No Right to Happiness

 
This article is quite different from the previous articles we have read in this class. Lewis writes in a dialogue form as if he is speaking to a friend or neighbor named Clare. Lewis doesn’t really input his responses to Clare, but more so all of Clare’s thoughts on the matter in which they are discussing. In the writing they were discussing a situation that had occurred with a neighbor whom they called Mr. A and his wife, Mrs. A. A quote at the beginning really summarizes what happened with Mr. A. it says

Mr. A had deserted Mrs. A and got his divorce in order to marry Mrs. B., who had likewise got her divorce in order to marry Mr. A.

Lewis confirmed that Mr. A and Mrs. B were very much in love with each other and they felt they had made the right decision with their divorces. Lewis pondered on the thought of the right to have happiness throughout the entire article. I found it interesting when he wrote that if a person had a right to happiness then that is like having

A right to be six feet tall, or to have a millionaire as a father, or to get good weather whenever you want to have a picnic.

Those are ridiculous to think about as was a right to happiness to Lewis. Clare did not agree with Lewis on this matter. She said that there was a both a legal and moral right for Mr. A to leave his wife for another woman. Clare justified this by saying that since it was legal by law then is was morally legal as well for Mr. A to pursue finding happiness.

I really think that Mr. A and Mrs. B acted on an impulse to make themselves physically happy. Their impulse was very selfish because they hurt two people in the process because they were not physically attracted to them anymore. Mrs. B’s husband had been injured in war and had lost his job. Mr. A’s wife had aged and was no longer the same cheery person she had been when she was young. Her long and hard pregnancies were suspected to be the cause of those changes. All the qualities named above about Mrs. A and Mr. B are all physical. This makes me wonder what kind of love Mr. A and Mrs. B’s first marriages consisted of and also what their marriage together would consist of. What do you think?

Lewis was very sassy in a way with his thoughts toward Clare’s views. The one example that despite the seriousness of the conversation made me chuckle was Lewis’ illustration about nectarines. He said

It is like having a morality in which stealing fruit is considered wrong – unless you steal nectarines.

I think this quote shows that he is clearly aggravated that anyone could possible think that it is morally right for a man to leave his wife for another woman. I agree with Lewis on this matter. We are never going to find complete and utter happiness on this earthly world. We will be completely happy and content when Jesus comes back for us Christians and we live for eternity with Him. However, many people try to find that heavenly happiness on earth and they turn away great things because the kind of happiness they are looking for cannot be found here.