Ruth Jackson speaks with Dr. Nathan Fayard, Assistant Professor of English at Indiana Wesleyan University about how Lewis engages with the idea of the romantic hero in Perelandra. Why does Lewis split heroic qualities between Ransom and the villain Weston? What can Byron’s Manfred and Shelley’s Prometheus Unbound teach us about Lewis’s theology?

Fayard unpacks how Lewis “re-baptises” the romantic ideal, transforming the satanic archetype into a vision grounded in divine love and restoration. From the rebellious energy of Romantic poets to Lewis’s academic protagonist, this episode explores the tension between self-will and surrender. Are we drawn to heroes who defy the gods—or those who point us to them? Catch up with the first two parts of Ruth’s conversation with Fayard here