he had "to screw up his resolution to go and see a certain man in London and make to him an excessively embarrassing confession which justice demanded"—which Ransom eventually did, and of which no further details are given. Personal life He is a confirmed bachelor (as Lewis himself was at the time of writing), and in none of the three books is there any mention of a woman in his life. In That Hideous Strength, Jane Studdock falls in love with him, but there is no question of that love being returned; Ransom kindly but firmly pushes her back into the arms of her wayward husband Mark. Nor does he have many male friends, either; when first introduced, he is in the habit of spending his university holidays hiking alone through the British countryside (which facilitates Weston's kidnapping him). By the end of the series, the wound sustained at Perelandra would preclude his continuing this habit. In the introductory chapters of Perelandra, however, it is revealed that Ransom regularly provides help to a large number of neighbors and acquaintances who have fallen on hard times. It is noteworthy that, though Ransom is very much of Christian believer, with a profound faith and knowledge of the Christian scriptures and theology, there is no mention of his belonging to any organized congregation. Profession He is a philologist by profession (like Tolkien), taking advantage of a unique aptitude for learning languages. He speculates that this ability is the reason that he is 'chosen' for his role in the first and second books, although he notes in Perelandra that it might as well have been anyone else. A professor in Cambridge, he is highly regarded (even by his enemies, who in That Hideous Strength mention him as among the topmost in his field, who but for his Christian convictions might have rendered very useful service to their cause). After his sojourn on Malacandra/Mars, Ransom is mentioned as staying for a prolonged period at a cottage three miles outside "Worchester", having evidently left temporarily or permanently his Cambridge job. From there he sets out on his voyage to Perelandra/Venus. While on Venus, Ransom becomes in effect a prophet in the Biblical sense—i.e., a person to whom God speaks and on whom a specific Divine command is imposed (and who, like Jonah, strongly resists and makes a considerable effort to avoid, before bowing to the inevitable).