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Copywork
About This Passage
Here Screwtape says out loud what the devils truly believe: that love cannot be real, so the Enemy's love 'must be a disguise' hiding some selfish reason. The whole letter is the devils hunting for that hidden reason — and never finding it, because there is none. The Enemy really does love people freely, for their own good, with nothing wanted back. Copying this sentence shows how a person who only ever thinks of himself cannot even imagine a free gift, and so spends his life looking for a trick that is not there.
All His talk about Love must be a disguise for something else—He must have some real motive for creating them and taking so much trouble about them.
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Discussion Questions
Narration Prompt
Tell the story of Screwtape's nineteenth letter to Wormwood in your own words. Why are the devils so sure the Enemy cannot really love, and near the end, why does Screwtape say that falling in love is not simply 'good' or 'bad' but can be used by either side?
Discussion Questions
- The devils think the Enemy's love must be a disguise hiding a selfish reason. Why do the devils believe love cannot be real and must hide a secret? Which detail in the letter to Wormwood helps you decide?
- Screwtape says 'nobody can' really love, but the Enemy loves people 'freely,' wanting nothing back. Is it better to believe love is real, or to think everyone is secretly selfish — and why? Name the detail in the letter to Wormwood that shows what the Enemy is like.
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Vocabulary Builder
Item 1
A way of hiding what something really is.
Item 2
Something kept hidden that others are not told.
Item 3
The reason why someone does something.
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Critical Thinking
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