Lewis talks about male and female so often that it is hard to know where to begin, or indeed what to leave out [of an essay on his view of the subject]…. Why does this theme appear so often, and in so many different guises—as poetry, essay, fiction and myth? For Lewis, the reason is simple. Masculine and feminine are not merely curious facts about biological existence; they reflect the very structure of the universe. To understand the enigma of masculine and feminine is to have approached the mystery at the heart of creation where symbol and reality are one….

In the preface to That Hideous Strength—which he calls a "modern fairy tale for grownups"—Lewis notes that his story follows the method of the traditional fairy tale. All fairy tales begin, he says, not with the proverbial witches and ogres, but with "humdrum scenes and...