Tolkien’s Problematic Fathers

[Linnahiril Tinnufinwen]

This view of LOTRs is certainly very interesting; one that had never occured to me before. However, I believe that Tolkien probably did not conciously write about fatherhood. Not to say that it played no part in his writings, but I believe that Tolkien's aim was probably geared not just towards good fathers, but the virtue of good people. The role of the father may have been more important than that of the mother based on his own society's roles for women at that time, but he still manages to put in a few strong women in his stories. The strength and ambition of Galadriel, the wisdom of Melian, the devotion of Luthien and Arwen; it seems to me that Tolkien created a world where he would be able to show his audience what he thought was good, and what he thought was evil. Those who desire power and give in to temptation (Sauron, Sauruman, Melkor), which was represented by the One Ring, are the evil doers, while those who resisted the Ring were the true heroes.

I believe that the role of a good father in Tolkien's writings are really only a small part of a whole lot of ideology displayed in the novels about good and evil people.