English Advance Access published online on September 29, 2009
English, doi:10.1093/english/efp032
‘FROM MIRRORED TRUTH THE LIKENESS OF THE TRUE’: J. R. R. TOLKIEN AND REFLECTIONS OF JESUS CHRIST IN MIDDLE-EARTH
1 Westcott House, University of Cambridge, Cambridge
2 Anglican Chaplaincy, Bangor University, Bangor
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Abstract |
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In the last half-century, Christological imaging in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth mythos has been identified by many writers in greater or lesser detail and with varying degrees of success. Some have made piecemeal and general observations on the subject, in particular about the sacrificial nature of Frodo's quest, or the parallels between Gandalf's return and Jesus Christ's resurrection. One or two have attempted more systematic patterns of identification. Broadly, these various assessments fall into the traps of being either so general as to be trite, or too subjectively prescriptive to do justice to the splintering effect of Tolkien's numinous writing style. Accordingly, there is not yet a comprehensive review of the ways in which Christological imagery operates throughout Tolkien's central stories. This essay aims to address this perceived lack by examining Middle-earth's three most significant Christological loci: Gandalf, Frodo, and Aragorn. In it, we will explore elements of Christ's divine nature (with reference to Gandalf), Christ's humanity (with reference to Frodo), and Christ's quality of kingliness (with reference to Aragorn). These discussions will be prefaced by an analysis of Tolkien's own understanding of his relationship with the religious content of his writing to explicate how he himself would have perceived the presence of such imaging within his mythos.
* Correspondence to Kenneth Padley, Anglican Chaplaincy, Bangor University, Prince's Road, Bangor, LL57 2BD, UK