MYTHLORE 36: Suramer 1983, een Few would disagree that high fantasy is ove of the last astons of the Hero in contemporary literature. Thete ate, bowever, many kinds of heroes, and thir Wgioushaesetae- ‘Throughout its loog hix tory the figure of the Hero has been ¢SIREGSOSRInBe a> AoESMPREROTRASTONEEVD, a rele gaint his society oF its representative, assertive of submissive. Moreover, the identical type of Hero can be viewed very differently depend ing om the prejudices of the viewer-one man's Prometheus is another's Lucifer. Tolkien's major works, The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion, provide us with examples of many ofthe basic heroietypes-sometimes within the same individual 1s sometine> lichen erersreed ress AEEREEID. There seems (o be EEORANENDD with the ine srgusbly ANNE a! one pole and the inarResbly A aE at the other, but in between a great variety of manlike ods, demivegie beings and heroes with supernatural powers Joseph Campbell traces change from the great creation myths twbich deal with the actions of gods, through legends in which Iherors still have remarkable powers, np to the place where Irgend and metaphysis come into “the common daylight of r= corded time."? Taken together, Tolkien's works exemplify this Contiogum. The Silmarillion begins with an exquisite creation ‘myth; continues withthe cone of the angeli Valar and Maiar with the Luciforian Metkor/Morgoth; chronicles the activities of the immortal and supernatural elves; and comes at last to the doings of men, The men and women of Numenor decline from a stage not unlike that of the wafallen Adam and Eve toa fallen race. By 2 Trae The Many Faces of Heroism in Tolkien Edith Crowe aS ‘the time of the Thied Age, we ate fully enmeshed in historical mv. Many of the events of The Silmarillion are now the stuff of logend. The ‘Wumammmtatine, though some have a tough of supernatural (TED. Indeod, one of the most poignant aspects of The Lord of the [ings is the sense of loss ‘hich comes sith the relation that it represents the end of vo ge When the eves and wards Teave MagdTe-earth they {ake much of the magic with thom, and the Fourth Age is th- ‘Age of Mer Although by and large The Silmarillion deals with the tragic hero, the story of Beren and Lathien may be said to involve a supernatural hero (ot more accurately, heroine)- Luthien Tinuviel. Her special powers of eachaatiment enable her to escape imprisonment by her father, survive the at- tack of Sauron, and bring down the very wally of Beren's prison. These powers alio enable her to put Morgoth him self asleop long enough to Cake a silmaril, Perhaps her most hetoie act, however, involves not the wee of elven specialness nciatjon of it, when she chooses to forsake immor- tality for love of Beren. Not only daes this act have conse- ‘quences well beyond is own time in founding the dynasty of smenorean kings which would eventually produce Aragorn, but it prefiguees that greater theme af renunciation which 90 infuses The Lord of the Rings Of all the heroes of The Lord of the Rings, CNRS COI! Although as one of Ch SAHRA POWE, io The Hobbit and the earlier sections of The Loed of the Rings his most important roe is « bt the rethe supernatural Heroof The Lord of the Rings after his archetypulaleseentsinecthesunde®- ‘world to battle the monster and his emergence a a translormes ‘eingehisdenthoandonebietb. The battle itself, taking place in deep water at the bottom of a great abyss, suggests (not surprisingly) Beowull's batle with Grendel's mother. Ellwood has also pointed out similarities in the Judeo-Christian tradi- ‘ion, both in the Old Testament (Jahweh's battle with the sea- ‘monster Rahab, of Leviathon) and in the theme of “explicit ‘conflict between Christ and Satan” developed by certain of the ‘Chureh Fathers: The reborn Gandalf sa figure of great power, although he is able to cloak it when necessary snd appear ‘much the same as before. His ‘and Gimli in Fs hhave come a long way from the humorous old wizard of Hobbit and the early chapters of The Lord ofthe Rings, whose ‘seates clan to fame was the excellence of his Greworks ‘The Assertive Hero: Tragedy and Epic ‘These two types of the Hero can be comsidered together Decause they share the characteristics of sell-assertive pride set against an inimical environment. ‘The tragie Hero defies ity and places himself in condict with coamie law, but sich a Hero can be vied ot admired depending om one's own acceptance or rejection ofthe situation which the Hero defies. Livcifer and Prbmetheus are two sides of the same coi, both aspiring to usurp part of the power and authority ofthe deity ‘One is more often regarded as evil, however, because more people accept the authority of the Judeo-Christian deity thea that of Zeus What the Greeks called hubris is related to the Jungian concept of inflation. The Self represents the unified totality of ‘the conscious and unconscious aspects of the psyche, whereas the ego isthe seat of the conscious, individual personality. Inllation occurs when the ego ideaties with the Self; the part {ls above itself, so to speak, and imagines itell the shoe. Although inflation is generally considered in negative terms of, ‘arrogance and pride, it can alo be a positive act necessary to achieve a higher level of consciousness ‘The story of the Garden of Eden was viewed very Aierently by the Ophites, a Gnostic sect, To them Jabweb was the villain of the piece, Keeping humankind in ignorance, and the serpent the road to seftealzstion. In this view, Eve ‘emerges ns something of « Promethean figure, More often, the ‘ct of inflation is “foolhardy and disastrous.” The important thing i to know what one is doing in such a situation, and to ‘remember that “dependence on the superice wisdom of others is often an accurate appraisal ofthe reality situation, ** Consider the contrast between Feancr and AERC ‘GARGHESGGAISIIAONGHBHER. Feanor, ox the other hand, ~ ‘eked the aid and sought the counsel of noae that dwelt in ‘Aman, great or small, save only fora little while of Nerdavel the wise, his wife” (The Silmarillion, p65) MYTHLORE 36: Sommer 1983 ‘sguinsetherndvionoGandat, but Deucthor's se ofa pala is “foolhardy and divastrous” Denethor isthe only real tragic hero in The Lord ofthe Rings, although be Bits the pattern well. Pride is his greates flaw, and in his arrogance he sets himself ‘gainst an adversary too great for him. There are Christian reverberations too: Sauron's wiles lead Denethor into a state ‘of despair, the sin of Judas. ‘This is the greatest gio & Christian can commit, denying ait doce the poubility of God's grace, ‘To return to Feanor, itis pride and arrogance once again that bring about the Hero's dowafall. His pride in bis creative abilities and in the supreme accomplishment of the silmaris Jeads him to value them so bighly with a selfish possessive: ‘nea that he refuses to give them to Varda to save the light of the Two Trees. Both pride and arrogance precipitate Feanor's sulting. This isa classi example of ego inflation, in which the cesence of tragedy is the fall from s height, and the subse- ‘quent history of Feanor and his Noldor followers continues in 2 downward direction throughout the “Quenta Silmacilion.” “There are echoes of the epie Hero in allthis, particularly the Northern European model. Tolkien was complex man ‘who scems from an early age to have posessed both a dark vision and a light. The events of his early life certainly made him aware ofthe darkside of human existeace: the ealy deaths of his father and later bis mother, leaving him orphaned at ‘oeelve; estrangement from his mother’s family because of her conversion to Catholicism; financial hardships; obstacles placed ‘the way of his marriage; the horror of World War Ind the los there ofall but one of bis closet friends {RIUED|® We can sce this in The Silmariion ia the elves who battle Morgoth even though Manwe has told Feanor that, ae a ‘Vala, Morgoth is beyond their power to defeat. ASEURESN ‘The traditional epie Hero i, however, snore concerned with flory and praise than any ia Tolkien. Even those heroes of The Lord of the Rings most suggestive of the epic model- Boromir and the Riders of Rohan- fight for eauses greater than themselves. ‘The Submissive Hero: The Christian Model Despite the many negative infuences in his life as noted sbove, it i Tolkien's vison of the light (though not wn- ‘mixed with shadow) that suffuses The Lord of the Rings. His (Christian faith was one ofthe most positive elements in his life, ‘and iti this viewpoint that is embedded io the eneatastrophe of The Lord of the Rings Middle-earth is ot obviously Christian; what litle suggestion of religion exists in The Lord of the Rings is more implied (and that mostly in the appen-‘aorahordensFrodo, Sam, Aragorn and Gandalf ean all be seen as figures of Christ, who isthe submissive Hero most congenial to Tolkien. Gandalf and Aragorn also have echoes of the ‘Church Militant about them however. Aragorn suggests such ‘Christina warriors as St. George or King Arther, and Gandalf 00 is capable of acting as a warrior when the need arses, Gandall's most important act, though, is one of renunciation. GierotusestouveEUNE Rings Saruman we see a pale echo of ‘what Gandalf might have become had he succumbed to that ‘temptation. Son of Man came not to be served but to serve.” (Matthew 20: 28 Elwood, p. 135.) When he has come through great rials and earned his kingship he doesnot ake it immediately, his rst actions ate quiet ones of healing. Arsgora’s Christie ually i also emphasized by his total forgiveness of Boromir alter the Inter has essentially repented and done his penance. Frodo is of course the epitome of Christ as sacrifice. He takes the burden of the Ring willingly, but not egerty, because ‘semicordained that EMBOWdO. A detailed comparison ofthe ial stages of Frodo's journey to Mouat Doom and the ‘vents of Chen's Pasion has already been dose (Eliwond, pp 125-6) and I shall not repeat it, Instead I shall deal withthe point at which Frodo departs from the pattern-perhaps the ‘most enigmatic moment in The Lord of the Rings Christ did not submit easily to the will of his Father. In Geibsernane he asked to have the cup taken from him; on the Cross itself he ered out that he was forenken. ut submit be did and the task was consummated. But Frodo fails his task. ‘At the last moment the individual possesive will reaserts itself, and chooses to keep the Ring. It is only the apparent happy chance of Gollun'ssetion that saves the Ques. ‘This seems curious and inexplicable at Sot. But itis well to remember that although he is Chrstke ErsdaisinOUORI, NeisHera but notdeiqAs a devout Roman Catbobe Tolkien believed in Christ as God, and it was perhaps going to fa for him to give his Hero too many of the attributes of deity. It is alo well to remember the belief that in a fallen world, ran cannot achieve salvation oa his own, but only through the grace of Chrat's redemption, Rradarhadanesalithis power=but ‘the salvaton of the world is beyond that power. Suck salvation canoaly come through combination of human efort and the Grace of God ‘The Hero in Society: Fellowship and True King Jost as the Hero cam have more than one relationship to 1° Conmic order, ie. defiance or submission, so he can have more than one relationship to his society. The rebel as hero is ‘familiar figure, especially among the Romantics snd in the present day (where he may be hero or antirhero). In Middle ‘earth, however, hero acts are eartied out in a social con text. The individual will is subordinate vot only to the moral Page 7 order but to the social: qonsinghenpersomscanmsceomptishetiie ‘Quest alone takes four Ringbearers to bring the Ring to its esraction Bib, Frodo, Sam and Gotlm. The Kongheater Swaye have the aid of others Gandall Bele by both ction {nd advice, the Fellowship travels along it the begining, sap- ported by the advice of the council of Elrond. From the begio- ng Frodo has not had to. travel alone, for Merry and Pippin ‘ecompany bm in the Degianing and Sam tl he biter ead Some asistance fits the traditoaal pattern of the super satura helper who aids the hero along bis rod of tril, seh ‘as that given be Gandalf (in his more numinoas moments), Galadriel and the elves in general Significant, abso, is the fact thatthe Fellowship represent alle the free people (exept the «ats, who asst in thet own way)- This help counteract the dissension Sauron has been brewing among the various races. ‘The Fellowship doce more than achieve the Ques; it proves the {ahity of Sauron’ ie and cements relations among the peoples je From the end of The Elves and wizards and rightful kings can be found ee Dobbits are unique to Middlo-arth, They are very social creatures who seem to favor unobirusive but essentially emocratie government (although they tura into monarchists Inter) If Gandalf is the supernatural Hero and Aragore the foble Hero. the hobbits represent the common man as hero People ike Gandalf and Aragorn are expected to be heroes, they are bora to it-it's part of their job, so to speak. Hobbits are not born heroes Indecd, a5 it tars ovt, EXSOSNORGSASRNSSEN ‘strength to complete the heroie ack om his own. I we consider the three who travel with the Ring into the heart of Mordor Frodo, Sam and Gollum-we see that these Uhre become as ome being. The closer Frodo comes to Mount Doom, the more the Ring aape his physical strength. tia as if all bis exergy must be directed toward his spiritual Battle, leaving none let for the physical, He becomes increasingly passive, focused on his lnner task, and chooses to go weapooless. (tiRSnS SEB bbe carried by Sam. and at this point they are esteatilly one ‘being, with Prodo carrying dhe spiritual burden and Sam the physiol ‘than one commentstor has pointed out that Sam, the humblest of the humble, is the greatest hero of the Quest. For one ‘hing, Samm chooses to take om his burden totally alone, far from the ropportive presence of the Couneil of Elrond, and if he did succeed it is unlikely anyone would know it was he ‘who accomplished the Quest, SidIfSSHNaKESRNERink “knowing its full Lervible power-which no one ese had dared ou Whea Sam finds that Frodo is not dead after all, Sinlf i i i z g t & i z & : bd i 5 & | z > f ‘There iso light without dark to define it however, and this brings us to Gollum. He is the dark side of the hobbits especially to Frodo; in Jungian terms, their Shadow. But the ‘Shadow, though hard to face san eaeatal pat of the psyche, out it, the poyche is not whole, and an important source of power is gone. It is Gollum who aetuslly performs the lst vital act of the Quest: he casts the Ring into the Cracks of Doom, albeit secidenally, and himself with it. ‘Tia action has double signicance if viewed from diferent perspectives. From the Jungian viewpoint, the task is not to destroy the Shadow but to face it and integrate it into the whole Sef (as Ged doce in LeGuin's A Wizard of Enrth-sa). Tolkien, however, dows not share the view of Jung, Campbell and many others that dualities including those of Good and Evil, are only apparent. In his Christian view Good and Evil bave separate Identities and the latter isto be destroyed, not incorporated, Novertheks, i is significant chat @EERSinE OHM EROIRT: We have other hobbits to consider, however, and CIE. (Gampbetiapmaey Actually, Frodo finds it impossible. That task is left to Sam, Merry and Pippin, The latter two have truly come of age in the course of the Quest; their increase in stature ls not only phybieal. Iti they who accomplish the of the Shire, bringing life back to its socal structare as Sam does to its earth. They bring life in another way, alo, through their children, Frodo seems to have been draiged both of the power of action and of generative power The restoration of society isnot limited to the Shire how. ever, alo GEMMUNR. It is probably true that “the desire for a True King is powerful in the deeps of maa.” (Ellwood, p. 131) ‘There is something remarkably compelling even to dedicated democrats in the image of Arthur or Chatlemagne ot Chiat the King. Ara- gorn is a symbol of more than monarchy. He s government itself: legitimate government, the lawful exercive ‘of power, the Rule of Law, order against chaoe. He represents ‘the union of sacred and seeular which we have lst GEGEEH(a04 hobbits). This restoration is not without cost, however ‘auch that is beautiful and wonderful in Middle-earth. Vietory (© not gained without great price, and even the Joy of the MYTHLORE 36: Sommer 1983 ‘eucatastrophe fs wot unmixed with gre (Wiifoe. If The Silmarillion bss one great theme itis that of the consequences of pride and prideful action, bu tinged with admiration for the courage displayed. The Lord of the Rings major themes: the power of love, the far-ung,con- sequences of action {GHD 50 I shall not do s0 now. I find it interesting that in serious fantasy the use of power and the relationship between ends and means is viewed as an increasingly complex prob- lem. It is central to LeGuin’s Earthsea tilogy, for exampl snd important alo in McKilip's “Riddle Master” trilogy and Donaldson's “Chronicles of Thomas Covenant > Underneath it ll, however, Tolkien's message and the mes: sage of most high fantasy is one of hope. The negative view of irony may at fist seem a more appropriate reflection ofthe immediate environment, bot the ironie altitude is maladap- tive. The future does not just happen to us; to a large extent we cteate it, Our expectations shape events. We sce what we ‘expect to see, and must be able to conceive of something be- ore we can realize it. The function of fantasy is much more important than the imnediate pleasure of reading it. It en- ables us to keep as broad a view ofthe possibilities as posible, which is necestary not only for our betterment but for our very val-because, in Virgil's words, “we make our destinies by ‘our choice of gods.” Notes "Quotations in ube text refer to the flloiog editions of ‘Tlkica's works: The Lord ofthe Rings, 2a ed. (Benton: Hovghton Mili, 1967}; The Silmaritive, (Resto: Hooghion Mii, 197 oseph Campbell, The Hero With » Thousand Faces, 22d (Princeton, Ns Prieeten Univesity Pres, 1988), pp. 3161 Gracia Fay Ellwood, Good News from Tolkica' Midii-carth, (Grand Rapids: Berdenes, 1970), pp. 11318 ‘Edward P. Ringer, Ego and Archetype, (Baltimore: Peagsia, 1973), p. AUR. Tolkien, “Deowalf: The Monsters and the ria” Pre: edings of the ish Academy 22 (1998 pp. O87 ‘Marion Zimmer Bradley. Meo, Uslings and Hero Worship (Bak tinore. EK Graphics, £1973), p. 37 ‘Randel Helm, Toien’s Weld, (stow: Nowghton Millia, 1070, pe. sso Notice to Non-U.S. Readers Because of mew banking arrangements, readers in coustries other thao the United States ean now pay their subseriptions in their own national currencies, providing that the amount is equal to US. dollar amouats according to current exchange rates. Previously the Society was only able to accept Canadian nd British cerrency, but now is able to accept funds from all foreiga countries. This should save the cost of a foreign draft ‘oF money order and make subscribing easier.