Tolkien and Catholic Saints

[Bêthberry]

I would agree completely, Joy, that to insist on equating Gandalf with Jesus would be to succumb to that kind of limited, restrictive meaning which Tolkien abhored in allegory. Such an equation does a disservice to both Gandalf and Jesus, IMHO.

mark12_30, there's another way in which Tolkien's Foreword to the Second Edition supports the possibility of symbolic or spiritual allusions--'applicability' in Tolkien's word. Tolkien's way of demonstrating how the War of the Ring does not resemble WWII amounts to a small example of critical practice. By this I mean, it is his way of showing how to examine the validity of analogies and comparisons. (We also learn much about his views of WWII.) We could take from this lesson a formal way of proceeding, comparing the processes of spiritual journeys and conclusions with those in LOTR. We could examine Christian doctrines of goodness, ethical behaviour, mercy, redemption to see if their fruits can be found in LOTR.

I hope I am making sense here. It is late, I have much to do these days in the Old Forest, and I am tired.

*attempts to curtsy, but a crick in her back stops her*

Bethberry