What happens in Letter V – The War Begins of The Screwtape Letters?
Letter V arrives as news of the Second World War interrupts the patient's daily life. Screwtape writes to Wormwood with his usual bureaucratic detachment, advising him not to overestimate the war as a tool for demonic advantage. He recognizes that humans often think war is inherently good for Hell's purposes, but Screwtape quickly corrects this notion with chilling clarity: while war brings fear, hatred, and suffering, it also inspires courage, self-sacrifice, and a heightened awareness of mortality—traits that can lead individuals closer to the Enemy (God). Screwtape cautions Wormwood not to let the patient focus on the reality of death, as true acknowledgment of mortality tends to ground humans and shift their thoughts toward heaven. Instead, he suggests that Wormwood keep the patient fixated on vague concepts—causes, ideologies, and collective hatreds—rather than the specific suffering of individuals. The letter concludes with Screwtape reminding Wormwood that Hell's desired outcome from any war is not the noble dead but the cowardly, the cruel, and the morally compromised survivors.
Analysis
Lewis pulls off a brilliant satirical twist in Letter V by having a demon deliver a sharp critique of the spiritual confusion surrounding war. This choice compels the reader to engage with the argument as if it's hidden knowledge. Screwtape adopts the tone of a weary bureaucrat correcting an overly enthusiastic junior colleague, and his exasperation adds comedic depth that sharpens the moral insight instead of dulling it.
The letter's key maneuver is the reversal of expected logic. While one might think of war as a peak moment for Hell, Screwtape argues it's actually a precarious and unpredictable tool. This twist allows Lewis to introduce a significant theological idea: suffering, when embraced properly, leads to sanctification. The demon's annoyance serves as proof of this claim.
Themes of abstraction versus individuality are prevalent. Screwtape's advice to keep the patient focused on groups, causes, and slogans rather than personal faces reflects Lewis's broader point in The Abolition of Man about how depersonalization fuels modern evil. The bureaucratic tone in Hell's communications reinforces this idea—it's as if the writing style itself embodies the abstraction it critiques.
The letter fluctuates between a dry, administrative tone and moments of real menace, a rhythm that Lewis maintains throughout the entire series of letters. For Screwtape, the war is not a victory or a defeat but rather a matter of management—and this cold, managerial perspective is the very horror that Lewis wants the reader to experience.
Key quotes from Letter V – The War Begins
“Consider too what undesirable deaths occur in wartime. Men are killed in places where they knew they might be killed and to which they go, if they are at all of the Enemy's party, prepared.”
Screwtape explains to Wormwood why battlefield deaths often benefit the Enemy rather than Hell, since soldiers face mortality with conscious readiness.
“The problem is how to keep them in the state of mind we want—the right mixture of hatred and self-righteousness—without letting it spill over into action.”
Screwtape outlines the precise psychological calibration required to exploit wartime emotion without accidentally producing the decisive moral clarity that leads humans toward God.
“Let him begin by treating the Patriotism or the Pacifism as a part of his religion. Then let him, under the influence of partisan spirit, come to regard it as the most important part.”
Screwtape advises weaponising ideological commitment to crowd out genuine faith, illustrating Lewis's recurring concern with the idolatry of political causes.