Letter 31

Letter from Screwtape to Wormwood

Introduction

  • The letter addresses Wormwood, questioning his purpose and approach regarding the patient (human).

  • Screwtape expresses frustration with Wormwood's inadequate report, contrasting it with information from "the infernal police".

Patient's Behavior During First Raid

  • Observations: The patient exhibited signs of fear, leading to a lack of pride.

  • Actions: Despite his fear, he fulfilled his duties and even exceeded them.

  • Wormwood’s Credit: Only negative behaviors noted, such as:

    • Losing temper at a dog that tripped him.

    • Smoking excessively.

    • Forgetting a prayer.

Expectations of Justice

  • Concerns on Whining: Screwtape questions the effectiveness of Wormwood’s complaints about difficulties, cautioning against a focus on intentions rather than results.

  • Nature of Hell’s Justice: Asserts that the justice in hell is realistic and strictly concerned with outcomes:

    • The only outcome acceptable is to bring back food (souls) or be predatory himself.

Fatigue as a Tool

  • Expectations from Fatigue: Although Wormwood expects good results from the patient’s fatigue, Screwtape notes the false hopes need to be instilled in the patient.

  • Effects of Fatigue:

    • Fatigue can lead to gentleness and a quiet mind, sometimes resembling vision.

    • Moderate fatigue leads to irritability rather than extreme exhaustion.

  • Mechanisms: The anger results not merely from fatigue but from unexpected demands placed on the tired individual.

Turning Disappointment into Injury

  • Psychological Manipulation:

    • People harbor expectations and when those are disappointed, they develop a sense of injury.

    • The trick is to let the patient reach a point of feeling irremediable despair.

  • Feeding False Hopes: Screwtape advises Wormwood to encourage the patient to believe the air raids will cease and tempt him to think of relief just around the corner.

Avoidance of Total Commitment

  • Subtlety in Suffering: The patient should be encouraged to endure discomfort for a "reasonable period", which should be shorter than the actual length of his trial.

  • Timing of Yielding: The goal is for the patient to give in just before relief might occur, which can manifest in various virtues such as patience and fortitude being attacked.

Dealing with Relationships under Strain

  • Potential Interactions: The letter brings up the possibility of the patient meeting a girl under stressful conditions, potentially leading to misunderstandings exacerbated by fatigue.

  • Effect of Fatigue on Communication:

    • Fatigue may lead women to express more while causing men to withdraw, creating resentment.

Emotional Attacks & Faith

  • Attack on Emotions:

    • Screwtape suggests emotional assaults rather than intellectual arguments against the patient's faith, especially using disturbing sights (human remains) to convince him that his faith is a fantasy.

Manipulation of Reality and Experience

  • Definition Manipulation:

    • The distinctions between "real" and "subjective" are manipulated:

    • Spiritual experiences are deemed subjective unless they are detrimental.

    • In positive scenarios, only physical facts are recognized as real, while spiritual aspects are seen as mere sentiments.

  • Examples:

    • Birth: Blood and pain are real; joy is subjective.

    • Death: The terror of death reveals its reality, while love comes off as illusionary.

  • Claiming Reality: Screwtape emphasizes that the creatures (human beings) often pay a price but do not derive true enjoyment or understanding from their experiences.

Final Manipulative Advice

  • Patient Perception: By controlling how the patient views emotional stimuli, he can regard disturbing sights as harsh reality while dismissing positive experiences as mere sentimentality.

Conclusion

  • Affectionate Sign-off: The letter concludes with sarcasm, calling Wormwood "affectionate uncle." It reinforces the manipulative tone of the communication that characterizes Screwtape's guidance.