Birzer, Bradley J. Wilmington: Intercollegiate Studies Institute,
2003. 219 + xxvi pp. $24.95 CAD. ISBN: 1-882926-84-6.
[1] Bradley J. Birzer presents a comprehensive study of J.J.R. Tolkien
that tantalizes the reader into the world of Tolkien's religious,
social and political views and the motivating factors that informed
the rich symbolism of his mythic epic. Including him within the Christian
humanist tradition represented by Thomas More, T.S. Eliot, Dante,
and C.S. Lewis, Birzer argues that through the genre of myth, Tolkien
created a world that is closer to reality than we think, a world that
in contrast to our dull and uninteresting postmodern age is full of
"truth, beauty, and excellence" (xxiv). To glimpse this leads to real
joy that makes all aspects of life more delightful and hopeful.
[2] As a reader, and viewer of Peter Jackson's award winning film
version of The Lord of the Rings, I have been mystified by
Middle-Earth. How did it come to be? Who and what does it truly represent?
The answers to these and other questions concerning Tolkien's masterful
works are provided in Birzer's in-depth study that speaks eloquently
of Tolkien's religious and ethical vision. In the first chapter he
presents a biography of the "Life and Work of J.R.R. Tolkien," laying
the groundwork for the rest of the book. The following chapters on
"Myth and Sub-creation," "The Created Order," "Heroism," "The Nature
of Evil," and "The Nature of Grace Proclaimed," describe Tolkien's
mythological vision and the Christian mysticism and theology that
give it life (xiii). Chapter six, "Middle-Earth and Modernity," is
a discussion in which Birzer places Tolkien's sub-creation within
its own sociopolitical and cultural context.
[3] In addition to these six captivating chapters, the book contains
a foreword, preface, and introduction, a conclusion, an excellent
bibliography, a helpful index, and well-documented endnotes. Though
rather brief, the text is packed with insightful information, integrated
from primary sources, that enables the reader to develop a deeper
understanding of and appreciation for Tolkien as a "wizard" of mythology.
Birzer's tendency simply to narrate the experiences and ideas that
contributed to Tolkien's creation is most refreshing. The absence
of literary critique allows Tolkien's story to unfold with a clarity
that "guides the reader deep . . . into exciting truths that [s/he]
might not have previously perceived" (in Foreword by Joseph Pearce,
xiii-xiv).
[4] The drawback of this approach is the lack of specific focus that
at times disrupts the narrative flow. Birzer digresses when, for instance,
in chapter three he writes at length about C.S. Lewis's anti-Catholicism
(49-53). While interesting because it gives insight into the on-again,
off-again friendship between Lewis and Tolkien, it is quite irrelevant
to the account of Tolkien's myth per se.
[5] The significance of Tolkien's Catholicism is evident throughout
the book. This, above all, is what influenced the "various sacramental
symbolisms and parallels found within the legendarium" (xxvi). Tolkien
was a devout Catholic who wanted to make sure that his mythology was
as Christian as possible: "The ultimate fairy story, or true myth,
then, is the incarnation, crucifixion, and resurrection of Christ"
(39). Birzer finds Tolkien's Catholic worldview that emphasizes the
"salvific efficacy of free will in response to God's grace" (53) in
The Lord of the Rings' location, depiction, and plot.
[6] Although Tolkien loathed the thought that his mythology would
serve as a plan to remake the world, Birzer argues that "if Tolkien
wanted to renew Christendom it was in the sense of an ethic encoded
in the natural and divine law" (137). Hence, "Middle-earth is a sub-creation
that represents true Creation in which Rivendell best represents living
with nature, the Shire represents the agrarian use of nature, and
Orthanc and Mordor represent the exploitation, domination, and, consequently,
the destruction of nature" (128). The sapient beings (hobbits, elves,
dwarfs, ents) and human men and women represent Tolkien's wish that
"there be instilled in society an ethic that embraced the purpose
God has for each of [his] creations and [his] Church" (137). Evil
(the Dark Lord Sauron and his servants the Ringwraiths) is the result
of deliberate separation from God. Through the cosmic conflict between
the forces of good and evil, the sanctifying myth is revealed in "true
heroism that comes from grace, not human will" (87). In the end, evil
is vanquished and Middle-earth is restored to God's original vision.
For Tolkien, this means a return to living a pastoral life, simply
and joyfully in rural locales where people are free to use the land
and gifts God gave them, in contrast to the twentieth century's postmodern
obsession with the complexity of machines, industrialization, and
science.
[7] Birzer seems to be evangelizing for Roman Catholic Christianity
in his interpretation of Tolkien's mythology. I think most readers,
however, would not see this epic as specifically Christian or even
religious, but as an account of the reality of good and evil in the
world, and the responsibility of "humans and hobbits to cling to the
Good" (Pearce, dust jacket).
[8] Despite the close correspondence between elements in his myth
and Roman Catholicism, Birzer denies that Tolkien deliberately intended
certain allegorical characters and relationships. For example, the
heroes of Middle-Earth were not intended to represent church officials.
Rather, writes Birzer, "[these] fulfill not only St. Augustine's post-Roman
vision of heroism, but particularly St. Paul's notion that each individual
was a member of the larger and eternal Body of Christ" (86).
[9] J.R.R. Tolkien's Sanctifying Myth: Understanding Middle-earth
is compelling and well written; a worthwhile read, recommended
for anyone interested in discovering the creative matrix in the author
behind the theological thriller, The Lord of the Rings.
Bonita Chad
College of Emmanuel and St. Chad
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
bonitachad@yahoo.com
