In the epilogue to Out of the Silent Planet, Ransom writes the following:Why is it that Malacandrians don't keep pets and, in general, don't feel about their "lower animals" as we do about ours? Naturally it is the sort of thing they themselves could never have told me. One just sees why when one sees the three species together. Each of them is to the others both what a man is to us and what an animal is to us. They can talk to each other, they can cooperate, they have the same ethics . . . But then each finds the other different, funny, attractive as an animal is attractive. Some instinct starved in us, which we try to sooth by treating irrational creatures almost as if they were rational, is really satisfied in Malacandra. They don't need pets.
Like many of C.S. Lewis's statement, I agree and disagree with this statement. The species on Malacandria don't cuddle, and cuddling is part of the fun of having pets.However, I do think he makes an interesting point--that secretly, in our heart of hearts, we want our animals to talk yet remain animal-like.
A classic example is the manga Part-Time Pets where the animals-turned-human-like are still animal enough to be treated like pets yet can have rational discussions. (Let me pet you; then tell me how much you like it.) I have to admit, it fulfills my requirements. I want my fictional pets/humans to act like the animals they come from; that's the fun!
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| My cat Charlie does this all the time! |
