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“Absorbed Into the Story: Catholic Themes in Tolkien”by

Charles Klamut

CHAPTER SUMMARIES

Chapter One: Intrusion/Awakening

An “intruder” is common in popular and effective literature and movies. A character is

“intruded” upon unexpec tedly by an outsider, usually from the wider world. The intruder

offers a proposal of adventure entailing suffering, excitement, and ultimately growth and

destiny. Gandalf is Bilbo’s “intruder” in The Hobbit . The Christian Gospel is perhaps an

especially prominent and influential “intruder” story, from which Tolkien may well have

drawn. Pertinent examples from The Hobbit demonstrate the theme.

Chapter Two and Three: Grace: Unlooked-for Friends

“Grace” as a beneficent gift of help offered in timely fashion is portrayed in a unique way

by Tolkien. Particula rly, his use of the “unlooked-for friend” (a term used by Elrond

during his Council) characterizes Tolkien’s chief literary portrayal of grace. At key

moments in the story, when the situation appears most dire, friends emerge un looked-for,

offering just the help needed at the right time. This chapter and the next discuss eight

examples from the text: Gildor and the wood-elves; Farmer Maggot; Tom Bombadil;

Strider (Chapter Two); Galadriel, Eomer, Treebeard, and Faramir (Chapter Three).

Chapter Four: Sacramentality

The logic, though not the explicit form or doctrine, of sacraments forms the basis in

Tolkien for a distinctive world-view whereby the material is routinely and without

scandal viewed as the vehicle for the spiritual. Grace through nature; divine through

human; invisible through visible: this is the pattern. The material realm is thus never just

material, but rather always holds at least the potential for transmitting something more. A

careful look is taken at Tolkien’s attempts to reconcile the divine claims of the church

with its very fallen human traits, mainly through his personal letters. Then, examplesfrom this fiction are discussed, including the elvish cloaks, lembas bread, the Phial of

Galadriel; horns; the healing Athelas plant ; and the Ring of power, proposed as an “anti-

sacrament.” One reader, writing a letter to Tolkien, said that his work seems to present

“light from an invisible lamp.” Exploration of this theme is a basis of this chapter.

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Chapter Five: Friendship/Fellowship

The first part of The Lord of the Rings is entitled “The Fellowship of the Ring.”

“Fellowship” is the typical translation, at least as far back as the King James Bible, of the

Greek word “koinonia,” a prominent term from the New Testament describing the ideal

communion of believers with God and with one another. In addition, in the NT the chief

earthly locus of this fellowship is the church. Recent doctrinal formulations have referredto the church as a “primordial sacrament” and a “universal sacrament of salvation.” For

Tolkien, then, his heavy emphasis on friendship is fueled by a deeply Christian

understanding of friendship and fellowship. This chapter looks at the multi-racial make-

up of the “Fellowship” in light of the universality of the fellowship that is the church.

Particular emphasis is placed on exploring the friendship between Frodo and Sam within

this context.

Chapter Six: Environmental Stewardship

The Lord of the Rings foreshadowed many concerns of the modern environmental

movement, even though written decades earlier. Tolkien drew from a deeply Catholic

tradition of respect for nature for its own sake as a God-given resource over which we are

made stewards – not dominators. A brief overview is given of the Christian and Catholic

tradition of environmental stewardship, from the Scriptures up through modern figures

like Hopkins and Balthasar. The Saruman-Sauron domination ethos is then contrasted

with the Elvish, Entish, and Hobbit approaches to nature. Many textual examples are

cited from the Lord of the Rings as well as Tolkien’s letters.

Chapter Seven: Providence

Early on in The Lord of the Rings, Tolkien has Gandalf tell Frodo that perhpas Bilbo was

“meant” to find the Ring, and thus maybe Frodo too was “meant” to have it. Although

never explained, such subtle allusions to some higher guiding power are common in

Tolkien’s work. Numerous examples from the text are cited to this effect, followed by a

discussion of the Christian view of providence and its prevalence in the Lord of the Rings.

Chapter Eight: Eucatastrophe

Defined by Tolkien as the “sudden joyous turn,” eucatastrophe is a term he himself

coined to describe the greatest happy turns of fortune in his stories. In his great essay

“On Fa iry Stories,” Tolkien states that the Resurrection of Christ was the greatest

example. Numerous examples from the Lord of the Rings are discussed as examples of

eucatastrophe as their Christian inspiration is explored.

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Chapter Nine: Mercy

Tolkien once said that the Lord of the Rings is “a book that breathes mercy from start to

finish.” This thesis is examined more closely as examples of mercy from the Lord of the

Rings are discussed, with particular emphasis on mercy “saving Middle-earth” through

Bilbo, and later Frodo, opting to trust Gandalf and forebear killing Gollum. Tolkien’s

letters are quoted extensively, particularly those having to do with Frodo’s moral“failure” at the cracks of Mount Doom and the strange fact that Gollum, in spite of

himself, actually averted disaster for both Frodo and Middle-earth. The deeply Christian

basis for Tolk ien’s understanding of mercy is examined.

Chapter Ten: Tradition

One of Tolkien’s greatest gifts was his ability to reconstruct the great insights of ancient

lore and myth while re-presenting them in a story ancient in style but modern in

substance. He did this not only with the great Norse and Anglo-Saxon myths which were

the subject of his philological studies, but with his Catholic faith as well. This chapter

details how Tolkien, despite the increasingly marginalized status of his scholarly field,

drew on the riches of tradition to write a compelling story for modern times. This chapter

draws parallels between Tolkien and Gandalf; as well as Tolkien and Frodo. Verlyn

Flieger’s “Splintered Light: Logos and Language in Tolkien’s World” is used as a chief

reference. In a way, this chapter summarizes the point of the whole book: the previous

chapters serve as exhibits which testify to the skill Tolkien employed to resurrect and re-

present Christian “tradition” via themes compellingly and engagingly presen ted for today.