title: Relational ethics in the novels of Charles Williams.
abstract: In the novels of Charles Williams, characters are faced with the mundane but profound choice between "charity and selfishness," the City and Infamy. Williams' "way of exchange" and "doctrine of substitution" have direct parallels in contextual family therapy. In Descent Into Hell, he explores the long-term effects of legacy and the balancing of the relational ledger through the process of "substituted" love. In All Hallows' Eve, the focus is on forgiveness and the opportunity to correct relational mistakes while one is in a purgatorial state. Both novels include parallel processes of relational stagnation/disjunction and rejunction, illustrating the fact that our simple, everyday choices have ultimate significance.
mesh_terms: D004989:Ethics; D005196:Family Therapy; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008093:Literature, Modern; D012945:Social Values