During Wednesday’s discussion, one of the main topics that was brought up was the Undying Lands and what Tolkien’s intention was when creating it. For those who need a refresher, the Undying Lands, also known as Valinor, is a realm found on the continent of Aman that is located west of Middle Earth. It is primarily inhabited by the Valar, Elves who chose to leave Middle Earth and be with the Valar, and certain mortals who were allowed passage such as the surviving ring-bearers of the One Ring. Ultimately, the Undying Lands is a peaceful, heavenly region primarily inhabited by immortal beings as mortals are forbidden to sail west beyond the kingdom of Númenor.
When I first read about the Undying Lands in The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion, I immediately associated the region with that of the Garden of Eden. Considering the fact that Tolkien was a devout Roman Catholic and included various moments of Christian symbolism in both The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, I figured that the Undying Lands fit into this category as well, serving as a Garden of Eden-like sanctuary for the pure, immortal beings of Middle Earth. In fact, I believed my theory about the Undying Lands serving as a Garden of Eden-like sanctuary for the Valar and the Elves only solidified when reading one of Tolkien’s letters in The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien. For example, when reading Letter 151, Tolkien explained, “Gone was the ‘mythological’ time when Valinor (or Valimar), the Land of the Valar (gods if you will) existed physically in the Uttermost West, or the Eldaic (Elvish) immortal Isle of Eressea; or the Great Isle of Westernesse (Númenor-Atlantis). After the Downfall of Númenor, and its destruction, all this was removed from the ‘physical’ world, and not reachable by material means” (Tolkien 186).
Essentially, Tolkien explains that for each age that Middle Earth enters, the less magical and mythological elements exist in the region. Instead, the region is slowly becoming a realm of men, and so the Undying Lands serves as a sanctuary that preserves the last remaining elements of myth and magic. However, when I was engaging with the topic of the Undying Lands and discussed my theory of it being Tolkien’s Garden of Eden during the class discussion on Wednesday, a fact that became aware to me during the discussion that may have disproved my theory pertains to the geography of both Middle Earth and the Undying Lands.
When examining the map above, it showcases that to travel from Middle Earth to the Undying Lands, one must sail west. Immortal, magical beings like the Elves who were invited to travel to Undying Lands where their spirits and purity could be preserved had to sail west to reach this blessed land. This is different from the Garden of Eden because not only did Adam and Eve have to travel east of the Garden to find their source of sanctuary after eating the Forbidden Fruit, but they had to leave the Garden because they lost their purity and became more human, mortal beings. Seeing that the Undying Lands and the Garden of Eden have major differences in both geography and mythology, I began trying to create new theories as to what Tolkien specifically intended with the Undying Lands.
To try and understand what Tolkien’s purpose was in creating the Undying Lands, I focused my attention on one specific aspect that was brought up during Wednesday’s discussion: the process of Elves and ring-bearers of the One Ring traveling west to find their magical haven. For me, I really believe that there is a deeper meaning behind not just what the Undying Lands are, but also the direction they must sail to get the Undying Lands. I know that Tolkien famously hates allegory and very much avoids putting it in this his stories, but I just cannot help but feel that there has to be something deeper behind all of this other than Tolkien creating the Undying Lands because it fits within the context of the mythology he is trying to build. Despite Tolkien’s disdain allegory, I, nonetheless, attempted to search for a deep, allegorical meaning of traveling west to reach the Undying Lands.
The biggest theory I developed when trying to understand Tolkien’s intention in creating the Undying Lands was that maybe that the region represented the Americas. From both The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion, it is showcased that with Middle Earth slowly becoming a realm dominated by men, immortal and magical beings like the Elves realize that there is nothing left for them in Middle Earth. Therefore, to preserve their purity and immortal souls, the Elves must travel west to the Undying Lands to ensure this preservation. In some ways, Europeans during the 19th century felt the same way as many believed that there were very few opportunities for them left in Europe. Therefore, they left their home countries and immigrated to the United States in search of a better life both for themselves and their families.
However, despite finding some connections, I began discarding this theory when I discovered Tolkien’s personal feelings about America. In Letter 53 in The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien, Tolkien wrote to his son, Christopher, “I do find this Americo-cosmopolitanism very terrifying. Qua mind and spirit, and neglecting the piddling fears of timid flesh which does not want to be shot or chopped by brutal and licentious soldiery (German or other), I am not really sure that its victory is going to be so much the better for the world as a whole and in the long run than the victory of” (Tolkien 65). From this description of American-style capitalism, Tolkien seems to have nothing but negative thoughts about the subject. While he hates including allegory in his stories, if he were to include them, the United States would be very much the last nation Tolkien wants to associate with the Undying Lands.
Overall, I think trying to find a deep, allegorical meaning behind the Undying Lands and the process of traveling west to reach it is pointless. As mentioned before, Tolkien despises allegory and very much avoided putting it in his stories. There really is no way of fully knowing what Tolkien intended when he wrote and created the Undying Lands. Who knows, maybe the Undying Lands is simply another piece of Tolkien’s mythology that only serves as another component in Tolkien’s narrative and world-building. All I know is that there needs to be something more than, “because Tolkien said so”, and I am going to find out what it is.
TL
When I first read about the Undying Lands in The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion, I immediately associated the region with that of the Garden of Eden. Considering the fact that Tolkien was a devout Roman Catholic and included various moments of Christian symbolism in both The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, I figured that the Undying Lands fit into this category as well, serving as a Garden of Eden-like sanctuary for the pure, immortal beings of Middle Earth. In fact, I believed my theory about the Undying Lands serving as a Garden of Eden-like sanctuary for the Valar and the Elves only solidified when reading one of Tolkien’s letters in The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien. For example, when reading Letter 151, Tolkien explained, “Gone was the ‘mythological’ time when Valinor (or Valimar), the Land of the Valar (gods if you will) existed physically in the Uttermost West, or the Eldaic (Elvish) immortal Isle of Eressea; or the Great Isle of Westernesse (Númenor-Atlantis). After the Downfall of Númenor, and its destruction, all this was removed from the ‘physical’ world, and not reachable by material means” (Tolkien 186).
Essentially, Tolkien explains that for each age that Middle Earth enters, the less magical and mythological elements exist in the region. Instead, the region is slowly becoming a realm of men, and so the Undying Lands serves as a sanctuary that preserves the last remaining elements of myth and magic. However, when I was engaging with the topic of the Undying Lands and discussed my theory of it being Tolkien’s Garden of Eden during the class discussion on Wednesday, a fact that became aware to me during the discussion that may have disproved my theory pertains to the geography of both Middle Earth and the Undying Lands.
When examining the map above, it showcases that to travel from Middle Earth to the Undying Lands, one must sail west. Immortal, magical beings like the Elves who were invited to travel to Undying Lands where their spirits and purity could be preserved had to sail west to reach this blessed land. This is different from the Garden of Eden because not only did Adam and Eve have to travel east of the Garden to find their source of sanctuary after eating the Forbidden Fruit, but they had to leave the Garden because they lost their purity and became more human, mortal beings. Seeing that the Undying Lands and the Garden of Eden have major differences in both geography and mythology, I began trying to create new theories as to what Tolkien specifically intended with the Undying Lands.
To try and understand what Tolkien’s purpose was in creating the Undying Lands, I focused my attention on one specific aspect that was brought up during Wednesday’s discussion: the process of Elves and ring-bearers of the One Ring traveling west to find their magical haven. For me, I really believe that there is a deeper meaning behind not just what the Undying Lands are, but also the direction they must sail to get the Undying Lands. I know that Tolkien famously hates allegory and very much avoids putting it in this his stories, but I just cannot help but feel that there has to be something deeper behind all of this other than Tolkien creating the Undying Lands because it fits within the context of the mythology he is trying to build. Despite Tolkien’s disdain allegory, I, nonetheless, attempted to search for a deep, allegorical meaning of traveling west to reach the Undying Lands.
The biggest theory I developed when trying to understand Tolkien’s intention in creating the Undying Lands was that maybe that the region represented the Americas. From both The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion, it is showcased that with Middle Earth slowly becoming a realm dominated by men, immortal and magical beings like the Elves realize that there is nothing left for them in Middle Earth. Therefore, to preserve their purity and immortal souls, the Elves must travel west to the Undying Lands to ensure this preservation. In some ways, Europeans during the 19th century felt the same way as many believed that there were very few opportunities for them left in Europe. Therefore, they left their home countries and immigrated to the United States in search of a better life both for themselves and their families.
However, despite finding some connections, I began discarding this theory when I discovered Tolkien’s personal feelings about America. In Letter 53 in The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien, Tolkien wrote to his son, Christopher, “I do find this Americo-cosmopolitanism very terrifying. Qua mind and spirit, and neglecting the piddling fears of timid flesh which does not want to be shot or chopped by brutal and licentious soldiery (German or other), I am not really sure that its victory is going to be so much the better for the world as a whole and in the long run than the victory of” (Tolkien 65). From this description of American-style capitalism, Tolkien seems to have nothing but negative thoughts about the subject. While he hates including allegory in his stories, if he were to include them, the United States would be very much the last nation Tolkien wants to associate with the Undying Lands.
Overall, I think trying to find a deep, allegorical meaning behind the Undying Lands and the process of traveling west to reach it is pointless. As mentioned before, Tolkien despises allegory and very much avoided putting it in his stories. There really is no way of fully knowing what Tolkien intended when he wrote and created the Undying Lands. Who knows, maybe the Undying Lands is simply another piece of Tolkien’s mythology that only serves as another component in Tolkien’s narrative and world-building. All I know is that there needs to be something more than, “because Tolkien said so”, and I am going to find out what it is.
TL
4 comments:
Your question is a good one, but you are right to discard your previous answers! If the Undying Lands are not Eden or the Americas, what else might they be? Some of it has to do with the location of the sea relative to England: sailing east takes you to the North Sea and other known territories, whereas sailing west takes you further into the Unknown (at least it did, before the Americas were discovered by Europeans). Perhaps the answer is not in the allegory of particular places, but in the sense of adventure? RLFB
I also think you're right that the westward movement has significance, but perhaps one of the most obvious associations with westering is hiding in plain sight: the sun sets in the West. This is underlined most in Ithilien, when Frodo and Sam meet the Men of Gondor, both at Henneth Anun and at the Crossroads of the Fallen King. The uttermost West is therefore connected to the preservation of what is fading and diminishing. In connection with this, it's significant that the fate of Men after death is not bound within the circles of the world, but to go Beyond, whereas Elves are to linger in Valinor.
On Eden, I think it's important to remember that Tolkien insists Middle-Earth is a world before specific divine revelation. Valinor strikes me more as a parallel to Acadia, the paradisical pastoral land before human civilization in Greek myth. But of course the parallel isn't perfect, because Acadia is also a place of civilization and art, not of rural simplicity.
~LJF
I agree with your conclusion that the traveling westward is likely not a reference to the Americas, due to both Tolkien's dislike of allegory and seeming disdain for the Americas. I think the previous commenter makes an excellent point of the sun setting in the west. The sun makes its journey daily, ending it westward, paralleling the end of life on Middle-Earth. It strikes me as a strong metaphor for death, heading in the direction of the setting sun. From a geographical perspective, it also makes sense. A Middle-Earth based in real Europe would require sailing west to go into the great unknown.
I posit that the Undying Lands embody Tolkien's idea on how to confront death. Within Tolkien's Legendarium, mortality is not a curse upon mankind, but a gift from the gods. Men are given freedom in death from the fate of the world. Death is not something that should be feared. Likewise, the departing for the Undying Lands is voluntary, and though it is not truly death, it is not precisely mortal life either. Setting for the Undying Lands is an acceptance of death, letting go of prior attachments to be with the Valar. To me, this makes the Undying Lands heaven (or at least, a heaven). It is not something to be feared, but embraced. And it may be death, but it is not the end.
I find myself confused by the logic of rejecting the analogy to the Garden of Eden. You wrote: "This is different from the Garden of Eden because not only did Adam and Eve have to travel east of the Garden to find their source of sanctuary after eating the Forbidden Fruit, but they had to leave the Garden because they lost their purity and became more human, mortal beings." But how does this negate your premise? First, the direction Adam and Eve traveled to separate themselves was the reverse, i.e., traveling east, which logic says puts the garden now to their west, right? (that is, the guard of angels was placed on the east side of the garden, indicating that access had to be from the east, not the west) And possibly part of the reason they no longer belonged there was that they were no longer immortal, an idea which also logically connects with Aman.
To add to my confusion (disagreement?) with your rejection of the premise is the fact that many Christians believe that New Testament references to "paradise" refer the actual Eden, which still exists, removed from the physical earth but reachable in a spiritual sense. In addition, consider what Tolkien wrote in Letter 154 that for Frodo, i.e., mortals, Aman is merely a place of "healing and redress of suffering" before death, also connecting to paradise.
Finally, you were following in the footsteps of many Tolkien scholars who have compared Aman to the Christian concept of "paradise."
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