is threatened and he seeks comfort in faith.

To emphasize just where it is that the most important conflict occurs, Lewis touches on various actions that might seem virtuous from the perspective of human warfare but that could nevertheless be sinful for a given individual. For example, the senior devil suggests that if the young man is very brave during battle, this presents an opportunity to tempt him with the sin of pride. Conversely, the patient can be urged to become a pacifist and conscientious objector; this could be a virtuous action if it reflects genuine belief, but if fear plays any role, it is at the very least a pathway toward sin.