For a book which Tolkien described as "fundamentally a religious and Catholic work," (Letter 142), the Lord of the Rings has no mention of religion, worship, a clergy, or gods. So how does religion and Catholicism work its way into the book? Tolkien himself asserted that the Lord of the Rings "is about God, and His sole right to divine honor," (Letter 183). This only raises another question: how do the inhabitants of Middle Earth worship God? That is, how do they give divine honor to God? Common to the heroes of the Lord of the Rings, yet not present amongst the villains, is sacrifice. Galadriel her home, Sam his quiet life, Eowyn her love, and Gandalf, Boromir, and Theoden their lives. Amongst all of them, each sacrifices something that comprised the nature of God. Each reduces their own honor and being for the betterment of others. In doing so, they recognize that they are ultimately not the recipients of divine honor.
When speaking to Frodo and Sam at the Mirror of Galadriel in Lothlorien, Galadriel reveals her motives for aiding the fellowship and what it will cost her. She reveals that the destruction of the Ring will destroy the beauty of Lothlorien. She reveals that she will willingly sacrifice the beauty of Lothlorien for freedom (The Fellowship of the Ring). Not only is she sacrificing her home, but she is sacrificing the closest place to heaven in Middle Earth; the descriptions of Lothlorien of gold and silver trees with gem like flowers and water (The Fellowship of the Ring) closely mirror descriptions of Heaven found in the Bible (Revelation 21). Galadriel, sadly, relinquishes the most heavenly place on Middle Earth to secure her and her people's freedom. In doing so, she accepts that it is not her place to permanently preserve or posses such beauty.
Sam takes on the burden of the Fellowship and the quest to destroy the Ring without complete knowledge of what he is doing. He has little knowledge of the world beyond the Shire (The Fellowship of the Ring) and does so more out of love for Frodo than a hatred of evil. Throughout his adventure, especially as he approaches Mt. Doom, Sam longs for the quiet and tranquil life he had in the Shire with his fiancé (The Return of the King). By the end of the journey, Sam has sacrificed nearly seven months after having departed from the Shire (Appendix B). As much as Sam longs in the moments along the journey and in Mordor for his home in the Shire, if he had stayed, the quest would not have been completed and the Shire would have been reduced and destroyed, just as Gandalf comments to Pippin on their way to Minas Tirith (The Return of the King). Sam's life in the Shire was one of sedentary and complacent calm. Little happened, and he valued that. Yet in casting off this slothful life. In accepting the burden of the quest of the Fellowship, he sacrificed the calm, tranquility, and peace of the seemingly idealic Shire to face the burdensome reality of the world.
The greatest sacrifice shown in the Lord of the Rings is to give one's life for another. Tolkien calls death "the Gift of Men" from God. While each of these three men does not chose death, they do not shy away from death when they are needed. Each also has different motives. For Boromir, it is an act of repentance for falling prey to the allure of the Ring (the Fellowship of the Ring). Theoden, as an elderly king, sees his inevitable death fast approaching; he faces a choice more of the manner of his death than the time. His death is a death as a result of him honoring his oaths and confronting evil in the slim hope that it might save those he loves (the Two Towers). In choosing a move violent and unpleasant death, Theoden permits his family and subjects to have a new and greater life of freedom. Theoden's sacrifice is not just his life, but his comfort, surety, and kingship. Finally, Gandalf gives up his life in order to saves the Fellowship and defeat the Balrog. His ultimate death not only kills the immediate evil of the Balrog, one of the last remnants of the evil of Morgoth, but he also serves the greater purpose of the destruction of the evil of the Ring. Gandalf's sacrifice is even greater as his spirit is greater than those of elves or men due to his nature as an Istari (Unfinished Tales of Númenor and Middle Earth). Gandalf's sacrifice is of power, spirit, and life.
While Eowyn was prepared and willing to sacrifice her life for Theoden, she is survives her confrontation with the Witch King and is instead faced with another sacrifice: love. From the moment she laid eyes upon Aragorn, she was convinced that she was in love with him (The Two Towers). Yet, as Aragorn explained to her, he was in love with and in love with another (The Two Towers). Scorned and faced with the Spector of unrequited love, Eowyn falls into a deep sadness and becomes determined to fall in battle if Aragorn will not return her love (The Return of the King). After succeeding in vanquishing the fellbeast of the Witch King but failing to fall in battle, Eowyn meets Faramir in the House of Heeling (The Return of the King). After many consecutive days of conversation, Faramir convinces Eowyn to let go of her one-way adoration and to instead accept a mutual love (The Return of the King). In doing so, Eowyn gives up the unconditional love and adoration which she gave to Aragorn. Aragorn, as a mortal man, should not be held in such high esteem.
The villains of the Lord of the Rings are so averse to self-sacrifice that they become uncompromising and weak through division. The kidnapping of Merry and Pippin gives an insight into how orcs deal with each other. Throughout the Hobbits' captivity, the Orcs argue yet reach no conclusion; no matter how many times they go back and forth over why the Hobbits are to be kept alive or should be killed, the two sides stick to their positions (The Two Towers). This inability to agree ultimately divides the large party of Orcs and allows the riders of Rohan to mow them down in the field, while the two Hobbits escape thanks to a treacherous Mordor Orc (The Two Towers). Notably, Tolkien's commentary on Gollum falling into the fires of Mt. Doom suggests that the sacrifice must be willingly made. Tolkien argues that Frodo claiming the Ring in Mt. Doom was not a moral failure, as he had no self control at that point due to forces greater than himself (Letter 246). Tolkien argues that one cannot claim or be held to acts or events which one has no control over. Therefore, a great loss beyond one's control is not an act of worship or sacrifice.
Throughout the course of the Lord of the Rings, it is the continual, voluntary sacrifices of the heroes that ultimately allows the divine plan of Eru to come to fruition. Some of these sacrifices are rewarded, while others must stand as a permanent loss. As a true expression of devotion, these acts must be willingly done and must reduce the honor, power, or being of the person. In this way, the peoples of Middle Earth show their devotion and play their part in the workings of God.
MDH
When speaking to Frodo and Sam at the Mirror of Galadriel in Lothlorien, Galadriel reveals her motives for aiding the fellowship and what it will cost her. She reveals that the destruction of the Ring will destroy the beauty of Lothlorien. She reveals that she will willingly sacrifice the beauty of Lothlorien for freedom (The Fellowship of the Ring). Not only is she sacrificing her home, but she is sacrificing the closest place to heaven in Middle Earth; the descriptions of Lothlorien of gold and silver trees with gem like flowers and water (The Fellowship of the Ring) closely mirror descriptions of Heaven found in the Bible (Revelation 21). Galadriel, sadly, relinquishes the most heavenly place on Middle Earth to secure her and her people's freedom. In doing so, she accepts that it is not her place to permanently preserve or posses such beauty.
Sam takes on the burden of the Fellowship and the quest to destroy the Ring without complete knowledge of what he is doing. He has little knowledge of the world beyond the Shire (The Fellowship of the Ring) and does so more out of love for Frodo than a hatred of evil. Throughout his adventure, especially as he approaches Mt. Doom, Sam longs for the quiet and tranquil life he had in the Shire with his fiancé (The Return of the King). By the end of the journey, Sam has sacrificed nearly seven months after having departed from the Shire (Appendix B). As much as Sam longs in the moments along the journey and in Mordor for his home in the Shire, if he had stayed, the quest would not have been completed and the Shire would have been reduced and destroyed, just as Gandalf comments to Pippin on their way to Minas Tirith (The Return of the King). Sam's life in the Shire was one of sedentary and complacent calm. Little happened, and he valued that. Yet in casting off this slothful life. In accepting the burden of the quest of the Fellowship, he sacrificed the calm, tranquility, and peace of the seemingly idealic Shire to face the burdensome reality of the world.
The greatest sacrifice shown in the Lord of the Rings is to give one's life for another. Tolkien calls death "the Gift of Men" from God. While each of these three men does not chose death, they do not shy away from death when they are needed. Each also has different motives. For Boromir, it is an act of repentance for falling prey to the allure of the Ring (the Fellowship of the Ring). Theoden, as an elderly king, sees his inevitable death fast approaching; he faces a choice more of the manner of his death than the time. His death is a death as a result of him honoring his oaths and confronting evil in the slim hope that it might save those he loves (the Two Towers). In choosing a move violent and unpleasant death, Theoden permits his family and subjects to have a new and greater life of freedom. Theoden's sacrifice is not just his life, but his comfort, surety, and kingship. Finally, Gandalf gives up his life in order to saves the Fellowship and defeat the Balrog. His ultimate death not only kills the immediate evil of the Balrog, one of the last remnants of the evil of Morgoth, but he also serves the greater purpose of the destruction of the evil of the Ring. Gandalf's sacrifice is even greater as his spirit is greater than those of elves or men due to his nature as an Istari (Unfinished Tales of Númenor and Middle Earth). Gandalf's sacrifice is of power, spirit, and life.
While Eowyn was prepared and willing to sacrifice her life for Theoden, she is survives her confrontation with the Witch King and is instead faced with another sacrifice: love. From the moment she laid eyes upon Aragorn, she was convinced that she was in love with him (The Two Towers). Yet, as Aragorn explained to her, he was in love with and in love with another (The Two Towers). Scorned and faced with the Spector of unrequited love, Eowyn falls into a deep sadness and becomes determined to fall in battle if Aragorn will not return her love (The Return of the King). After succeeding in vanquishing the fellbeast of the Witch King but failing to fall in battle, Eowyn meets Faramir in the House of Heeling (The Return of the King). After many consecutive days of conversation, Faramir convinces Eowyn to let go of her one-way adoration and to instead accept a mutual love (The Return of the King). In doing so, Eowyn gives up the unconditional love and adoration which she gave to Aragorn. Aragorn, as a mortal man, should not be held in such high esteem.
The villains of the Lord of the Rings are so averse to self-sacrifice that they become uncompromising and weak through division. The kidnapping of Merry and Pippin gives an insight into how orcs deal with each other. Throughout the Hobbits' captivity, the Orcs argue yet reach no conclusion; no matter how many times they go back and forth over why the Hobbits are to be kept alive or should be killed, the two sides stick to their positions (The Two Towers). This inability to agree ultimately divides the large party of Orcs and allows the riders of Rohan to mow them down in the field, while the two Hobbits escape thanks to a treacherous Mordor Orc (The Two Towers). Notably, Tolkien's commentary on Gollum falling into the fires of Mt. Doom suggests that the sacrifice must be willingly made. Tolkien argues that Frodo claiming the Ring in Mt. Doom was not a moral failure, as he had no self control at that point due to forces greater than himself (Letter 246). Tolkien argues that one cannot claim or be held to acts or events which one has no control over. Therefore, a great loss beyond one's control is not an act of worship or sacrifice.
Throughout the course of the Lord of the Rings, it is the continual, voluntary sacrifices of the heroes that ultimately allows the divine plan of Eru to come to fruition. Some of these sacrifices are rewarded, while others must stand as a permanent loss. As a true expression of devotion, these acts must be willingly done and must reduce the honor, power, or being of the person. In this way, the peoples of Middle Earth show their devotion and play their part in the workings of God.
MDH
5 comments:
Lovely meditation on the variety of sacrifices the characters in the LotR are willing—and unwilling—to make. How do these sacrifices mirror or parallel the liturgical sacrifice on which they were modeled? You mention the sacrifice of one's life for one's friends—are there parallels to Christ's sacrifice in Galadriel's, Sam's, or Eowyn's sacrifice? RLFB
"Greater love hath no man than this, that he lay down his life for his friends." I often think of this line when reading anew the stories of the sacrifices you chronicle, especially those of Boromir and Theoden. Yet, as you rightly note, the greatest sacrifices of Tolkien's world rise far above the merely sentimental or even merely political: Galadriel gives up not just here home by Middle-Earth as she has known it across three ages, and Théoden is willing even to risk his kingdom for a chance to resist the tyranny coming to devour all Free Peoples. You say, "Each sacrifices something that comprised the nature of God. Each reduces their own honor and being for the betterment of others. In doing so, they recognize that they are ultimately not the recipients of divine honor." There is a paradox here. How can creatures participate in a divine attribute while recognizing themselves as unworthy of honor? ~LJF
You make such interesting points here! I am curious to know what you think of the different sacrifices of each character and the weight they carry. What is the ultimate sacrifice? Of course, in Christianity it is the death of Christ on the cross. So is the life of a person the ultimate gift? The ultimate thing to give up? Or is it instead something that is deeply important to us. I'm also thinking about your questions concerning the status of an individual and their self-value related to their willingness to sacrifice. Is one character's sacrifice more valuable than another because they thought more of themself? Is a sacrifice more valuable if others thought they were pretty great? -AEH
"Good": Eru relies on --> willingness to self-sacrifice of the actors in the world
"Evil": Morgoth/Sauron/Ring relies on --> unwillingness to self-sacrifice of the actors in the world
The ironic part is that the willingness to self-sacrifice diminishes to zero
when "Evil" is only 1 self-sacrificial act away from its demise
when "Evil" is forced to exert all its powers/influence to survive
AND that's when "Good" leaves "Evil" to its own devices: unwillingness to self-sacrifice takes over; exploiting all the weaknesses of the actors
--> Conflict arises, when between equal actors (cfr. self-sacrifice & strength):
"Evil" destroys itself
Maybe this is why the first time the Ring was 1 self-sacrificial act away from its unmaking
it was not destroyed.
Gil-Galad & Elrond were still in self-sacrificial mode whilst Isildur was not
=> Uncompromising conflict did not arise because the actors weren't equal
(cfr. capacity of self-sacrifice was not equal = zero) & strength neither(?)).
The uncompromising nature of the conflict is crucial ~ lack of willingness to self-sacrifice
(With Strength I refer to the ability of the actor to realize their will.)
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