Birzer, Bradley J. J.R.R. 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)
