„All that is gold does not glitter,

Not all those who wander are lost;

The old that is strong does not wither,
Deep roots are not reached by the frost.
Műhelydolgozat
From the ashes, a fire shall be woken,
A light from the shadows shall spring;
Renewed shall be blade that was
broken,
The crownless again shall be king.”

Christian symbolism in the work of

J.R.R. Tolkien

Angol műhely
Témavezető: Danku Márton
Készítette: Irinyi Tünde

PROTESTÁNS FELSŐOKTATÁSI
SZAKKOLLÉGIUM
Introduction

In this essay, I would like to focus on the work of the great British author, J. R. R.
Tolkien. The aim of this paper is to highlight and examine the underlying Christian symbolism
in his novels.

This topic has long been a question of my interest. During my early teenage days, I was
obsessed with The Lord of the Rings and other works by Tolkien. Reading about exciting
adventures, heroic acts and mystic creatures provided my escape from the dull, predictable yet
challenging reality. My enthusiasm with Tolkien’s work (especially The Lord of the Rings)
turned out to be beneficial for my social connections as well. I quickly became friends with
those who shared the same interest. Together we discussed our favourite characters, storylines
and even took part in a competition!

I can’t precisely recall the exact moment when- and more importantly- why I became a
fan of these novels. One possibility that comes to my mind is that I wanted to find out why
people keep asking me the same question after I introduce myself. This question was that “Your
parents must be obsessed with The Lord of the Rings to name you Tünde”. I didn’t know what
to say to them, since I had no clue what The Lord of the Ring was. I decided to ask my parents
why they chose to name me Tünde and they said it is because of its meaning and pleasant sound.
After that explanation, I was finally able to react to those questions. But that title stuck with
me, and then I discovered it on my grandfathers’ shelf I didn’t hesitate… It took me about a
month to read The Lord of the Rings, and within a year I finished all writings by Tolkien that
was available in translation at the time.

Even though nowadays I no longer consider myself a huge fan of these books, the years
I’ve spent in Tolkien’s world did influence me. In this paper, I attempt to give an insight to the
complex and mysterious world created by the great British author, J. R. R. Tolkien, focusing
on its’ symbolism.

To begin with, I find it important to summarize the biography of the author, J. R. R.

Tolkien: an insight to his life would provide a possible answer to some questions.
Biography

John Ronald Reuel Tolkien born on January 3,1892 in Bloemfontein, South Africa. His
father worked there as a bank manager. He died four years after his son’s birth in heart attack.
Tolkien’s mother was Mabel Suffiled, who decided to leave Africa and move back to England
with her children after her husband’s sudden death.

From the age of 6, Ronald grew up in the West Mindlands. He was mesmerized by the
twoness of the land: it was rural and urban. Ha was sent to study at King Edwards’ School. In
the meantime, his mother Mabel converted to the Roman Catholic Church together with her
children. Tolkien remained devout to this faith to the rest of his life.

The family was never rich, but they faced poverty like they haven’t seen before when
Mabel was diagnosed with diabetes. She passed away in 1904. Ronald and his brother were
sent to a boarding school by relatives. At the age of 16, he was already showing signs of a
linguistic talent. Before his 20th birthday, he acquired Afrikaans, Latin, Greek and Finnish and
started to develop a language on his own. By the and of his life, he was fluent in Gothic, Hebrew,
Italian, Spanish, German, French and Icelandic.

At the boarding school he met his later wife, Edith Bratt, a fellow orphan. Their
relationship was guarded by the schools’ priest who asked Tolkien to wait until he turns to 21,
and then propose to Edith. He eventually married Edith in 1916.

He started his studies at Exeter College, Oxford where his major was Classics and
English Language. At 1914, the war broke out, but he managed to stay in Oxford and married
Edith in 1916. Eventually, he found himself in France, fighting the infamous Battle of Somme.
This battle is said to be one of the bloodiest with over 20,000 victims. The vivid memory of this
event later returned in the darkest passages in his work.

In 1925, he became an Oxford Professor. In his academic life, he rarely wrote

publications but those rare were influential. At the time, he was a father of three. During a
winter break, he was telling a story to his children about a strange- looking creature and its
adventures. The children loved the story so much that they asked him to write it down. Elements
of this “original’ idea can be found in “The Hobbit” which was published at 1937. Since then,
the book is on the list of recommended reading at the UK.

When he handed in the transcript of Silmarillion, he was at first, turned down by the
publisher but Tolkien was proposed to write a sequence to The Hobbit. After 16 years of work,
the Lord of the Rings was ready and was published in three volumes during 1954 and 1955.
The book was an instant success worldwide- for the biggest surprise of the author, too.

Edith and the author had to change their address and phone number in order to avoid
unwanted visits and calls from fans. J.R.R. Tolkien died in 1973, a year after Edith passed away.

Christianity in J.R. R. Tolkien’s World

"Of course, I do not mean that the Gospels tell what is only a fairy -story; but I do mean
very strongly that they do tell a fairy-story: the greatest. The story-teller would have to be
redeemed in a manner consonant with his nature: by a moving story."

It is important to note that Tolkien had a life-long friendship with fellow author and
Oxford Professor, C.S. Lewis. Lewis is widely known for his Narnia- series. During their
Oxford years, the two men used to discuss their thought and doubts (both on a personal and
professional level). C.S. Lewis’ works are so obviously Christian that even children can identify
certain characters as biblical figures. On the other hand, it is not so easy to do the same in
Tolkien’s work. To compare with, Lewis wanted his work to be unquestionably Christian,
Tolkien claimed that he never intended to write such a story. As Morris argues, Tolkien was
subconsciously creating Christ- figures. Joseph Pearce notes the “Christianity shines through
every page” (in Largen, 2005.)

The reason why Tolkien wrote is explained by himself through an allegory in a short
story called Leaf by Niggle. Niggle is an artist whose only interest is to draw trees only because
something inside him drives himself to do so. So does Tolkien: “in presenting a myth, in writing
stories full of mythical creatures, one may be doing God’s work.”

The representations of evil in his work

The main manifestation of evil, The Ring can be found in The Lord of the Rings. The
Ring has the power to gain control over people, to turn friend into enemies and the carry out
acts they’d never do without it. The power of evil (represented by The Ring) is shown most
remarkably through Gollum’s story. It started when Sméagol became a thief, so his soul was
mean before he even found The Ring.
“The Ring as sin reshapes Gollum. Formerly a hobbit, he is now a disfigured shell of
his former self, ‘stretched’ beyond what nature or Iluvatar had intended “To Gollum, [the Ring]
is his ‘precious.’ It consumes him. One who wears it becomes slowly habituated to sin rather
than to goodness, decorum, and virtue. The more one uses it, the more one ‘fades’: [one]
becomes in the end invisible permanent and walks in the twilight under the eye of the dark
power that rules the Ring . . . and sooner or later the dark power will devour him” (Birzer,
2003).
All characters in his work are not purely good or bad- the “good” character can do
terrible things with good ambitions. As Tolkien says: “…this frightful evil can and does arise
from an apparently good root, the desire to benefit the world and others the ring would do more
bad than good.”

Sub-creation is an idea expressed in The Lord of the Rings trilogy that evil cannot create,
it can only sub- create: they turn something that is good into bad. As Frodo says to Sam: “The
Shadow that bred them can only mock, it cannot make: not new real things of its own. I don’t
think it gave life to the Orcs, it only ruined them and twisted them.” (The Lord of the Rings:
The Return of the King). This is an important underlying belief in his work. Evil in Middle-
Earth depicted as a distortion of prior and fundamental goodness, for example Orcs are misbred
descendants of Elves or The Dark Riders used to be human kings.

The Silmarillion is the creation story of Tolkien’s mythology where the creator- God of
Middle Earth, Eru is named (“All Father or “the One”), so is Melkor who rebelled against Eru
and turned to darkness.

This leads us to the question of the nature of evil. Is it only a privation of good without
any substance in itself, or is it a real force that must be resisted and fought against?

The representation of good in his works

In this section, I would like to focus on two characters from The Lord of The Rings,
namely Gandalf and Aragorn. These two represents characteristics that are share similarity with
Jesus Christ’s.

Gandalf

Gandalf’s origin is quite complex and would not be simple to explain in detail. In order
to understand his actions in The Lord of The Rings, it is necessary to note that he is not human
in the first place (even though not many people knows that, not even the other characters in the
books). Originally called Olórin, he was a Maiar spirit, one of the five Istari (wizard) who was
sent by the Valar to Middle-Earth in a human form to protect the people against Sauron.
 Gandalf made the decision to fight the Balrog on his own in the hopes that the mission
is bigger than his life, and its success depends on his sacrifice. He is killed by the Balrog and
dies on his own on a snow-covered mountain peak. Both Gandalf and Jesus Christ leave their
followers and disciples in despair of their deaths, but it is even more important: they both “come
back” to finish their tasks.

As he lies dead, the greater powers beyond Middle Earth sends him back to life stronger
than ever before. This act is not symbolic, he was undeniably dead and resurrected, so did Jesus
Christ. Gandalf becomes Gandalf the White. As he says in The Two Towers: “None of you have
any weapons that could hurt me”.

As the disciples did not recognised Jesus after the resurrection, Gandalf is not recognised
by the fellowship either. Their physical appearance is also similar, as described in The Two
Towers: “His hair was white as snow in the sunshine; and gleaming white was his robe; the
eyes under his deep brows were bright, piercing as the rays of the sun; power was in his hand”.
In the Bible, the following section describe Jesus: The hair on his head was white like wool, as
white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire… I am the Living One; I was dead, and now
look, I am alive for ever and ever!” (Revelations 1:14-18).

A less obvious similarity between Jesus and Gandalf is that they are both tempted by
the devil. In Gandalf’s case, by Saruman who offers an opportunity to rule the world with him.

Aragorn

There are a few characteristics in Aragorn that are similar with Jesus, although
they are not that obvious as in Gandalf’s case.

Aragorn’s true identity remains a secret for a long time in the books. He is half human
and half immortal elf. This mixture of origins resembles Jesus’. They are both thought to be the
king of men. Aragorn reveals his true self when he uses his power of healing which is also
similar to what Jesus did. In The Return of the King, Aragorn sets the army of dead free when
breaking the curse of Ishildur.

Tolkien wrote a poem, called the Eagle Song which can be read as the object is Aragorn,
a victorious King or Jesus Christ.

„Sing now, ye people of the Tower of Anor,

for the realm of Sauron is ended for ever, and the Dark Tower is thrown down.
 Sing and rejoice, ye people of the Tower of Guar, for your watch hath not been in vain,and
the Black gate is broken, and your King hath passed through, and he is victorious.

Sing and be glad, all ye children of the west, for your king shall come again, and he shall
dwell among you all the days of your life.”

Conclusion

In my opinion, it is safe to say that Tolkien’s faith deeply influenced The Lord of the
Rings, its characters and its storyline as well. The underlying symbolism is not obvious at first,
but the story resonates very well with many people around the globe- even if they do not
consider themselves Christians.

Resources:
https://www.britannica.com/print/article/598643
Largen, K. J. (2005). Christian theology as depicted in The Lord of the Rings and the Harry
Potter books.
Morris, M. (2012). JRR Tolkien, the Influence of Christianity, and Symbolism in" The Lord of
the Rings" (Doctoral dissertation, Memphis, Tenn.: Rhodes College)
Gekas, M. P. (2009). Some God Lies Hidden in the Asphodel: Christianity and Pre-Christian
Polytheism in the Works of Oscar Wilde and JRR Tolkien.
Birzer, J. (2003). J. R. R. Tolkien’s Sanctifying Myth: Understanding Middle- Earth
Mitchell, P. I. (2013). " But Grace is Not Infinite": Tolkien's Explorations of Nature and
Grace in His Catholic Context. Mythlore: A Journal of JRR Tolkien, CS Lewis, Charles
Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature, 31(3), 6.
Tolkien, J. R. R. (2012). The Lord of the Rings: One Volume. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

Version, K. J. (1989). The holy bible. World Publishing Company.