LotR - an allegory? No, not WW2 this time, I promise... ;)

[blantyr]

Originally Posted by Thinlómien

I was talking about the wisdom of LotR with my sister yesterday, and I started to think of something. One of the big themes of LotR is undoubtedly the diminishing of the old world - the departure of the Elves, the eventual fading of the Hobbits and the Dwarves and so on - and the beginning of the era of Men. All the mystery, magic and old beauty is gone, and Men are left to govern the world and make their own decisions.

Now, this sounds rather familiar, doesn't it? It sounds like the relatively recent development of our world, or the beginning of our modern times. People know more, solve many unsolved mysteries and change the world around them... and if Tolkien, when he was writing LotR, looked back he could still see, in his childhood or in the times of his parents or grandparents, a different world, a world where science had not solved the mysteries of the world or humans did not dominate earth the way they now do.

I cannot help thinking this was reflected in the Lord of the Rings. It is another question whether the allegory was deliberate - as has been said dozens of times, Tolkien hated allegories and denied LotR being one - or whether something Tolkien (a conservative person with a dislike of modern technology, mind you) subconsciously wove this theme to his book.

Any thoughts?

This had me looking up a dictionary definition of ‘allegory’: a story, poem or picture that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning, typically a moral or political one: Pilgrim’s Progress is an allegory of the spiritual journey.

Now by that specific definition, one could say Tolkien didn’t consciously write it as an allegory, but it is possible for the reader to interpret it as an allegory. So long as it is possible to interpret it as an allegory, it is one, whether that was the intent of the author or not.

To my mind, if science fiction is in theory about exploring ideas and new technology, fantasy is often about the nature and struggle between Good and Evil. Fantasy authors also often have opinions on the nature of Good and Evil, and create sub creations and magic systems that allow exploration of their world views and values.

Personally, I think you can get too specific in basing an allegory on someone else’s work. I’m not at all pleased with any who might think The War of the Rings is any more a retelling of World War II than any other war. At the same time, it is hard to believe that scenes like the Dead Marshes and others that explore the horrors of war owe nothing to Tolkien’s time on the Western Front. A work of fiction can echo reality without echoing a specific reality.

And yet, there are elements of Good and Evil in the work. One can also see an apple and oranges comparison between the best parts of pre industrial economy agricultural civilization and the worst parts of the industrial age. It is no secret that Tolkien had a touch of nostalgia about the good old days. I would not want to argue in debate that there are no moral or political meanings, hidden or not, in Tolkien’s works.

At the same time, I would not want to argue that the book is specifically about any one particular allegorical meaning. There is a great danger of a critic or fan projecting his own values and world view onto as broad and varied a body of work as Tolkien’s. I would be very dubious about anyone trying to use The Lord of the Rings as a club to beat any particular value system onto anyone else.

I would go on to say that if fantasy in general explores Good and Evil, if it presents moral questions, then any such work of fantasy can be treated as an allegory, whether the author intended it so or not. Also, to a great extent, if one is going to have a conflict and heroic character development, it is hard to avoid presenting a conflict between Good and Evil.

I might even propose that a conflict between Good and Evil might be considered shallow and easy in some contexts. There is something to be said for a conflict between two factions that think they are doing what is best, a conflict between good and good, with opposed protagonists who are all flawed. This might be one way to avoid allegorical interpretations, simply by making it hard to make easy judgements.

Anyway, I would suggest that a contrast between agricultural and industrial cultures is present in Tolkien’s works, while suggesting that this is not necessarily a driving theme, not necessarily the reason Tolkien wrote the books.