Ursula K. Le Guin's essay "The Child and the Shadow" responds to the oft repeated criticism of Tolkien that the distinction between good and evil in The Lord of the Rings is too absolute, by representing it as a "psychic journey" rather than a moral one (Le Guin, 64). She uses imagery from a Hans Christian Andersen story in which a man does not follow his shadow into the House of Poetry and is then enslaved by his shadow. Naturally, that begs the question, what is the Ring in this psychic journey? It is certainly a main cause of evil and suffering, and was created by not just a person who has succumbed to evil in the pursuit of power, but the Shadow itself.
Le Guin notes that many characters in The Lord of the Rings are doubled, one as a "man", the other as a shadow: "Against Aragorn, the Black Rider. Against Gandalf, Saruman. And above all, against Frodo, Gollum" (Le Guin, 64) (One might also argue that Boromir is another shadow of Aragorn.) The common thread through these three pairs is that the shadow only became a shadow because of the Ring. Each character stands on a knife's edge, trying to balance ability and duty - the Ring is the last push that caused one of their sides to fall. Each already knew a need for power or knowledge, but the ones who allowed themselves to be tempted by the Ring, who allowed it to overpower them, became shadows themselves. In a quest for more power, they lost their own - their free will. They became like the man in the Anderson story, subjugated to the will of not just the Ring, but Sauron, the Shadow itself. In this way, the Ring is simply a creator of shadows, a tool of Sauron. They are both the shadows of their doppelgängers, and the man subjugated by the Shadow at once.
"The shadow is the man's thwarted selfishness, his unadmitted desires...the dark side of his soul, the unadmitted, the inadmissible" (Le Guin, 56). This certainly is applicable to the Ring, which reveals one's selfishness to themself, and lies that all they desire is within their grasp. It makes one's shadow visible, allows it to move on its own and begin to dominate the will at once, unless an equally strong will prevents it. "Anderson is saying that this monster is an integral part of the man and cannot be denied - not if the man wants to enter the House of Poetry" (Le Guin, 56). The Ring, in this langauge, is not the shadow itself, but simply a revealer of shadows - the "integral" evil in each character. However, if the Ring is so powerful and must "be denied" to pass the test of will, if it is "inadmissible", how do character's follow the shadow? How do they enter the House of Poetry? And further, if the rest of Le Guin's analysis fits so well, what is the House of Poetry, the House of Light, in the Tolkien Legendarium?
The House of Light is art, poetry, music, true companionship, and one must be at peace with one's shadow to enter. You must follow your shadow, but not let it control you - in other words, pass the test of the Ring. Galadriel, Gandalf, and Elrond are good examples because they have given thought to what their powers could be like if they attempted to use the Ring, or become a Shadow that dominates other's wills. They follow this train of thought, have the Ring within their grasp, or rather, the Shadow has them within its grasp, and they deny it. They followed their shadow and accepted their limitations and imperfections. They sail into the West, to the land of the Valar, the source of art, beauty and light - or the House of Poetry. Then the question is how is the experience of Aragorn and Faramir different? Maybe they do not entertain the possibility enough. They deny the shadow straight away, and remain men, but do not enter the House of Poetry. Bilbo and Frodo also followed their shadows and go into the West, even though it may be argued that they fell to their shadows through the Ring. However, neither used the Ring to its full potential, and Frodo only fell after he resisted to the last. They may be the lucky ones who actually get rescued by the Princess in the Anderson story (The Eagles, Gandalf, or Arwen in The Lord of the Rings)
In a side note, Legolas and Gimli are another interesting case. They never seem to be tempted by the Ring itself, but are tempted by the instincts that Le Guin's shadow represents: to dismiss each other based on their species, or to give into fear in unfamiliar places. They instead accept that they are different and become a pair. They are each other's shadows, and follow each other into the caves at Helm's Deep and into Fangorn Forest, and are both richer for it, eventually passing into the West.
Le Guin makes a distinction between the "collective consciousness" and the "collective unconscious", defining the former as "the mass mind, which consists of such things as cults, creeds, fads, fashions, status seeking, conventions, received beliefs...all the hollow forms of communication and 'togetherness' that lack real communion or real sharing" and the latter as "the great unexplored regions of the Self...the source of true community; of felt religion; of art, grace, spontaneity, and love (LeGuin, 58-59). For example, Saruman's occupation of the Shire against Aragorn's true kingship. The collective consciousness is everything that people do to fit in, follow "the rules", or raise their own social status. It is a hollow form of power. If you simply follow it, you become part of the "lonely crowd". but if you are the best at it, if you do the fashions just a bit better than everyone else, if you become the trend itself, you can lead it. You no longer receive beliefs, but you give the "received beliefs" to the others. In a way, this is again what the Ring is. It shows one the way to be "the mass mind" itself, and instead diminishes them into the crowd. In a way, the Ring is the shadow of the collective unconscious. It is so precious that it takes over art and grace. Its will dominates yours, leaving no spontaneity. It takes all obsessive love and worship, isolating the possessor, leaving no room for true love, community, and felt religion.
The Ring's great power is to dominate other's wills. In Le Guin's view of the psychic journey of The Lord of the Rings, it is The Shadow, a revealer of individual shadows, a test to find the House of Poetry, and the collective consciousness or shadow of the collective unconscious. The Ring cannot be dismissed as simply evil. Rather, it is the darkness in all of us.
- GM
Le Guin notes that many characters in The Lord of the Rings are doubled, one as a "man", the other as a shadow: "Against Aragorn, the Black Rider. Against Gandalf, Saruman. And above all, against Frodo, Gollum" (Le Guin, 64) (One might also argue that Boromir is another shadow of Aragorn.) The common thread through these three pairs is that the shadow only became a shadow because of the Ring. Each character stands on a knife's edge, trying to balance ability and duty - the Ring is the last push that caused one of their sides to fall. Each already knew a need for power or knowledge, but the ones who allowed themselves to be tempted by the Ring, who allowed it to overpower them, became shadows themselves. In a quest for more power, they lost their own - their free will. They became like the man in the Anderson story, subjugated to the will of not just the Ring, but Sauron, the Shadow itself. In this way, the Ring is simply a creator of shadows, a tool of Sauron. They are both the shadows of their doppelgängers, and the man subjugated by the Shadow at once.
"The shadow is the man's thwarted selfishness, his unadmitted desires...the dark side of his soul, the unadmitted, the inadmissible" (Le Guin, 56). This certainly is applicable to the Ring, which reveals one's selfishness to themself, and lies that all they desire is within their grasp. It makes one's shadow visible, allows it to move on its own and begin to dominate the will at once, unless an equally strong will prevents it. "Anderson is saying that this monster is an integral part of the man and cannot be denied - not if the man wants to enter the House of Poetry" (Le Guin, 56). The Ring, in this langauge, is not the shadow itself, but simply a revealer of shadows - the "integral" evil in each character. However, if the Ring is so powerful and must "be denied" to pass the test of will, if it is "inadmissible", how do character's follow the shadow? How do they enter the House of Poetry? And further, if the rest of Le Guin's analysis fits so well, what is the House of Poetry, the House of Light, in the Tolkien Legendarium?
The House of Light is art, poetry, music, true companionship, and one must be at peace with one's shadow to enter. You must follow your shadow, but not let it control you - in other words, pass the test of the Ring. Galadriel, Gandalf, and Elrond are good examples because they have given thought to what their powers could be like if they attempted to use the Ring, or become a Shadow that dominates other's wills. They follow this train of thought, have the Ring within their grasp, or rather, the Shadow has them within its grasp, and they deny it. They followed their shadow and accepted their limitations and imperfections. They sail into the West, to the land of the Valar, the source of art, beauty and light - or the House of Poetry. Then the question is how is the experience of Aragorn and Faramir different? Maybe they do not entertain the possibility enough. They deny the shadow straight away, and remain men, but do not enter the House of Poetry. Bilbo and Frodo also followed their shadows and go into the West, even though it may be argued that they fell to their shadows through the Ring. However, neither used the Ring to its full potential, and Frodo only fell after he resisted to the last. They may be the lucky ones who actually get rescued by the Princess in the Anderson story (The Eagles, Gandalf, or Arwen in The Lord of the Rings)
In a side note, Legolas and Gimli are another interesting case. They never seem to be tempted by the Ring itself, but are tempted by the instincts that Le Guin's shadow represents: to dismiss each other based on their species, or to give into fear in unfamiliar places. They instead accept that they are different and become a pair. They are each other's shadows, and follow each other into the caves at Helm's Deep and into Fangorn Forest, and are both richer for it, eventually passing into the West.
Le Guin makes a distinction between the "collective consciousness" and the "collective unconscious", defining the former as "the mass mind, which consists of such things as cults, creeds, fads, fashions, status seeking, conventions, received beliefs...all the hollow forms of communication and 'togetherness' that lack real communion or real sharing" and the latter as "the great unexplored regions of the Self...the source of true community; of felt religion; of art, grace, spontaneity, and love (LeGuin, 58-59). For example, Saruman's occupation of the Shire against Aragorn's true kingship. The collective consciousness is everything that people do to fit in, follow "the rules", or raise their own social status. It is a hollow form of power. If you simply follow it, you become part of the "lonely crowd". but if you are the best at it, if you do the fashions just a bit better than everyone else, if you become the trend itself, you can lead it. You no longer receive beliefs, but you give the "received beliefs" to the others. In a way, this is again what the Ring is. It shows one the way to be "the mass mind" itself, and instead diminishes them into the crowd. In a way, the Ring is the shadow of the collective unconscious. It is so precious that it takes over art and grace. Its will dominates yours, leaving no spontaneity. It takes all obsessive love and worship, isolating the possessor, leaving no room for true love, community, and felt religion.
The Ring's great power is to dominate other's wills. In Le Guin's view of the psychic journey of The Lord of the Rings, it is The Shadow, a revealer of individual shadows, a test to find the House of Poetry, and the collective consciousness or shadow of the collective unconscious. The Ring cannot be dismissed as simply evil. Rather, it is the darkness in all of us.
- GM
2 comments:
I like this reading of the Ring as the shadow of the desire to "fit in’—this is the more insidious side of the desire to dominate other wills, the fear of being singled out as going against the collective will. I think there is something very important here in the way the Ring works: why should it have the power that it does if wills are actually free? It frightens them into surrendering. This bears thinking on! RLFB
I enjoyed this treatment of the Ring's essence. I remain not entirely convinced that LeGuin's analysis of fairy-tale really maps on well to Tolkien's vision (and I agree that Boromir is much more a double of Aragorn than any Black Rider). Are you equating the House of Poetry with Valinor itself, or at least with the places in Middle-Earth, like Rivendell, that preserve the memory and air of Valinor? The biggest difficulty with LeGuin's framework, it seems to me, lies in the assumption that the Shadow is an ineradicable part of each character, but Tolkien seems to think his character really can be purified of evil will and achieve a whole-hearted love of the good.
~LJF
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