C H A P T E R V

AF'F'I [<MAT I O N 1 N T H E F 1 C T 1 ON OF' F A N T A S Y

s l t h o u g h t h e c o n c e p t o f u t o p i a d a t e s back a t l e a s t t o P l a t o , t h e te rm wa:;

,5t used by Thomas More i n 1516 a s t h e t i t l e o f h i s book. The Crwck w ~ r d

u p i a , which means t h e n o t - l a n d o r t h e nowhere- land , which i s riot t o tn:

~nd I n t h e c l a s s i c a l Creek l a n g u a g e , i s a h u m a n l s t i c c o i n a g e . The d e b u t r

~ u t t h e meaning o f t h e t i t l e emerged p a r a l l e l t o t h e p o p u l a r i t y of' Tl~oail:;

. e ' s book. S i n c e t h e t i t l e characterized a "nowhere" o r a t l e a s t a "rlot-

.em', a g e n e r a l q u e s t i o n i n g of t h e possibility o f r e a i i z n t l o n o f i i l ' r !

- o r d i n g t o t h e i d e a s o f t h e u t o p i a n was q u l t e n a t u r a l . Soon emerged th t :

.ms "Udepot i a " and "Nusquama" , meaning Noman's l a n d .

The acadcnlic pr .eoccupat ion w i t h t h e t e r m s t a r t e d a l r e a d y i n 1557 u s t h t

~ l i a n s t a t e s m a n Frar lcesco S a n s o v l n o brought o u t a book about ttir d i f l ' r r c ~ ~ t

pt.5 of t h e S t a t e , i n which he handled t h e " U t o p i a " on t h e same: l e v e l a:;

I I I ~ ~ , F r a n c e , S p a r t a arid Athen. I n 1899, Jac:ob l 'homaslus , a r~ot t ic r . s l a t r s n i i ~ r i ,

. )claimed t h e b e s t p o s s i b l e s t a t e t o be t h e g o a l of t h e law t h e " l d t . a l i s

>ijubl i c a " a s clairncd p o s s i b l e by More, rampanel l a and Ar,draar I n l ' i U 4 ,

I r i r ich von A h l e f e l d t used t h e te rms " r c s p u b l l c a f i c t a " and "r~t!spubl 1i:u

q i n a r i a " , g o i n g back t o t h e r o o t s o f t h e word. One o f t h e most imporlartl

o k s o f t h e e i g h t e e r ~ t h c e n t u r y . Johann H e i n r i c h Z e d l e r ' s Univc~rs.11 L c > x i l O I I

1421, I -e fer ' s t o t h e mora l , m a t e r i a l and l e g a l a s p e c t s o f t h e tr:r.m u t o p i a

l'he usage of' t h e word took a t u r n w i t h t h e German s t a t e s m a r i l{oberl vori

khl's work C e s c h i c t ~ t r und L i t e r a t u r d e r S t a a t s w i s s e n s c h d f l e r ~ ( lHCjC1 whicti

ve i t a s t r o n g l y pol i t . i ca1 n o t e , and t h e s o c i a l movements of t h e r i l n c t c u r ~ l t i

, r i tury l e d t o t h e p o l i t i c a l d e f i n i t i o n s and usage o f t h e te rm Mor.itz lir.ar,rt~

Y a t e d u t o p i a a s s o c i a l i s m i n t e r m s of p o e t r y , a s a l s o F r i e d r l c h Kleiriwicli-

-1. The c u l m i n a t i o n of t h i s p r o c e s s w a s i n F r i e d r i c h f n g e l ' s f o r m u l a t i o r i ol'

be development o f s o c i a l i s m from u t o p l a Lo s c i e n c e . Thus t h e te rm u t o p i a i n

le n i n e t e e n t h c e n t u r y w a s used m o s t l y t o s l g n l f y t h e r i v a l r y k t u e c r i

. t a b l i s h e d s y s t e m s and s o c i a l movements, o r as a polemic a g a l n s t t h e coricr.ete

, j i t i c a l r i v a l s of t h e p r e v a i l i n g states, which were communism and s o c i a l

1 ,,mscracy.

In t h e t w e n t i e t h c e n t u r y , t h e d i s c u s s i o n a b o u t t h e u t o p i a i s f u r t h e r .

, . , ~ i o l o g i c a l - p h i l o s o p h i c o r i e n t e d as s e e n i n d e b a t e s t h a t l i n k I d e o l o g y arid

":,>pis, t h e i d e a t h a t t h e t e c h n o l o g i c a l development d e s t r o y s t h e hurnanl t y of '

:he human b e i n g , which h a s brought i t under t h e s c o p e o f F u t u r o l o g y : t t ic

: , , cuss ion o f u t o p i a moves l i k e a pendulum be tween t h e t h i n k a b l e and t h v

wakabie, s o t h a t u t o p i a h a s come t o d e s c r i b e a l l l i t e r a t u r e t h a t s h e d s

. L u I ~ t y .

Arry d e f i n i t i o n o f u t o p i a i s made d i f f i c u l t by t h e phenomena oi' t h e r iegii l ive

: a n t i - u t o p i a . Al though s i n c e t h e v e r y b e g i n n i n g two c o u n t e r a c t i n g funcLluris

:re known i n t h e c o n t e x t , and s i n c e t h e end of' t h e n i n e t e e n t h cen tur 'y Ltie

; , r , s s i m i s t i c v i s i o r i s of' t h e f u t u r e have been p i l i n g ( w h e r e i n t h e p o s i t i v t :

. ~ r , ~ o n emerges i n t h e n e g a t i v e c o n t e x t , a s t h e r e f e r e n c e Lo "The Go1d~:ri

~ n t r y ' i n O r w e l l ' s N l r ~ e t e e n E i g h t y - f o u r ) , u t o p i a i s u n d e ~ , s t o u d l o be I t i t .

. . : . ion o f ttiu i d e a l b t a t r The n e g a t i v e u t o p i a liar been d e s c r i b e d i n a v a l . i r l y

.! l e r~ms. E u t o p i a , C a c t o p i a (Oxford E n g l i s h D i c t i o n a r y ) and U y s t o p i a .

1.ars ~ u s t a f s s o n " br. ings t o g e t h e r b o t h a s p e c t s i n d e f in i r ig t t i c u t o p i a a!; a

:Idle o f t h e s o c i e t y t h a t l i e s o u t s i d e h i s t o r i c a l e x p e r i e n c e . U t o p i a t h u s

.ii(ius what c o u l d b e , and l e t s u s d e c i d e what ought t o be , arrd wii&t ouglit I I U L

' J tjc. T h i s c o n c e p t o f ' t h e u t o p i a p r o v i d e r a l ir ik between u t o p i a a r ~ d sciert1.c.

!.::tion. The t e r m s c i e n c e f i c t i o n was f i r s t used i n 1926 by Hugo Cernsbdck wlio

b:'bught o u t t h e f i r s t S c i e n c e F i c t i o n magaz ine , a l t h o u g h t h e e l e m e n t s arid

njbtlves o f s c i e n c e f i c t i o n a r e as o l d as mythology. The f l i g h t t o t h e s t a r s o r

'ne v i s i t s from Other-Worldy b e i n g s i s t o be found i n a l m o s t a l i o l d r e i i -

e10ns. P l a t o ' s r e f e r l i c e t o K a t a b a s i s and Homer's r e f e r e n c e t o Nekyia c o u l d

' "11 be t h e b a s i s f o r many a s c i e n c e f l c t i o n t o d a y , though s c l e n c e f ' l c t l o n i s

Jrl"Ubtedly a p r o d u c t of i n d u s t r i a l i z a t i o n and t e c h n o l o g i c a l deve lopment , w i t h

,!es Verne and H. C . We1 1s as initiators. That science fiction most l y compr.ihc.:.

.f trlvial literature is a fact that could never stand to debate, but that i t

..; not negligible literature is an equally necessary conslderi~t ion. Uridcr.

,;lence Fiction come authors like Wells, Lasswitz, a part of' Huxluy'v

.,,it ings, some of the American "New Wave" writers like Micliael Moor~cock.

:,,I lard, Aldiss. Sladak, works of Kurt Vonnegut and Doris Lcsslrig and 1r;;iar

;,srmov. One ought also to differentiate between the "Outer-Space" arid

lr~nrr-Space" science fiction, where the Inner-space science 1'101 i011 deals

.,! h themes from psychology and parapsychology, and is more often rel'er,r,t?d to

.1', I 1 terat ure 01' f'antasy The journey here is Into the unconsciou!,

No other genre of' 1 i trrature seems capable of carrying such a wide r,arigt of'

:ntr:rpretations with i t as the literature of fantasy. "[lur.ing the tt i 1 r . l ics

'dlltasy suddenly appeared as a medium of social criticism. Irr one wily, i t was

.I ~pecif ial ly English - and pol i t ical ly conscious - adaptat lor1 of' i-ur.op~.;irl

.~~l'luences, surreal i s m , the novels of Kafka, the plays of' the C<,rm;iii

,.qiressionists; and son~euhere near the centre of the forces rnilking 1'01, t h~:i r.

ddaptation we find, as so often during these years, the twln figures of Audcarr

1 1 1 1 Isherwood, who!;? 7 h c ~ Dog beneath the Skin is a prime example of' tlilr,t i?s

:,L!II asy in the theat.r.t. Even so, when one has invoked the surreal istt;, Kai'ka

1:jd the rest, orle may still think that fantasy would have drvelopcd wiltioul

'!~rr. influence. I'liey gave the method a vai idity and, up to a polril , of'f'c~r~ed

lllodrls: but one remembers Isherwood's description in his autobiograptry. Lions

"rid Shadows, of how he and Edward Upward, as undergraduates at Cambridge.

Jevised a private surrealistic world called 'Mortmere' which, they r'eallzed,

Uds the counterpart in fantasy of the actual world in which Lhey wer,c livlr~g,

a criticism of it. "3

Though Isherwood himself made no use of 'Mortmere' in his fiction, Upwwd

leveloped the idea along Marxist lines. Walter Allen refers to Upward's novel

i , , ~ r n e y t o t h e Border u h i c h a p p e a r e d i n 1938, i n u h i c h a s e r i e s o f i n t e n s i v e

ti:,! i u c i a n t i o n s furl, : i o n as t h e c o u n t e r p a r t of t h e d e b n t e g o i n g on i n t l le mind

,I' t h e p r o t a g o n i s t , i n c r e a s i n g i n i n t e n s i t y t i l l he f i n a l l y r ' e rognizrs h i s way

.,, r e a l i t y - the. ir:;~. o f f a n t a s y hvre i s a s t h e symbol l c mlr.~xu. . ~ . i , l ' i u r t ~ C I I I 01'

the p s y c h o l o g i c a l t u r m o i l s o f t h e p r o t a g o n i s t , though t h e a c t i o n s of' t h e novel

; [ s e l f t a k e p l a c e i n t h e r e a l wor ld .

The l i t e r a t u r e o f f a n t a s y and r e l i g i o n come together. i n t h c f i tb id o f '

rrythology. Man i n r e l a t i o n t o mythology h a s been s t u d i e d q u i t e i t i t e r i s i v e l y by

. r . l t i c s . PeLrold r c i ' e r s t o t h e s t u d i e s o f t h e a f ' f i r ~ i t y ul' n l y l h ~ l o ~ y t o

r . c i ig ion by Mir.c?a El i a d e and Joseph Campbell ; t h e s t u d y of' myttiology i r ~ a

~ ~ r , y c h o l o g i c a l per!,[icct i ve by Sign~und F~,uud and E r i c h t'romm, s t u d y 1 1 1 a

psychologica i p e r s p e c t i v e t e n d i n g t o t h e m e t a p h y s i c a l by C.(; Jurig a11d l i i s

f ' , j i l o w e r s , and Ltir s t u d y o f mythology a s t h e b a s i c pat ti:^,^^ ol' l i t e r , a t u r , e a s

dune by 'mytti cr.1 t i c i s m ' . The myth p r o v i d e s f o r a r.ca!,sur.ance t t l r o ~ i g h

~ t ! a b i l i t y i n t u r n a c h i e v e d p a r t l y by r i t e and p a r t l y by b e l i c f ' . Wl~itetrcad bays

Lila1 t h e myth s a t l s f ' i e s t h e demands of' i n c i p i e n t r a t i o n a l l l y . . i n a n

utif'athomed wor ld . ''lJ The myth a r i s e s , o r a r , o s e , i n r e s p o n s e t o r,ecur.rurit lic<:ds

r , f ' t h e f o l k tti:$t r t \q i r i red t h e magical po tency o f a sac t ' a l a1.t 1'01. t i ~ i : l t ~

i : r . a t i f ' i c a t i o n . As S M.1iookc w r i t e s , myth o r i g i r ~ a t e d f rom p e o p l e who "we1.e I I U L

occupied w i t h g e n e r a l q u e s t i o n s c o n c e r n i n g t h e world bu t w i t h c e r t a i n

pl a c t i c a l and pr .ess ing problems o f d a i l y l i f e . There were Ltre maln problem:, of'

: .ecuring t h e means of s u b s i s t e n c e , o f k e e p i n g t h e s u n and moon doirig t h e i r

du ty , o f e n s u r i n g t i le r e g u l a r f l o o d i n g of' t h e N i l e , o f r n a i n t a i r ~ l n g ttie b o d i l y

v igor of t h e k i n g who was t h e embodiment o f t h e p r o s p e r i t y of' con~munity . . . In

W d e r t o meet t h e s e needs t h e e a r l y I n h a b i t a n t s o f Egypt and Mesopotamla

deve loped a s e t of cus tomary a c t i v i t i e s d i r e c t e d toward a d e f i n i t e end . 'Thus

the c o r o n a t i o n of a k i n g . . c o n s i s t e d of a r e g u l a r p a t t e r n o f a c t i u n s , of

t t l rngs p r e s c r i b e d t o be done, wtlose purpose was t o f i t t h e k i n g c o m p l e t e l y t o

, slire of the well-being of he community. This is the sense in which we shall ,, rhe term What is explained ina mythic tale need neither. be u

I,yslsai nor a historical phenomenon-the myth is neither a fact of 1iatur.c I I ~ I .

.,J lt necessarily be a recollection of a historic ancestor. i t avoid.; beirig

.,lry tale in that i t has a fundda~rntunr in re; it refers to a cer.tair1

,dlltyS, it Is ritudl Rahv quotes Lord Raglan that "in the beginning tlita

,,~ng said and the thing done were inseparably united, although in the course

i time they were divorced and gave rise to widely differing lite~.ar~y,

rt ~stic and re1 igious forms".': both epos and logos evolved out of mythos

lhe myth is not necessarily literary in form. myths are not bourid to "any

, ~ r . r icuiar words, not even to language, but may be told or painted, acted or.

.rlced, without sufferir~g degradation or distortion . . . They have no meter,, rlo

iur.dcteristic phrases, and are Just as often recorded In vase-palrit ings arid

,.-!,el iefs as in words. A ballad, however, is a composition . . " Thc epic is a

d~um of the myth, hut is simultaneously, as Susanne M. Larii,er wr'ites, "tlic!

rc,t flower, or onr of ' the first, of 21 new symbolic mode - tt~c rnc~dr 111' a1.t

I., not merely a rorrptacie of old symbols, namely, those of n~ytt~, but ir,

it i f ' a new symbolic f'orn~ great with possibilities, ready to take mcdriing irr~cl

pr,css ideas that have had no vehicle before. "' rile artist with the mythic imagination has llberated himself f'r.om matcr.id1

rlitraints or the recurrent needs of the folk mentioned hove In tht,sc

Ilers, "the magic power of insight breaks forth agaln in Its full iril.er~sity

~d objectifying power. But this objectivity has discarded all material

,l.itraints. The spirit llves in the world of language and in the mytt~ical

W e without fa1 l ing under the control of el ther.

'The advantage of mythic time is that it Is without definite ar,ticulatlon,

"lfounding past, present, and future In an undifferentiated unity, as agnirist

,storical time which is unrepeatable and of an ineluctable progression. I tie

,:,lorical event is that which occurs once only, unllke the t lmeless event of

,!!h that, recurring again and again, is endlessly present. " l o

Juxtaposing the world of the myth and the contemporary world thr.ough

,,;,slon, the writer udaptlng the mythic form achleves a "sputlni form" f'ur

,.s work. As Philip Rahv quotes from Joseph Frank's essay "Spatial Form in

8,dcrn Llteraturr." tl~e spatlal form on one level deals with "the clash of'

t,,storical perspectives induced by the identification of contemporary f'igu1.e~

ar,d events with various historical prototypes," In practice they made hislory

.:,f~lstorical in that it is sensed as "a continuum In which d1stinctior:s of

;,*st and present are obliterated . . past and present arc seen spatially.

,3cked In a t imelesr; uni ty which, even if accentuat lng surface dlf'f'urel~ccs,

:In:inates any feellng of historical sequencce by the very act of' Juxtapohl-

! o n . The objective historical imagination, on which modern man has prided

~rnself', and which he has cultivated so carefully since the Henalssuncr,is

rdr~sforrned In those writers into the mythical imagination for which histori-

time does not exist. "11

liahv understands the spatial form as "the aesthetic means devised for the

lujection of a nonhistorlcal or even ant ihistorical view of. h1stor.y. "'" and : ~ t s the main preciseu of the nonhistorlcal Interpratlon of' hlstor'y uher,e one

w:h premise is that "space is predominant against time; time Is considered to

e circular or repeating itself inflnitely. " I 3

Tillich sees spatializing of time from a philiosophlcal standpoint us time

elrig detached from history and ylelded back to nature. Rahv says: "Tilllch

efines time In terms reminiscent of' Schelling and Bergson, as the dlrnenulon

the dynamic, creative, and qualitative, whereas space he def'lnes as the

Latic quantitative. " I 4 The mythic time mode then appeals Lo the wr.lter

recisely because of this duality. It enables him to place the events In

emote history, that Is, it Implies fixlty, yet It allows him the f'rredorn of'

y~crrl Interpretat Ion, ar~d hence transcends lttrhv's crl t lclsm.

The relevance of fantasy literature to us could be answered with a dis-

,&slon of the relevance of myth to us without in anyway limillng the scope of

,,,tasy llterature to mythology. The word "myth" and its derivatives tiave been

.Ijely used to descrlbe the llterature of fantasy, not only by crltlcs who

,rdue that the modern marl also needs hls myth. C. S. Kilby def'lnes the myth us

a lane down which we walk In order to repossess our soul, our essentla-

. I t Y . ,, 15

Whether treated as n1yt.h or as pure fantasy, the truth about the 1iteratu1.e

,I fantasy Is that they create a parallel world, and even wt~cn one accepts

' : lot they provide a deeper vlslon of the world, the fact r,emains that the

realities" they disclose cannot per definitlonrnr be examined. 'lhis results on

' r e one hand in dismissing fantasy llterature as trivlal literature arid

:rr.ming fantasy 1 i ter,at ure as escaplst 1 i terat ure on the otliel. tiarid. Illat

:dntasy literature is accused of escapism is also recognized by 'lolkien arnong

!hers, and the answer. is approprlately his: that fairy tales, that I:;, I'arlta-

,Y literature, are "riot primarily concerned with possibi 1 1 ty, but drsir.ill>i-

. i t y . "16 That fantasy literature even partially satisfies certain desir-as - ,nether consciou!; or uriconsclous - 1s precisely the reason why It Is accuhed

'i' escapism: The rrader avoids an actlve partlclpatlon in or assoclaton with

' ) I5 environment since he avolds a confrontation wlth his problems by dl.dWllip

Lack into his dream world But this is a case that could only f'ully apply to

'rlvlal literature In fantasy literature, the danger is far less, since the

"tion takes place in a parallel world which the reader perceives as such arid

t l len immerses himself In It. Tolklen hints that this could even work

Wsitlvely, in that by constructing a world wlthin the world one Is made fully

COnscious of the rwailty wlth all Its advantages and disadvantages. Moreover,

Lrlticlsm of reality is the least of the functlons of fantasy IiteraLur~e, and

,ne~~ at all, it could only be expressed in the form of allegorical satire. To

;,,, back to Tolkien's term "desire": In a realistic narrative, happenings

,,par possible, although flctlve. In fantasy literature, happenings give rise

:, a desire, not banal desires that are also fulfilled by trivial literature,

,,t a deslre which the reader is first made consclous through the book, and

>r.iy partially satisfied through the book. lurhien characterises these deslres

Tree and Leaf:

%me are pardonable weaknesses or curlositles: such as the des1r.e to vislt.

i re? as a fish, the deep sea; or the longlng for the nolseless, gracious.

c~or~omlcal flight of a bird, that longlng which the aeroplane cheats, exc~.pt

I r rare moments, seen high and by wind and distance nolseless, tur-nlng In thl?

:.LII that is, precisely when imagined and not used. There are prol'ounder,

..shes: such as the desire to converse with other llvlng things. [ . . I Other

.:edtures a-e like other realms with which Man has broken of's r-rlatlons, ar~d

; ~ s now oriiy from the outside at a distance, belng at war vlth thcni, or on

;11r terms of an uneasy armistice " I 7

lhese desires are not to be dismissed as childish only becaubc tllc-y cill~lhut

iulfi lled. These drbires are peculiarly human, and man would lobe soll~uttlirlg

,I kils innate essence if' he lost the ability to foster such desir,cs. tslr'ange-

mt.rlt or alienation has a sense deeper than the sociological, and 'Tolkien

!>peaks of it in an existential sense here. These desires are age-old, but not

*cad. These are the deslres whlch Erich Fromm calls the existential needs of

man, under which he brings the feeling of oneness in the self and with the

natural and human world outslde the self. l8 This klnd of allenatlon 1s perhaps

'mpossible to be got rid of in the human soclety, but It remains a desire, as

'he deslre for a perfect harmony in world-order remains, whlch is neither

@scaplst nor crazy only because It cannot be satlsfled. The fllght into t h l s

@rid of desire cannot do any harm. The asplratlon of the human beings to

,:ter the concrete llfe by recognlzlng the confrontlng problems 1s only

I,tenslfled by such flights of fantasy.

Tolklen deals with the accusation of escaplsrn In hls essay "On Falry Sto-

: ; , s ' ' and says that the escapism of the fairy-tale has Its poslllve aspect.

:he flight reallsed through the falry tale is not "the Flight of the kser-

,,,r'', but "the Escape of the Prlsoner, " 1 9 that Is, It 1s not a covur.diy t,scape

:.;om the reality but freeing oneself from the bounds of reality. It also

.n,plies an opposltion to certaln features of the reality. "F'light" lmplles

ticism, ism, a lacking on the part of the reality whlch one Lrles to escape.

:hr.ough the constuctlon of a parallel world, thls aspect of' the reallly is

!rought lnto the consciousness, and not erased.

Whereas it 1s rather easy to classlfy The Hobbil as children's Ilteralure.

:tlr Lord of t h e Hlrlgs positively reslsts such a categorlzatlorl The term

iluvel" implies a realistic narrative; Tolkien has clearly expressed his

:iiIike of the term "allegory"21; It 1s hardly to be thought of' as "sciencc

!lrtionV. Tolkien has revealed his lntentlon of maklng the book lnto a

.dl,ge-scale adult fairy-story, the equivalerlL of the German word Kunst rndrc t~rn ,

J 1le;ining a sophisticated fairy tale, whereby It 1s Important Lo reniember that

lolkien insisted that falry stories are not wrltten for chlldren

in his essay "On Falry Storles," Tolkien conslders the orlgln of the fnlry

Ldle and the central quest lon of the slgnlflcance of man's cr-eatlon of' uri owri

dorid in hls fantasy, and the functions fulfllled by such llterature for the

peader, that Is, the generative and the functlonal aspects of the 1lter.ature

of fantasy. Accordlng to Tolklen, man, through hls glft of language, has

"tained the ability not only to comprehend the world around hlm, but also to

fantasize changes in thls world. Fantasy 1s a prlrnltive ablllty of manklnd.

"klng hlm the sub-creator who creates hls own world. "Fantasy", that is the

to invent own, also fantastic worlds, is "a natural human actlvlty. " 2 2

This activity is in no way irrational or anti-rational, and is dii'feren-

:;,led from dream in that i t is achieved on a high level of consciousness, To

,onstruct this secondary world which is so consistent and natural that i t is

,,cepted by the reader Is not an easy task, and its acceptance by the reader

,, a proof of its credibility. This mastery of the writer in persuadi~~g t h e

reader to a "Secondary Belief" is the effect of "enchantment", "an e1vit;h

:r-aft," which nevertheless has nothing to do with magic: "Enchantment produces

;, Secondary World into which both deslgner and spectator can enter, Lo the

,allsfaction of thelr senses while they are inside; but in its purity i t is

a r t 1st ic In deslre and purpose. "23

To achieve this effect of enchantment and to make i t credlble at the sunw

, :me, Tolkien gifts some of his characters with paranormal abilltius, ablll-

t i e s which the civilized world belleves to recognize in the primitivu folks - f r o m telepathy to spiritism, and avoids any reference to super.ficia1, hyper.bo-

. :c wonders as seen in f'airy tales. The reason for this is that I t is not the

~'~nderful but the natural that plays the primary role, the recognltlon of the

:~dtural 24

'l'hrough this, fantasy literature enables the reader to percelve the reallty

~ I I a new way. This is what Tolkien means when he describes "Recovrr,y. " "a

It-gaining [ . . . ] of a clear view," as the main function of "~antasy".~' BY

reducing the world to the simple and the exemplary, a sort of alienating

tifect is achieved which does not necessarily provide a critical distance, but

"Vves to sharpen the blunted aesthetic consciousness: " l t was in f'airy

-storiesu, says Tolkien, "that I first divined the potency of the words, and

'he wonder of the things, such as stone, and wood, and iron; tree and @.ass;

"use and fire; bread and wine". 26

Helms writes that Tolklen learnt "through the creation of his mythological

Pealin of Middle-Earth, something very new and yet very old - that a living

,ytt~ology Can deepen rather than cloud our vlslon of reality" and sees in

q,lkien's commentary to Beowulf "a distinctly strlklng moment In the hlstory

;:. modern imagination, the resurgence of a crltlcal grasp of the mytt~ological

~rcept Ion of radical evi 1. "27

Tolkien says: "We make in our measure and In our derlvat ive mode, because

,. are made: and not only made, but made In the image and llkeness of' a

kwer. "28 The main function of Fantasy - through recovery. Is thus "consolu-

: i o n ' - "the Consolation of the Happy Endlng. "29 Tolklen derlves from the term

~atastrophe" from the theory of tragedy the term "Eucatastrophr." the happy

~ n d of a fairy tale, which awakens In the reader a Joy that 1s comparable to

: t ~ e Joy of' r,ellglon. "The Blrth of Chrlst I5 the eucatastrophe uf Mulr's

:.isrory."30 Tolkien's heterocosmlc analogy, the idea of the writer as sub-

:cator- assimilates i r ~ it the religious component: man Is a cl.callori of' Cod,

.iitd his imagil~ation ir; god's glft. As man was created in the iniage of' god,

?,;~n's imagination is an analogy to god's creative power.

Ihis knowledge of' Tolkien's ideas helps us in undersLarldilig his work

:*,Lter: " . . . [The sudden Joyous 'turn' I does not deny the exi!,tcl~cu of.

Ijhi-dtastrophr, of sorrow and failure: the possibll lty of these is necet,silr,y

"i the joy of' deliver,ance; it denies (in the face of much evidcncr. 11' you

- ! I l l universal final defeat and in so far is evangelium, glviny a t'ieetilig

'Ilmpse of Joy. Joy beyond the walls of the world, polgnant as grlaf.. "'I1

Tolklen thus takes the idea of the llterature of fantasy into the field of'

heology where one must leave It, since the affinltles between religion and

itrrature ln the field of myth has already been discussed. Ihab tlassan sums

.C. Lhe relevance of the literature of fantasy as the literatu!.e of' al'f'lrma-

. 'on, commenting upon the movements and breakthroughs In the I lterature of the

*st-war period, that there has emerged a fantastic vlslon, "grim but also

'"'LC, challenging the assumptions of any culture, of being Itself, Iwhichl

touard the future. At ease in the void and erudite in absurdity, this $5

pjleKiitential vision still finds its inspirations in something other t h m

pJnLemporary nihilism: it wants to re-form human consciousness even at the

ehpnse of its own art. A gnostic desire to apprehend the human condition

the aspect of pure spirit trembles into language." Tolkien notes: "The

,,gined beings have their insides on the outside; they are visible souls. And

Hiln as a whole, Man pitted against the Universe, have we seen him at all t i l l

,, see that he is like a hero in a fairy tale? ,,32

~ n t o i n e d e S a i n t - E x u M r y was b o r n i n 1900 and d i e d i n 19114 i n t h e s e c o n d

#,,-Id War. Host of h i s books were w r i t t e n d u r l n g t h e two w s . As s u c h , he

,,uid be o u t of c o n t e x t i n t h e p r e s e n t d i s c u s s i o n a b o u t t h e p o s t - s e c o n d World

&ar f i c t i o n . But I f i n d him p e c u l i a r l y modern i n t h e s e n s e t h a t he e x p e r i e n c e d

:he war i n i t s e s s e n c e , b e i n g a p i l o t i n t h e F r e n c h c l v l l s e r v i c e and a l r

(irrce, a n d a l s o as a r e p o r t e r I n H u s s l a , I n d o c h i n a a n d i n S p a i n d u r i n g t h e

: jvi l war , and e x p r e s s e s i n h l s work t h e hopes a n d f r u s t r a t i o n s o f t h e war

a t . ~ l e r a t i o n v i v i d l y . His J o u r n e y s as r e p o r t e r , e s p e c i a l l y i n S p a i n d u r l n g t lrt?

t i v l l war , b rought him f a c e t o f a c e w i t h t h e d i s r e s p e c t o f ' man Lu man. t l ia

jd , . t t h a t t h e i n n e r v a l u e o f mankind 1 s i n danger of g l l d i n g I n t o f o r g o t tel l

! , ~ i t o r y . lie saw t h a t t h e r e was mass movement, and t h e i n d i v i d u a l , who Lo

haliit-Exup6ry meant t h e w o r i d , c r i e d o u t f o r h e l p , and was not h e a r d

C u r i o u s l y r e l e v a n t h e r e i s t h e f a c t t h a t SalnL-Exupkry d o e s riot n e c e s s a r i l y

ieu t h e modern l i f e a s t h e c a u s e o f t h i s c o n d l t i o n , bu t man ' s misuse o f h i s

divancement. To t h i s a v l d p i l o t , t h e a e r o p l a n e i s n o t h i n g more tl,an one o f t h e

nlvdlums w i t h whose h e l p man engages h i m s e l f u l t h t h e problems of' t h e wol, ld,

a r ~ d he p o s i t i v e l y rne;iric; t h a t man grows Inward ly e q u a l t o t h e d i f f l c u i L l e s t h a t

twset him t h r o u g h s u c h engagement. For h i m s e l f , he saw I n f l y i n g t h e oppot.-

lun i ty t o s o a r above t h e day- to-day l i f e p h y s l c a l l y and m e n t a l l y and t o

Preserve h i s c h e r i s h e d , e x a l t e d view o f humani ty . Saint-Exup6r.y I n a way

6' 'knowledges t e c h n o l o g y 1 n t h e s p i r i t o r Zen.

To S a i n t - E x u p e r y , t h e war was a n i n e s c a p a b l e e v e n t , and from h i s w r i t i n g s ,

~ s w c i a l l y h i s l e t t e r s t o h i s mother ,33 we g a t h e r t h a t he n e v e r once doubted

his m i s s i o n i n b e i n g a m i l i t a r y p l l o t . I t e n a b l e d him t o a p p i y t o r e a l i t y t h e

"rise o f p e r c e p t i o n o f t h e a r t i s t . I t c o u l d e v e n be i n f e r r e d t h a t S a i n t -

Exupery c h o s e h i s p r o f e s s i o n as a way o u t , as he w r i t e s t o h l s mother t h a t

"me seems t o mel t away under t h e p r e s s u r e o f t h e i r r e l e v a n c i e s of' l i f e .

The wr l t i n g s of Sa in t -Exupery , though p a r t l y i n s p i r e d by t h e happenings

the forties, do not fit into the group of what is generally called wdr

,::erature. He goes beyond the anecdote to transform the lncldents into an

,:,terior experience. The external element which constitutes the materiul of

:he story becomes a pretext to deep meditations upon mankind. To him, reality

,, a heap of bricks that can take any form. 34

The centre of the problem of all of Salnt-Exupery's work Is the huean

:dndition. The possiblllty for the blossoming of man lles for him In the acL

.i communication: the only veritable luxury 1s that of human relationships, as

ne says In Terre des homn~es.~~ In this sense, each person Is a creator, and

~~rlng the process of his creation the person transforms himself. For Salnt-

Lx~pery, man is not, but becomes: living, to him, is being born slowly, 36

xcomlng aware of the infinite possibilities that are open to man to make hls

. : f r meaningful and worthwhile, forming himself as a foetus f'orms Itself'.

Saint-Exupery sought in his 1 ifet ime to experience life and human beings as

.:,I. would imagine then1 at their best, and In his work he gave exprrsslon to

:,IS experiences and his perceptions. He could nelther accept war and Its

dtrocities as destiny nor could he be satisfied to limit himself to the

:F:vlalities of I ife during these difficult times.He had formed Ideals of man

:!id humanness and sought to realize them In the company of his f'rllow-beil~gs

*!lo were all in one way or the other caught up In the war. The war enabled him

a ~ s u to recognize that quality in man through which man would readily become a

'Ictlm In yearning for deliverance, the quality which flghts against aliend-

' Ion at all costs.llfe of Salnt-Exupery itself reads Ilke flctlon, but It Is

a11 too real life, and slnce hls ideas In the books could quite sharply be

?elated to his Ilfe, 1 think I t Justified In considering hlm under my toplc

''he book considered here, The Little was wltten In Aprll 1943.

In hls early books. Salnt-Exupery professes the philosophy of "l'actlon

W u r l'actionV- action for the sake of actlon, and clearly glves up this

elaphpl~ of action in his later books. It could certainly be seer) to express

,shift in the outlook In the context of the lmmlnence of war, and the bellef

:tat the happiness of men does not lie in freedom but In the overtaklng of a

.,,ponslblllty for fellow beings In order Lo preserve freedom. In Terre drs

. ~ m s Saint-ExuPry gives expresslon to thls when he says that the signif l -

ance of M Y action lies in Its ability to bind man to man and to deepen the

:,dman relations, and that to be human means nothlng other than Lo be

- r ~ ~ n s l b l e . ~ ~ Whether he is up in the air or lying on the desert sand

idtching the star-studded sky, these thoughts gush out of him llke uater ouL

:I' a sprlng, bringing him the realization that the deslre to llve 1s the

,rrongest deslre that motlvates man, illustratlng what Colln Wilson describes

di the splrlt's impetus to live above all else. He loves hls pr-ofesslon, but

..zL danger as being adventurous, for what one ought to love 1s Ilfe.

In Terre des Hommes - Man's Earth, he often writes man wlLh a capital 'M',

AS he writes of' the strlving of man after the exalted f'eeling of human

'~lflllment - plenitude.He feels in him the deslre to perfect hin~sell', tu be

:-torn in his best elements. He applies the word noble, whlch brlngs Lhe

man in man to its uLmost expression. The consciousness of thls plenltude

leu in the sacrifice, in samaritan sympathy and righteousness. Han desl~,et,

.t only to act, but desires to see his actlons as meaningful, and thls makes

IN constantly aware of the society. Thls deslre results In a common alm of'

inkind of which men are not necessarily consclous. But each man who is

~nscious of hls being strlves after it, and It acts as a connecLlon between

5 . Saint-Exup6ry was able to recognize the human In man in whatever

'ridltlon slnce he persisted In looklng for it. Though he In a sense actively

part in the war against Nazlsm, It would be qulte wrong to interpret the

'rsonality of Salnt-Exupery ln thls context. He refused to take up a Job In

'it. propaganda department of the ministry of war. Hls intellect accepted the

of such actions, but his sensiblllty could not accord it any glory,

he tells us touchingly ln the narratlon of his w a r experiences, uhlch tie

called Pilot du Cuerre literally translated, War Pllot (English tltle: Flight

ro Arras) , making no apology for hls participation In the mi,. Althougt~

,erving for years as a war pi lot, as the war was almost at the end, he refused

to drop a bomb on one of hls flylng mlsslons, saying that It is the "terre des

hornmes" - man's earth. In 1940, refusing to live In the Nazl-occupled France, t ~ e took refuge In U.S.A., where he wrote the book addressed to France, Lellre

a un 01age~~ (letter to a hostage), with its forty mllllon hostages of Nazism.

Out of his own experience, Saint-Exupery says that that face Lo face with

ddnger, man changes tiimself-becomes larger. than human. He calls I t s'6chan-

ger, and describes i t in comparison to a father who saves hls chlld from

er~gulfing flames, jumping into It as though he were a glwt. Such confronta-

lions with danger--and man today lives constantly ln such a world-make the

meaning of duty and r,esponslbility deeper to us.

Each bond brings in us an inner growth, as he says In Pi l o t du guerrr, arid

hc feels himself bound Lo those to whom he gives. Flying hls machlne amid the

concentrated fire over Arras, he reallzes that In this negllglble tlme he has

understood man and the world better than he has done In over Lerr years of'

ontemplation. His love and feellng of responsibility for his people Is not of'

1 nationalistic nature, but springs from hls feellng that each is rrsponslble

or all. To free his land not only meant freeing I t from the Nazi occupation,

) u t also, and more than anythlng else, to preserve Its lntellectual legacy. In

.his connection, Saint-ExuHry uses the symbol of the cathedral. The cathedral

S also the symbol of the splrltual aspect of man. The tree symbollzes man's

'Splratlons and growth. Both symbolize the unity gnd totalness whlch glve

leaning to each part. The totality in Its turn 1s more than the sum of all Its

'arts.40 It 1s not so much the lndlvduum that he sees offended In such

,3nditl~nS as the human being, man wlth capital ' M s . In Salnt-Exupery's poetic

,,nguage,the human is put before the man, and thls Is how he criticizes the

of individualism on the one hand and the lnterests of collectivism

& i c h only defends the right of the masses, equally sharply on the other hand.

During the assignment to fly over Arras facing the rlsk of being the target

sf canon-fire, he has discovered that he must f ight the indlvidual In hlm If'

trie human in him Is to grow. Indlvlduality Is for man only a m y , a trans11

passage, and our culture rests on the cult of Man through the indlvidual - Ie

cuite de l'homme au travers des individus. Saint-Exupery again uses the symbol

"1' the cathedral, talking of the Christian basis of his culture which has

gr.ounded a respect for Man over and above the indlvldual, has knlt all people

~rilo a brotherhood and has taught each to be responsible for- a1 1 As each

atone of the cathedral is remarkable only in its total relatlon to the cathe-

jral Itself, so is each individual in relatlon to a collective whole--his

land, his culture, his religlon, all true forms of being - btres. The moral of

collectivism, on the other hand, makes an anthlll of the human society, which

represents only the sum of indlvidudls.

Love Is expressed In the works of Saint-Exup4ry in many forms To make

m e ' s presence felt, although one might physically be far away, what Ile slmply

calls prbsence, is nothing other than love. His experiences in the war and hls

rxlle also make him talk of love secretively and poetlcally, that one ought to

aradually deserve to be allowed to help. Each human being has his secvet being

'0 enter which is lovely, but not to be taken as a matter-of-fact. Thls also

explains his fascinat ion for his Sahara adventure where he was alone and felt

'he magic of llfe touch upon him. Respect of man for man plays the most

Important role in relationships, and one who foregoes any possibility of'

advancing higher by disregarding thls aspect 1s beyond help. To 'ground' this

respect- fonder- is one of Saint-Exupery's favorite words. Lack of such

and lack of the love arising out of such respect leads to the condi-

of modern man whose soul lsthlrsty. Thls state of the soul of the

of the modern man. is sat lrized in The Little Prince. The grown-ups

j~ not, as long as they do not a n t to, recognize anything with the heart;

tney see only with the eyes, uhlch leads the chlld to say that the grown-ups

:,ever understand anything themselves, and it 1s tlrlng for children to give

~xplanatlons all the time. One ought to talk with them about golf and necktles

and politics to be taken seriously. Saint-Exupbry has elsewhere formed this

,nto a concrete crlticism of the modern soclety, saylng that to I t every

:yrlclsm sounds laughable, and people reslst agalnst a splrltual a~dkenlng. In

:nese times, where totalltarianism has turned man into a mlld arid obedlent

animal, wher'e men are fed with hay, where men like Cbzanne and van Cogh would

:rave been killed in concentratlon camps as non-conformists, the world of

w p l e wlthout creativity, whom he calls 1' homme robot, l'hnmme ~errnlte,~' I L

:!, nevertheless important to talk to people, slnce he does rot give up hopc

: ) )d l man could be tak~n back to the path where he 1s guided by tlie spirit.

As against the concentration on act lon In the earlier books, cr,eirLiur~ is

:r~sisted upon in the later books. The r,r.ality of man is thaL he exists only

Lhrough his soul, and one cannot penetrate deep enough into the soul, It

icrnains secret to an extent. Thls secret zone of the soul seeks bonds to its

fellow beings, since man has the need to be responsible. Central to Saint-

i:xu@ry's thought is the ldea of constant growth of man, thaL mill1 is not, but

'111 be, since lire itself is a gradual process of being. Happiness in

Saint-Exup6ryrs ldea Is not the goal, lnstead the reward. The giving, which

brings happiness, is the nourishment of the heart, and one ought to be

Prepared to sacrlfice for it. This abllity to sacrifice brings man closer to

'he 'realityp of the other beings. it enables him to perceive himself as part

C f the totality. This does not mean losing oneself in the mass. Salnt-Exupery

,& the same terror of the mass as all other sensitive artists, and believes

that the a s s constantly tries to suppress all that 1s dlssimllar to Itself',

,specially all creative activity that could in any way obstruct it. Freedom,

properly understood, ennobles mankind, and only he 1s truly free who resists

,uch powers of suppression and remalns loyal to hlmself. Thus Salnt-Exupcry

: o m s the full circle, pleading for the self, and when the self has bcen

I.callzed, for a transcendence of the self in a feellng of brotherhood. He had

:he strong desire to particlpate in all events that move mankind, and also

rtir strong desire for people who would participate In all that moved him, for

(rlends, for the warmth of neighbourly shoulders.

The quest of the author is to find a soul that understands his heart. Tlils

, i beautifully narrated at the very beginning wlth hls sketch he made as a

-hi ld---of the boa-constrictor that has swdi lowed -an elephant whlch seen by

everybody who sees it as a hat. Well, by almost everybody, since the author

wets the Little Prince, who lmmedlately identlfles the sketch. Hls experi-

tnces with the grown-ups to whom everything must be explained since they can

-rily see with the eyes has so exasperated the child that he has give11 up

-netching. It is afterall tiring for children to have to explai~i everything

4il the time.

The author has abandoned sketch1 ng since nobody understood his f'ir,st

sketch. He grows up to become a pilot, and has to land In the desert all alone

sue to mechanical problems on one of his f'lights. It is a difficult task to

repair the machlne, he has only a little water left, and he sets to work wlth

"11 t~ls energy. Early next morning, he Is ovukened by a clear, f'lne voice, alid

sees before him a child. The child requests him to draw a sheep for hlm. Since

the author has neither. the tlme nor the interest to draw a sheep, he draws

"din the boa constrictor that has eaten an elephant. The child replies

immediately that it does not want a boa with an elephant in Its stomach, but a

),,p Exasperated, t h e a u t h o r d r a m a wooden box w i t h holes \I , i t , sayirlg

,,I t h e Sheep i s i n i t . The C h i l d u n d e r s t a n d s t h a t t h e s h e e p s l e e p s , and t h a t

,, holes a r e f o r a i r f o r i t t o b r e a t h e . T h i s I s how t h e a u t h o r makes t h e

:quaintance of t h e l i t t l e p r l n c e , o f whom S a l n t - E x u p e r y g i v e s s k e t c h e s i n t h e

, ~ k , a c h i l d b e c a u s e he i s s o s m a l l , w o n d e r f u l l y g o o d l o o k i n g , w i t h a n

, ,gmatic l a u g h .

The c h i l d t e l l s t h e a u t h o r a b o u t h i m s e l f and h i s e x p e r i e n c e s i n t h e r e s t o f '

he book. He comes from a l i t t l e p l a n e t f a r away, a n d he t o o k good c a r e o f t h e

lane t . He c l e a n e d t h e t h r e e v o l c a n o e s on i t r e g u l a r l y , f o r though t h e y al'e

x l i n c t , one c a n n e v e r know whether t h e y would n o t e r u p t someday I f t h e y a r e

lagged. He a l s o r o o t s o u t t h e boababs t h a t come up e v e r y now and t h e n , f o r

he p l a n e t i s t o o s m a l l f o r a l a r g e t r e e . The l i t t l e p r i n c e s l s o has a r o s e 011

is p l a n e t o f whom he t a k e s g r e a t c a r e and f o r whom he f e e l s r e s p o n s i b l e . But

he r o s e i s c o q u e t t i s h and c o n c e i t e d , and makes c o n s t a n t demands or1 hlm. I n

t,is d e s p e r a t i o n t h a t he c o u l d n e v e r s a t i s f y h e r , t h e l i t t l e p r i n c e l e a v e s t h e

planet o n a l o n g Journey . The r o s e i s c o n f i d e n t t h a t n o t h i n g c o u l d har,m h e r

i l n c e s h e h a s h e r t h o r n s , bu t t h e l i t t l e p r l n c e c o n s t a n t l y w o r r i e s about h e r .

khat he d i d n o t u n d e r s t a n d at t h a t t i m e was t h a t h e r l o v e f o r him made tier be

h c o q u e t t e . He a s k s t h e a u t h o r whether he c o u l d e x p l a i n why r o s e s have t h o r n s ,

s lnce t h e t h o r n s of a r o s e d o n o t p r o t e c t h e r from a s h e e p . The a u t h o r has not

t h e t i m e f o r s u c h q u e s t i o n s , s a y i n g t h a t he I s busy w i t h m a t t e r s of '

consequence. T h i s i s t h e k i n d of p e r s o n Sa ln t -Exup4ry h a s c a l l e d r,obot and

t t r m i t e , and t h e l i t t l e p r i n c e c a l l s him now a mushroom: "The f l o w e r s have

k e n growing t h o r n s f o r m l l l i o n s of y e a r s . For m I l l i o n s of y e a r s t h e s h e e p

have been e a t i n g them J u s t t h e same. And i s I t no t a m a t t e r o f corisequencr t o

L ~ Y t o u n d e r s t a n d why t h e f l o w e r s go t o s o much t r o u b l e t o grow t h o r n s which

are n e v e r of any use t o them? I s t h e w a r f a r e between t h e s h e e p and t h e f l o w e r s

not i m p o r t a n t ? I s t h i s no t of more consequence t h a n a f a t r e d - f a c e d

3entle~'S sums? And if I know-I, myself-me flower whlch 1s unlque in the

arid, which grows nowhere but on my planet, but whlch one llttle sheep can

destroy in a single bite some mornlng, without even noticing what he 1s

joing---Oh! You think that 1s not important!" and the llttle prlnce beglns to

;ry " I t 1s such a secret place, the land of tears. " 4 2 The land of tears is

c u l l of secrets that a man llke the author cannot fully comprehend if he 1s

ndt lnterested enough in knowing lt and understandlng It. He must hrrvc tllc

:)me for it. The author lmmedlately puts down his tools and paclflrs the

little prince, since the suffering of thls child awakens t~lm to the hldder~

icrrets in his hear.1, his own longings that are dim but not forgetter).

Before he came to the earth, the llttle prlnce vlslted several other

;lanets where he met curlous people. Each of these 1s a representutive

:t~aracter, and Saint-Exupry achleves a deep crltlclsm of the mudcr-n man 111

short descrlptlons. There 1s the king who has no subjects, the conceited man

itio sees an admirer in every visitor, the tippler who drinks in order to

!orget that he 1s ashamed of drlnklng, the buslnessman who is too busy in

Vuglstering his possesslons for anythlng else, slnce he takes his buslness

9cl.y seriously. But the little prince has a dlfferent concept of taking thlrlgs

srrlously, and he again experiences grown-ups as curlous. The man on the f lfth

Planet is comic, but he 1s not ridiculous llke the others the llttle prince

has met till now since hls interest does not lle in hlmself. On the sixth

Planet, the little prince meets the geographer who recommends that he vislt

tile earth to complete hls experience.

As soon as he falls down In the mlddle of the desert, the little prince,

feeling very lonely, sets out to search for people. The flrst creature he

meets 1s a snake who tells him a matter of wisdom: one 1s lonely also among

Pople. The snake promlses to help hlm when it 1s tlme, and the llttle prince

Qlks further and talks to a flower In a garden. The flower also does not know

~ n e r e p e o p l e c o u l d be found. One never knows where t h e y a r e a t a g l v e n

:,,e-The wind c a r r i e s them a b o u t . Men d o not have a n y r o o t s , and t h a t makes

; ;re v e r y d i f f i c u l t .

S e a r c h i n g f u r t h e r f o r men, t h e l i t t l e p r i n c e c l l m b s a h i l l and c a l l s ou t

for them. He o n l y h e a r s t h e echo o f h i s own c a l l : I am l o n e l y . The l i t t l e

p.lnce n e x t meets t h e d e s e r t f o x . In t h e e p i s o d e w l t h t h e f o x l l e s t h e c o r e of

tlie book. The f o x t e a c h e s him t h e meaning o f taming . The l i t t l e p r l n c e a s k s

tllr fox t o p l a y wi th him s i n c e he i s l o n e l y and i s l o o k l n g f o r f r i e n d s . T t ~ c

rox wants t o be tamed by him t o make a b e g i n n i n g . Taming b r i n g s w i t h i t a

tylng o f bonds: " . . . i f you tame me, i t w i l l be as i f t h e s u n came t o s h l n e on

my l i f e . 1 s h a l l know t h e sound o f a s t e p t h a t w i l l be d i f f e r e n t t'rom a l l t h e

a t h e r s . O t h e r s t e p s s e n d me h u r r y i n g back undernea th t h e groulld YOUI-s w i l l

call me, l i k e music, o u t o f my burrow. And t h e n look: you s e e t h e g r a i n - f i e l d s

down yonder? 1 do not e a t b read . Wheat i s o f no use t o me. But you have h a i r

that i s t h e c o l o u r of g o l d . Think how wonderful t h a t w i l l k when you have

:timed me! The g r a i n , n h i c h i s a l s o g o l d e n , w i l l b r i n g me back t h e thought of '

you . And 1 s h a l l love t o l i s t e n t o t h e wind i n t h e wheat . . . F'lrase--tame

roe! ''43 Such bonds a r e t h e n e c e s s a y f i r s t s t e p t o a r e l a t l o n s h l p .

Each n e e d s t h e o t l i c r t o t i e s u c h bonds, and t h e f o x t e l l s him t h a t ur~t:

*riows o n l y t h a t what one h a s tamed, s i n c e one s e e s o n l y wi th t h e e y e s of l o v e .

Ht.11 do no t have t h e t ime t o g e t t o know, t o l e a r n somebody, and t h e y o n l y buy

th ings . F r i e n d s cannot be bought, and men do not have any f r i e n d s anymore,

s lnce i t r e q u i r e s t ime t o win t h e f r i e n d s h i p and love o f a b e i n g . One must

l i t e r a l l y a p p r a c h t h e o t h e r g r a d u a l l y , as t h e l l t t l e p r l n c e a p p r o a c h e s t h e f o x

a f t e r he h a s l e a r n t t h i s s e c r e t from hlm, and w i t h o u t words: One ought t o

Wproach w i t h t h e h e a r t and n o t w i t h words. The f o x a l s o d i s c l o s e s t o t h e

l i t t l e p r i n c e why t h e r o s e whom he has f o r s a k e n 1 s s o lmpor tan t Lo him. His

love f o r h e r makes h e r i m p o r t a n t , and h i s l o v e f o r h e r makes him f e e l respon-

j :ble f o r h e r . He l o o k s a t t h e r o s e s i n a garden and r e a l l z e s t h e t r u t h about

r o s e :

To be s u r e , a n o r d i n a r y p a s s e r - b y would t h i n k t h a t my r o s e looked J u s t

, : k e you-the r o s e t h a t be longs t o me. But I n h e r s e l f a l o n e s h e I s murr

: , ,portant t h a n a l l Lhe hundreds of you o t h e r r o s e s : because I t I s s h e LhaL I

:ave w a t e r e d ; b e c a u s e I t i s s h e t h a t 1 have p u t under t h e g l a s s g l o b e ; becausc

: t is s h e t h a t I have s h e l t e r e d behind t h e s c r e e n ; b e c a u s e I t Is f o r h e r t h a t

' have k i l l e d t h e c a t e r p i l l a r s ( e x c e p t t h e two o r t h r e e t h a t we s a v e d t o

wcme b u t t e r f l i e s ) ; because I t i s s h e t h a t 1 have l i s t e n e d t o , when shc!

dr~umbled, o r boa' ; tcd, o r even sometimes when s h e s a i d noth l l rg . Uecause s h e It;

sf r o s e . "44

'lhe f o x t e a c h e s him t h e s e c r e t o f love In goodbye: t h a t one s e e s c l e a r l y

. . t h t h e h e a r t , t h e e s s e n c e a lways l i e s c l o s e d t o t h e e y e s . The I l t t l e pr.illcr

. < . p a t s t h e s e words t o h i m s e l f i n o r d e r not t o f o r g e t them. The f o x f 'urLher

: e l l s him t h a t he w i l l a lways be r e s p o n s i b l e f o r t h e one he b a s Lamed; he i s

. ,csponsible f o r h i s r o s e . The l i t t l e p r i n c e r e p e a t s t h e s e words a g a i n , i n

-rdur not t o f o r g e t them.

A f t e r l e a v i n g t h e f o x , t h e l i t t l e p r l n c e comes t o a r a i l w a y s t a t i o n where

s e e s p e o p l e s i t t i n g I n t r a i n s . He a s k s t h e r a i l w a y switchman where t h e y go.

@tiat t h e y a r e l o o k i n g f o r and whether t h e y were n o t s a t i s f i e d where t h e y came

:porn. The answer i s t h a t no one i s e v e r s a t i s f l e d where he i s , and one cannot

know what t h e y a r e l o o k i n g f o r , bu t t h e y p r o b a b l y pursue n o t h i n g a t a i l . Or~ly

Ltle c h i l d r e n who do not s l e e p I n t r a i n s but f l a t t e n t h e i r n o s e s aga i r l s t t h e

u J n d ~ w pane and watch c u r i o u s l y know what t h e y s e e k , and o n l y they have a

' h c e . Abundance, Sa in t -Exupery seems t o s a y , i s no t a c h a r , a c t e r of' 1 l f ' r buL

Q u a l i t y t o be s o u g h t f o r , and r e s e r v e d f o r t h o s e who endeavour a f ' t e r I t . The

l l t t i e p r i n c e n e x t meets t h e merchant who s e l l s p i l l s a g a i n s t L h l r s t . These

p i l l s h e l p t o s a v e t i m e , f i f t y - t h r e e minutes p e r week, but t h e merchant

!,,lpself d o e s not know f o r what t lme ought t o be s a v e d . "As f o r me. . . . I f 1

%j f i f t y - t h r e e minutes t o spend as 1 l i k e d , 1 s h o u l d walk a t my l e i s u r e

: , a r d a s p r i n g of f r e s h w a t e r , "45 s a y s t h e 1 i t t l e p r i n c e .

E ~ g h t d a y s a r e p a s t now, and t h e p i l o t h a s no more w a t e r . The l l t t l e p1.1ncc

"ants t o f i n d a w e l l , though he h a s never been e i t h e r hungry o r t h i r s t y , s i r ~ c e

dater may a l s o be good f o r t h e h e a r t " 4 6 and t h e y s e t o u t I n s e a r c h of i t ,

t h e magic o f t h e d e s e r t where one s e e s n o t h l n g , h e a r s n o t h i n g ,

:,d uhere s t l l l something g lows, where t h e s t a r s a r e b e a u t l f u l because of a

,',owe t h a t c a n n o t be s e e n , t h e d e s e r t whlch I s b e a u t l f u l because somewhere i t

;lors a w e l l . The l i t t l e p r i n c e i s t i r e d , c a n n o t walk anymore, and f a l l s

bileep. The p l l o t p i c k s him up , walks f u r t h e r and f l n d s a w e l l . He draws va te l .

213 they d r i n k t h e i r f i l l o f i t , t h e water which t h e y have s o u g h t f o r and have

:dund t o g e t h e r , w a t e r u h l c h d o e s good t o t h e h e a r t , l i k e a g i f t , l i k e music .

I t h a s been a y e a r s i n c e t h e l l t t l e p r i n c e l e f t h i s p l a r ~ e t , tlr~d he must

clui-n t o i t s i n c e he h a s many d u t l e s t o f u l f l l l . He must t a k e c a r e o f h l s

l ie The p l i o t i s v e r y s a d a t t h e thought of s e p a r a t i o n , a t t h e thought t h a t

'I? wll l no more h e a r t h e l a u g h t e r of t h e l i t t l e p r i n c e . But t h e l i t t l e p r i n c e

n i o l e s him when he is back o n h l s p l a n e t , and t h e p i l o t looks d t t h e s t d r s

above, he w11l know t h a t h i s f r ~ e n d looks a t hlm from one of t h e s t d r s I h e

' -sentla1 t h i n g s c a n n o t be s e e n w l t h t h e e y e s , bu t o n l y w l t h t h e h e a r t

The l l t t l e p r i n c e h a s a s k e d t h e s n a k e t o h e l p him r e t u r n t o h i s p l a n c t

'Ithaugh t h e p l l o t t r i e s t o a v o i d t h l s , he comes J u s t a l l t t l e t o o l a t e . dnd

"b t h e s n a k e d a r t i n g p a s t , and f i n d s t h e body of t h e l i t t l e p r l n c e As t h e

IJthor w r i t e s h i s a c c o u n t , i t h a s been s l x y e a r s s i n c e h i s meet lng w l t h t h e

"tie p r l n c e , and he h a s l e a r n t t o c o n v e r s e w i t h t h e s t a r s 111 remembrance of

IS f r i e n d I n c a s e one o f t h e r e a d e r s meets a blonde c h i l d In t h e d e s e r t

'"w t h e l i t t l e p r i n c e disappeared, he ought t o p l e a s e w r i t e t o t h e au thor

The L i t t l e P r i n c e n a r r a t e s a d o u b l e s t o r y : t h e e v o l u t i o n of' t h e l l l l l e

o n t h e one hand, and h i s r o l e a s a g u l d e on t h e o t h e r . In e f f ' e c t . t h e

:WO r o l e s a r e s e e n a s o n e , d e p l c t l n g t h e p r o c e s s o f growing up of a grown-up,

i;nce t h e l i t t l e p r i n c e I s not r e a l l y a c h i l d , bu t o n l y h a s t h e s t a t u r e of a

child. He l e a r n s h i s wlsdom from h l s v a r i o u s experiences, c u l m l r ~ a t l n g I n h l s

meeting w i t h t h e f o x who i m p a r t s t o him t h e knowledge o f l i f e . The l l t t l e

communicates h l s knowledge t o t h e p l l o t i n t h a t t h e p l l o t t o o comes Lo

,rfirrn l i f e and t h e n e c e s s i t y t o a c t , t o l o v e , t o t h i n k , t o hope, t o f l g h t ,

.,nd t o w r i t e Before t h e appearence of t h e l i t t l e p r i n c e , t h e a u t h o r was l o s t

I n s o l i t u d e , a l o n e wi thout anyone t o whom he c o u l d r e a l l y t a l k . A f t e r t h i s

rncounter, he knows t o s e e t h e b e a u t y of' t h e d e s e r t , t o f e e l a g a l n an

d i t r u i s t i c emot lon , t o p e r c e l v e t h e impor tance of t h e i n v i s i b l e and t h e r e b y

be happy, remembering a n i n s t a n t o f Joy i n which he l e a r n t t h e v a l u e of'

: r i e n d s h i p and l o v e .

The l l t t l e p r i n c e i s t h e n t h e s p a r k o f v l t a l e n e r g y , t h e hope t h a t n u r t u r e s

1:fe The f i r s t emot ion t h a t t h e l i t t l e p r i n c e awakens i n t h e p l l o t 1 s t h a t of'

~ I t r u l s m . For him, t h e p l l o t w i l l f o r g e t h l s e g o c e n t r i c p r e o c c u p a t i o n s , what

t i l l t h e n d e s c r i b e d a s ' m a t t e r s of consequence . ' Touched by t h e sob.; and

ttar.s of a n unknown c h i l d , he 1 s p r e p a r e d t o d r o p h i s t o o l s and l i s t e n t o h i s

:alk about t h e t h o r n s of a f l o w e r T h i s emot lon b r i n g s wlttl i t Lhe wl:.h l o

lki.Otect, t o c a r e f o r Yves oni in^^ c a l l s t h e l l t t i e p r i n c e t h e bp1r.i t of' tllc

P ~ ~ s i b i l i t y t o l o v e , i n m y s t i c a l t e r m s : t h e o t h e r , t h e b r o t h e r , t h e ~~edcmptur . ,

ctlr'lst h i m s e l f . Through t h e s h e e p he d e s i r e s l o have on h i s p l a n e t , Sdll~L-

Exupery h i n t s at t h i s image, and t h e l l t t l e p r i n c e I s a t r u e s e n t i n e l , who

: ike Christ a l s o knows d e a t h and a c c e p t s I t . T h i s knowledge of d e a t h of ' t h e

Seers and t h e p r o p h e t s i s g i v e n by t h e l l t t l e p r i n c e t o t h e p i l o t . As C h r i s t

' igure, t h e l l t t l e p r l n c e i s t h e lmage o f t h e pure soul -h is s o u l f r e e d of t h e

i n f l u e n c e s of t ime, of s p a c e and of o b l l g a t i o n s of m a t e r i a l requl rements -

having no hunger and no t h l r s t except f o r t h e water o f f r i e n d s h i p . He I s t h e

atman of t h e Upanishads , t h e o b J e c t of t h e e s o t e r l c knowledge. "Know Thyse l f "

He i s i n t h i s s e n s e t h e I n i t i a t o r , and he i s a l s o t h e s o u l of t h e u u t h u r and

everybody " . . . P l e a s e do not h u r r y on . . . . you w l l l know who he i s , "48 s a y s

sa in t -ExuMry t o t h e r e a d e r . He 1 s t h e s p l r i t e a c h c o u l d l d e n t l f y I n h imsel f

~f he a s p i r e s t o i t .

Yves Monin i n t e r p r e t s t h e t e a c h i n g o f t h e l i t t l e p r i n c e t o t h e p l l o t I n t h e

lmage o f t h e h i e r o g l y p h s : t h e w a t e r o f t h e w e l l , t h e drawing of t h e s h e e p , t h e

ques t ions and t h e absence of answers , t h e i n t e r t e r r e s t r l a l voyage, t h e snake ,

the f o x , t h e d e a t h i n t h e d e s e r t , t h e r o s e and t h e s t a r s I f we a r e t o

tr ,arlslate t h e s e hier.oglyphs I n t o p r e c e p t s : t h e goal o f l i f e i s i n a c t i o n and

g e n e r o s i t y , what one s e e s w i t h t h e h e a r t a l o n e i s I m p o r t a n t , p o s s e s s i o n car) be

diinoying and dangerous t o t h e s p i r i t , t h e r e a l i t y I s what one wdrlts t o s e e arid

one must know t o l i s t e n , t o a s k , and t o r e s o r t t o means of commurllcatlon olher.

lhan language , one i s happy t o b e l o n g , t o have r o o t s , i t i s t ime s p e n t In

duing something t h a t makes i t s o i m p o r t a n t , and a l l t h i s comes through t h e

t ranscendence o f t h e s e l f by taming and be ing tamed, s i n c e t h i s br-lrigs

r ~ e s p o n s l b i l i t y of one f o r t h e o t h e r . What s a v e s a l l t h i s from being empty

moral I s t h e f a c t t h a t t h e l l t t l e p r l n c e h i m s e l f i s i n i t l a t o r and t h e

l n i t l a t e d , coming down t o t h e e a r t h and l e a r n i n g from t h e f o x h l s l e s s o n

before he t e a c h e s i t t o t h e p i l o t .

Sa in t -Exupbry p r e s e n t s t o u s t h r e e t y p e s of men In t h e book- t h e lnhabi -

t a n t s o f t h e a s t e r o i d s and t h e e a r t h , t h e p l l o t , and t h e l i t t l e p r i n c e .

PePresent lng t h r e e c o n c e p t s of l i f e . Whether t h e i r " p l a n e t " 1 s s m a l l a s t h e

k i n g ' s , o r b i g a s of t h e geograppher o r a s t h e e a r t h , men have a IlrnlLed

v ls ion . Not having made a t o u r of t h e i r kingdom s i n c e t h e y a r e t o o busy t o

oixn t h e m i n d ' s e y e , t h e s e men a r e a g l t a t e d , s e e k l n g p o s s e s s i o n and not belng

s a t i s f i e d w l t h what t h e y p o s s e s s . They s e e k t o p o s s e s s t h e f i d e l i t y of

stars of honours, landscapes, subjects. But the subjects go away, t he

;andscape does not satisfy forever, the honours are refused slnce "nobody at

a l l passes thls MY," and the stars remain numbers to them.

There is the pilot, a thousand miles from any human habitation, his horlzon

I 1m1 ted to sand, a plane and a we1 I . He has had a great many encounters, can

o~~tinguish China from Arlzona, but he does not know more than that. Uttstlr~y

brought him to the desert and all at once he realizes that he has found that

which he had stopped seeking for: friendship. He is happy to walk In the

Aesert to find a well with his frlend, though he describes the walk us

&surd", and he must learn a lot beginning with the acceptance of tt~ls walk.

What makes the desert beautlful." says the little prince, "1s that some-

*here It hides a well. . . . " "The house, the stars, the desert-what gives tiltm

thelr beauty is something that is invlsible," says the pilot.4Y He 111ust also

learn to accept sadness as a part of life and of happiness, since one runs Lhe

r ~ s k of crying a llttle If one lets himself be tamed.

The little prince accepts everything, even detachment. Like the pilot, he

has seen the world, but unlike the pilot, he has talked to people, to f'lowurs

iind to animals. He has wanted to know llfe and find frlends. "it Is a good

thing to have a friend, even if' one has to he says. Before qulttir~8

his planet, he was too young to know how to love his rose. He Iearns thls In

his conversation with the fox in the middle of the desert, arid this leads him

t o the ultlmate knowledge. He now knows Iife, love, and death, and leads the

Pllot literally by the hand to the treasures of the glft of water, the mearlirlg

of the stars and of a unique flower. In thls 'cosmic hierarchy of movement'51

the pllot, conscious of the vanity of acts of possession, moves towards the

"ate of the llttle prince as he discovers the body of the little prince.

ilkrated of his anxiety, having learnt the slgnificance of taming, he becomes

an initiate.

The r o s e i s t h e pr imary image i n t h e book. We meet t h i s f l o w e r o n l y In

:hapter s e v e n , bu t s h e pervades t h e book. The a r r i v a l and d e p a r t u r e o f t h e

l i t t l e p r i n c e , h i s s a d n e s s , h i s q u e s t , and . I f e v e r , h l s r e t u r n , a l l o r l g l n a t e

I n t h e r o s e . Why 1s s h e s o impor tan t? T h i s 1 s u h a t makes t h e l i t t l e p r l n c e

jad She 1 s important f o r h e r l n d i v i d u a l l t y : s h e i s n o t one o f t h o s e who

demand no room a t a 1 1 , and who by n i g h t f a d e away p e a c e f u l l y . She came wi th

pomp, t h e s i g h t o f t h e bud promlsed a m i r a c u l o u s a p p e a r a n c e emerg lng out of'

! I . and t h e r o s e c a r e f u l l y a r r a n g e d h e r p e t a l s , compla ined o f t h e c o l d , made

demands, b o a s t e d o f h e r c l a w s . She sought t o tame t h e l l t t l e p r i n c e .

She I s a l s o impor tan t because o f h e r f r a g i l i t y : f l o w e r s a r e weak, t h e y have

been growing t h o r n s f o r m i l l i o n s o f y e a r s , and y e t a s h e e p mlght e a t her. Iri a

i l n g l e mouthfu l . She i s a l s o impor tan t f o r t h e f e e l i n g t h a t somewhere, s h e i s

there. Why, t h e n , does s h e make him s a d ? He I s s a d because he had come t o

doubt h e r , had t a k e n h e r n a i v e t y t o o s e r i o u s l y . He o n l y saw h e r , bu t n o t In

ner, a n d h a s t h e r e f o r e abandoned t h e p o s s l b i l i t y o f knowlng h e r . tie d l d no t

r e a l i z e t h a t i t i s s h e he h a s , w i t h h e r n a i v e t y which 1 s h e r way of e x p r e s s i n g

Ilcr. l o v e . The voyage through t h e u n l v e r s e t e a c h e s t h e l l t t l e p r l n c e what he

"ef'used t o l e a r n on h i s p l a n e t from t h e f l o w e r : t h e l m p o s s l b l l l t y of' belrrg

happy wi thout b e i n g r e s p o n s i b l e f o r a loved o n e , f o r u h a t people a r e l o u k l r ~ g

fo r c o u l d be found i n a s l n g l e r o s e , In a l l t t l e w a t e r . Why, t h e n , docs tie

m n t t h e sheep? Because I t i s a l s o a symbol o f warmth and l o v e . Lhc q u e s t i b

1iot I l m i t e d . But s o t h a t h i s one love does no t endanger t h e other. . lie w i l l

keep t h e g l o b e on t h e r o s e , t h e muzzle on t h e s h e e p . BuL t h e pi l o t f 'o rgot t o

draw t h e l e a t h e r s t r a p , s o t h e l l t t l e p r l n c e w l l l no t be a b l e t o f ' a s te r i Lhe

muzzle on t h e s h e e p , s o he h a s t o be e x t r a c a r e f u l about t h e s h e e p .

The second image o c c u r i n g i n t h e book i s o f t h e ~ ~ a b a b s . One must dea l wl t h

d i s c i p l i n e w i t h s u c h e v l l . The message i s g i v e n t o t h e c h i l d r e n of t h e world.

Nh0 are a 1 1 c h i l d r e n t i I1 t h e y have a t t a i n e d t h e knowledge of 1 r f r The s e e d s

,I the boababs awaken timldiy at first, not unlike a rose, they seem inofl'en-

, jve, but spread their roots deep. If one wants too nurture his rose, he must

d c h out for boababs. The boababs must be rooted out If there Is to be place

{or a rose: "It bores clear through [the planet1 with its roots. . . . they

,plit it in pieces. " The ppllot makes a drawing of it to warn agalnst the

wababs, the most successful of his drawings: "When I made the drawing of the

boababs I was carried beyond myself by the inspiring force of urgent necessi-

:y "52 They, like the volcanoes, tell us that Saint-Exupery is not painting a

:and of fairy-tale, that the little prince Is well aware of evil. The solutlon

! , I the menace posed by the volcanoes and the boababs 1 les in the we1 1 Whcrl

,ne has love and through it responsibility, one exerclses discret ion in or,der-

:J care for his rose

The well that the pilot and the little prince find in the middle of the

desert is llke a well in a village, and the pilot thinks he Is dreaming. It is

h well which is well-maintained, walled, cared-for, defended, and loved: the

zord between matter and essence. It Is a well which demands the pllot's acllvr

r~articipation in order to get the water out, and this makes the water tastt:

different: "Its sweetness was born of the walk under the stars, the song of'

!he pulley, the effort of my arms. "53

It is a well one does not find by accident, but must look for with I t ~ e

!wart, and it is a gift for the heart, since two friends have LogcLlicr I'oulld

! t and drunk out of it. Also because the seemingly absurd task u f f'ir~dill~ a

d e l l In the middle of the Sahara is motlvated not by the llopc 01' f'irl*lr~i: a

" e l l , but that somewhere it hides a well. To the pilot, this 15 !he dlsr:uvl:l'Y

the meaning of action which Is life, the charm of givlng. !tli:. ar't of'

charity which makes him "breathe easily, " which enables him to ace the tlorley-

COloured contours of the sand, brlnglng hlm the mystlcal attitude and state of'

"tion, terminating in the gift to himself. To the llttle pr'lnct., it 1s the

JOY of sharing the va te r , but a l s o the symbol of h l s purpose, t o guide, to

in to ac t ion .

The men on the a s t e r o i d s , the men In the t r a i n s , the p i l o t , the l i t t l e

prince, the rose , the fox, a r e a l l s o l i t a r y , a r e a l l desirous of being

,tamed', accepted, being loved. In conscious beings expressed a s "come nnd

play with me. . . . . tame me", or in not very consclous beings who rush, own the

s tars , o r command. the quest I s the same: Who am I ? The response i s : Know

lhyself. What men look f o r could then be found In one s i n g l e rose , or in a

11t t l e water, a s the l i t t l e prince says. The l i t t l e pr ince and the p i l o t have

found t h i s o u t . The p i l o t has l ea rn t t o face events not only difficult and

uangerous, but a l s o apparent ly impossible. These encouters could be the

iprlngboard of' 1 lf'e l e t t i n g one t raverse the open doors between the conscious

and the unconscious. ' 1 think i t ' s nice t o have a f r l end even i f one i s to

J I ~ " : t h i s i n t u i t i o n springs from f 'a l th , t h i s innate and I r ra t iona l ce r ta in ty

bf the permanence of l i f e and love which makes death I l lusory . I t i s t h i s

lrlluitlon about the permanence of love tha t supports the 1 i t t l u prince t 1 1 1

lhe end of h i s voyage and brings hope in to the heart of the p i l o t . Thr L j l t l e

krince i s a l s o one of the best examples of the modern French novel of which

Aiain Robbe-Crillet says tha t the wr i t e r has an "absolute need of' the r e a d e r ' s

cooperation, an a c t i v e , conscious, c r e a t i v e ass i s tance . ,,54

Though Tolklen says that he dld not intend to comment upon the hnppenings

;f his tllneS In wrltlng thls eplc-size story of a quest, hls other statements

::early point to a parallel between our uorld and the uorld of Middle Earth.

hence also Tolkien's bellef that fairy storles are not vrltten for chlldren.

In his study of the Anglo-Saxon epics,'= Tolkien sees the monsters as

~ythic enlargements of the blbllcal serpent of Eden, represenllng the rnemy of

c d and man alike. In the age-old struggle man can never hope to win but he

L ~ n emerge as a hero endowed wlth courage and free wlll. Tolklen mesmerizes

readers with the 'Third age of Mlddle Earth, the fantasy perlod where heroes

once again stride across the horlzon, flll lng a present-day cultural gap, l'hc

author uses hls trilogy The Lord of the Rings as a vehicle to convey his

allefs about I lf'e and death and good and evil. Tolklen's fasclnallon f'ov the

myths and his interpretation of t t i ~ ~ , ~ 1s undoubtedly the dlstlllatior~ ot' his

vxperlences as an infantry soldler In the flrst World War. The war was an

~ncomfortabie ordeal, but it served as the basls for Tolkien's expresslon of'

!Ire and hls beliefs - the deep comradeshlp whlch flourished In acutely

dangerous circumstances is one example of his war experience whlch later.

-!'ystallized itself and emerged in hls trilogy.

What exactly does Tolklen mean when he says that fairy stories are not

*Pitten for children? For whom are they vrltten? And why are they urlttrri't

lrlsplte of all the fantastlc creatures who populate the Thlrd Age of Middle

tarth, Tolklen m s a realist. A realist who saw the uorld for what I t was, arld

"Sisted any false lnterpretatlon of it. Tolklen's expresslon of his renllty

often sounds paradoxlcal. He often quoted C.K.Chesterton: "For chlldren are

Innocent and love Justlce whlle most of us are wlcked, and naturally prefer

He respected this Innate innocence of the child, and probably

"fmmlng from thls respect for lnnocence 1s hls lnslstence that chlidrerl's

literature not be sugar-coated and sentimentalized.He believed that the hazard

of loslng innocence and a sense of wonder receives ~unpllflcatlon from adults

themselves in their bungllng efforts to hlde realltles from the young.

'Fantasy' reinforces wonder and through I t the reverence for nature.

Fantasy then teaches the reader to percelve reallty wlth a sense of wonder:

recovery, the re-galnlng of a clear vlew, 1s an lmportant function of fantasy,

the function that makes us conscious of the "otherness" of the world. Thls 1s

:he story-teller as sub-creator, creating worlds whlch offer readers the three

salutary states of Recovery. Escape and Consolatlon. Recovery recasts one's

ability to see the world sharply and clearly In all Its wonders. tscap.

relates to an appreclatlon of the natural world whlch modern man tends to lose

sight of in technological t lmes. Consolat lon, uhlch he calls eucatastrophe.

provldes the happy ending whlch he likens to the state of Joy and grace f'ound

In rellgion.

Rellglon to Tolklen was Catholicism but It was In no way llmlted to thls

Tolklen's llklng of fairy storles was largely due to hls experlcnce in the

flrst world war, sprlnglng from a longlng for an Other World where good and

rvll are clear-cut factors, where Justlce prevails. Thls is the world of' The

Hobbit, the ground work for The Lord of the Rings. The Hobbit lnltlates the

struggle between good and evll - the quest 1s to expel Smaug, the dr,apon, and gain back Thorln Oaklnshleld's treasure and hls title as klng. Uevelopment and

dlsintegratlon between the forces of good (Beorn derlvlng from the Anglo-sax or^

uord for prince), and evll ( w g s , meanlng wolf in Anglo-Saxon). Bllbo the

hobbit must go through the process of growlng up, of self-recognltlon. He must

leave hls hobblt hole Bag End, symbollc of the womb. He 1s lnltiated lnto

Wnhood by a Lrlal of flre and symbcllc descents lnto dark, secret caves.

The process of groulng up and self recognltlon I s not easy, and Bllbo

succumbs to temptatlon In steallng the One Rlng and the Arkenstone, leadlng to

battle. Bllbo finally renounces the stolen Arkenstone, slgnlfylng hls resur-

rectlon, laying the thematlc foundatlon for the trilogy resulting in The Lord

,f the Rings. The hobblts shire seen here 1s a utopian world, a protest

ilgainst technologlcal inhumanity. It 1s the plcture of the medleval world.

#here peace and secutlty reign. Tolklen's remote fantastic world is neverthe-

less a parallel to our own world In that evll soon invades thls utopla, and

l~lklen gives preclse hlstorlcal detalls lncludlng a map resultlng In an nlr

of authentlclty. Tolklen successfully creates a secondary world of fantasy

resulting In our willing suspenslon of disbelief. Tolklen 1s also alded by the

Interlace structure," especially in the thlrd book of The Lord of ttte kings,

lr1 transmlttlng the feellng that the actlon 1s happenlng In front of our eyes

ii C. West says. "Interlace [ . . . I seeks to mirror the perception of the flux of events In the world around us, where everything 1s happenlng at once. Its

narrative line is digressive and cluttered, dlvldlng our attentlon among an

~ridefinlte number of' events, characters, and themes, any of whlch may domlnatc

d l any given time. ,, 5-1

Every author of fiction, however much of a reallst he Is, creates hls uwll

uorld through hls writlng. Thls creative function provides hlm wlth an

imn~easurable freedom whlch, however, cannot be absolute. Slnce 111s world could

ol~ly be created through the material of language, whl ' :IL the same 1 lnle

serves the conception and experience of the real world, till his flctlve wor,lds

;Ire necessarlly bound to thls reallty. Thls also applles to To1kle11's

Middle-Earth," though I t seems to lie far from our world of experlerlce.

Tolklen's cosmos has an lmpresslve forelgn touch to it, but ttlls forelgn and

wonderful world 1s nevertheless In an analysable and crltlcal proportlon bound

t o reallty. The binding to reallty 1s naturally not mlmetlc in the sense that

I t 1s a mirror-image of the reallty. Tolklen's world of fantasy 1s also not

similar to the world as a slmple allegorlcal analogy. Tolklen exprsesses his

dislike of all sorts of allegory in hls foreword to The Lord of the Rings and

?lfi'erentlates between "allegory" and "appllcablllty": "the one [namely

~appllcab1llty' 1 resides in the freedom of the reader, and the other [namely

,allegory8 1 in the purposed domlnation of the author."''

As a reader, one naturally cannot accept such wntertlght dlfferentlation,

since firstly allegory 1s of varlous sorts, and secondly the lnterpretatlve

freedom of the reader with a non-allegorical text 1s only more, but not unll-

mitrd. But Tolklen's termlnology certainly helps us further In a dlscusslon of

the appllcablllty of his books, that Is, In how far hls fantasy world is

related to our own situatlon, since Tolklen clearly invites us to ldentlfy our

Image of the world with the fantastic world portrayed in his books. Hence.

:olklenSs world Is also clearly an lllustratlon of the reallty, and through

!he world of fantasy he achleves an universal constructlon: a constructlon

:hat does not make any declaratlons, but makes suggestlons through lmpllca-

:ions.

The proportional relationship of Tolklen's cosmos to reality could thus be

lrrterpreted to constitute of: the attempt to record the 'lnnermost e5srnce of'

:!re, the criticism of the present reallty, and the vlslon of an ldeal world.

lolkien's utopia is a product of the mlxture of crltlclsm and lnterpretatlon

loiklen achieves the semblance to reality also through hls graphic dricriptlon

21' Middle-earth and its inhabltants whlch makes the reader forget the fact

that he has not learnt much about the soclal llfe of the Inhabitants, but has

won an lntlmate picture of the landscape, that the folk has attained a

historic dlmenslon and through it individuality because of' the chr.onicle

style. Tolkien glves us llttle lnformatlon regardlng the soclal and polltlcal

life of the people other than the Hobblts. Even by the Hobblts, thelr family

relatiom and conflicts are only spoken of in a humorous, dlstanced tone. The

pelatlonshlps described could be reduced to categorles 1 lke frlendshlp and

trust and distrust, loyalty and disloyalty. The only psychological

;tudy attempted by Tolklen seems to be In the love-hate relatlonshlp between

rod0 and Collum, whlch makes Colluia one of the most lnterestlng and

,uccessful of Tolkien's characters. Nevertheless, slnce the reader 1s har,dly

,ware of the flatnks of the characters, it could certalnly not be counted as

ailure. Moreover, i t would amount to applying the measure of reallstlc

llterature to fantasy llterature.

This limitation of the fantasy world to a few masterly strokes sanctions

also a greater freedom In relatlng this unfamiliar world to the world of

experience. The applicablllty 1s not reduced In that the author dispenses with

:he mlmetlc principle of reallty constuctlon. On the contrary, I t has ti lurger,

,cope, although its reference to reallty becomes less preclse. It 1s cum-

parable to the applicability of the falry tale whlch reduces itself to a Sew

rough detalls of landscape and human relationships thus achlevlng f'or' ltself u

: ~melessness and a c lasslessness. Tolklen' s Middle-earth of course does not

-educe the world to quite so few details llke In a falry tale. Tolklcn's world

I S less complex than ours, and this reduction of detalls allows hlm to concell-

:r.ate hlmself on the two interrelated themes of the descrlptlon of the coslnlc

oaltle over Power between the powers of good and the powers of evil, and or1

the posslbillties and forms of heroic actlon In thls battle.

Here it is important to note that Tolklen presents a cosmlc battle. I t 1s

not the battle of a single indlvldual or a hero agalnst an adversary that is

Presented here, but that all lnhabltwts of Mlddle-earth lncludlng the anlmals

are dlvlded lnto two groups. Agaln, one sees how dlfferent the book is from il

falry tale. As agalnst as In a falry tale, the essence and origln of the Evll

1s questloned upon, and the battle agalnst the Evll takes place agalnst an

elaborate hhlstorlcal background. The Evll 1s consldered In Its two aspects

the moral-theological aspect and the hlstorlcal-polltical aspect. The mode of

fantasy serves thls end at its best, slnce the two aspects of theology and

~iitlcs create a tension between two poles. They arise namely from Tolklen's

ascination for the heroic-hedonistic world of the Cermanlc sagas on the one

and and his devout Cathollclsm on the other. The first element, the f'asciriil-

ion for the Germanic saga, tends towards a pesslmlstlc attltude of the wor.ld

hlch sees all that exlsts, lncludlng the gods, as mortal and klngs In the

iutches of fate. Tolklen often uses the word "doom" to denote thls asitrct

there man 1s fully aware of the hold of fate on hlm, of the lnevltable rulri.

) u t flghts boldly against it nevertheless and thereby attalns a he~-olc

,~ature.

Although Tolkien was fascinated all his life by thls hedonlstlc-trtigic

~utlook of the world, he m s a devout Chrlstlan, and It 1s superfluous to

pint out that the Cermanlc ldea of doom and heroism 1s contrary tu the

~hristian ldea of grace Tolkien's llterary work could be urider~stood as an

attempt to attaln an lmdglnatlve synthesls of the two contradictor'y atlltudes,

t o attaln that what he observed and admired In Beowulf: "11ot conf'uslon, a

half-hearted or a muddled business, but a fuslon that has occured a t a g l v r r l

p u l n t of contact between old and new, a product of thought and deep emo-

t i o n . uS9

Tolkien's deep religloslty 1s indeed a fuslon of the emotlonal and the

Intellectual. Humphrey carpenterG0 In hls blography of Tolklen 1 Inks Tol-

xien's lifelong involvement wlth the Cathollc Church wlth his umolional

attachment to hls mother after whose death a Catholic prlest, Father Francls

Morgan. overtook the role of the father for the fatherless Tolklen. Irltrllac-

tually, the Cathollc Church wlth Its tradltlon provlded hlm with a f'eellng of

historic contlnulty deeply bound to hls beloved mlddle ages as against Lt~c

Church of England whose "pathetic and shadowy medley of' half'-r,emenlbcr,ed

tradltlons and mutilated bellefsu6l he was sceptical of. Hence Tolkien was

able to brlng together his love for the Medleval and hls religlosfty, and what

,pecla l ly engaged h i s deep I n t e r e s t was t he polnt of con tac t &tween the

agan and t h e C h r l s t l a n l n s t l t u t l o n s i n h i s t o r y . These p a r a l l e l l n t e r e s t s lead

, the cons t an t s h l f t s between t h e f a t a l - p e s s l m l s t l c and t h e ch r l s l l an -op t lml -

,tic tonesG2 In h i s w l t i n g and a r e hence of c r l t l c a l importance, though Ct1t.r.r

s hardly any open r e fe rence t o Cod i n The Lord of the Rings But t o Tolkien.

ne wonderful has a l s o a r e l l g l o u s f u n c t l o n , s l g n l f y l n g poetically t h a t a l l

ha1 e x i s t s belongs toge the r and a l s o g r a n t l n g a governing power In a d l v l n e l y

rdered cosmos. Tolkien hence moves between myth and r e l l g l o n wlthout any

,eference t o t h e l n s t l t u t l o n of r e l l g l o n .

I t 1 s worth cons ide r ing t h e r o l e played by t h e Germanlc e lements In the

,ovel. I t i s t he theme of t h e l n e v i t a b l y r u l n and t h e he ro l c i'lght-"Lhls

Ision of t h e f l n a l de fea t of t h e humane (and of t h e d i v l n e made In i t s

rage), and I . . . 1 t h e e s s e n t i a l h o s t i l i t y of t h e gods and heroes on the one

.dnd and t h e monsters on t h e other"63 which has brought out a " theo ry of

~ u r a g e " , "which i s t h e g r e a t contribution of e a r l y Northern l i t e r a t ~ r e . " ~ ~ 7 ' h e

3rd of t h e Rings uses t h e mythologlcal element i n t h e c h a r a c t e r l z a t l o n of the

l:r~sters and t h e r i n g . Every word and cadence of t h e d e s c r l p t l o n of t he 'Joy

i b a t t l e ' reminds one of t h e k r m a n l c f o l k :

For morning came, morning and a wlnd fr.om t h e s e a ; and darkness was removed,

~ n d t he h o s t s of Mordor wal led, and t e r r o r took them, and they f l e d , and d l e d ,

'nd the hoofs of wrath rode over them. And then a1 1 t h e ho:,t of Hohan burs t

nto song, and they sang a s t hey s lew, f o r t h e Joy of b a t t l e was on them. ""

But Tolkien s u c c e s s f u l l y avolds any such ldent i f l c a t ion and concen t r a t e s on

he t r a g l c a spec t of i t , a s s ign ing them a C h r l s t l a n out look a t t he same tlme.

The c h r i s t l a n element i n t h e book i s not seen as c l e a r l y a s t he pagan

lement, determlnes nonetheless t h e c h a r a c t e r of t h e book. I t 1s most c l e a r l y

een i n t h e h l e r a r c h l c a l o rgan lza t lon of t h e belngs and t h e seedlng of a new

erolc i dea . The c e n t r a l theme of t h e book 1s t he na tu re of' e v l l . To lk l en ' s

,xplanatlon of t h e o r l g l n of e v i l i s orthodox and c h r l s t l a n :

. ~ u t now I l u v a t a r s a t and hearkened, and f o r a g r e a t whlle i t seemed good t o

nim. f o r i n t h e music t h e r e were no f laws. But as t h e theme progressed, I t

~ame i n t o t h e hea r t of Uelkor t o l n t e rveave ma t t e r s of h i s own imagining tha t

e r e not i n accord with t h e theme of I l i l va t a r ; for he thought t h e r e l n t o

Increase t h e power and g lo ry of t h e pa r t ass lgned t o h imse l f . "66

Thls 1 s t he o r l g l n a l s i n of Superbia , t h e wlsh t o a l t e r t h e d lv lnu ly

ordained. All misfor tune t h a t fo l lows has some such a c t l o n s of r e b e l l i o n a s

11s b a s i s . The s i n of Superbla leads t o t h e d e s l r e of power and the d e s i r e t o

possess:

'But when the Ainur had beheld t h l s h a b l t a t l o n [ t h e ea r th1 In a vlsiuri and had

5een t h e Chi ldren of I l u v a t a r a r i s e t h e r i n , then many of t he most mlghty among

them bent a l l t h e i r thought and t h e l r d e s l r e towards t h a t p lace . And of' t l iesr

Helkor was the c h i e f [ . . I . But he des i r ed r a t h e r t o subdue t o h i s w i l l both

Elves and Man, envylng t h e g i f t s wlth which I l u v a t a r promised t o endow them;

arid he wished hlmself t o have subJec t s and s e r v a n t s , and t o bc c a l l e d Lord,

and t o master over o t h e r u i l l s . "67

Thls theme 1s cont inued from S i lmar i l l i o r l t l l l t he end of The Lord of the

kings. The essence of e v i l i s t he rebellion aga ins t Cod; e v l i manif 'esls i t s e l l '

I n t he d e s i r e f o r abso lu t e power, f o r uhlch t h e Ring i s t h e symbol. 'I'tie danger

l i e s a l s o i n t h e f a c t t h a t t h i s d e s i r e f o r power can a l s o appear decept ivuly

In t he form of d e s i r e t o do good. All who come under t he seduct ive puwcr of'

the r i n g , Saruman. Boromir and Denethor, f o r example, be l i eve t o use the power

of t h e r l n g t o do something good. But abso lu t e power c o r r u p t s abso lu t e ly , as

iunnar Urang s a y s , " f o r t h e Rlng symbolizes 1 . . . 1 power over the w l l l s and

d e s t i n i e s of o t h e r c r e a t u r e s 1 . . . 1. To seek such power i s t o usurp a r i g h t

that even Cod himself r e l l n q u i s h e s , t h a t of ove r r id ing freedom; the re fo re the

Ring i s p re sen ted as l nhe ren t ly e v i l , not merely capable of being misused ""

I t i s c e r t a l n l y no c o - i n c l d e n c e t h a t T o l k l e n l d e n t l f l e s t h e d e s l r e f o r

p e r w l t h t h e d e s l r e t o e n s l a v e o t h e r s p h y s l c a l l y and l n t e l l e c t u a l l y P e t z o l d

,res t h i s i n t h e background o f t h e happenlngs l e a d l n g t o t h e second World War

md j u x t a p o s e s i t w l t h a passage from O r w e l l ' s 1984 which be longs t o t h e sumr

The p a s s a g e i s p a r t o f a d i a l o g u e between t h e p a r t y b o s s O ' B r l e n and

his v l c t l m Winston Smi th :

,How d o e s one man a s s e r t h l s power o v e r a n o t h e r , Wlnston?' Wirlston thougllt .

'By maklng hlm s u f f e r , ' he s a l d . ' E x a c t l y . By making hlm s u f f e r . Obedlence i s

not enough. Unless he i s s u f f e r l n g , how c a n you be s u r e t i ra t he 1 s obeylng

your w i l l and not h i s own? I . . . ] Power 1 s I n t e a r l n g human mind t o p l e c e s and

put t lng them t o g e t h e r a g a i n i n new s h a p e s o f your own c h o o s i n g . Ih you begin

!a s e e , t h e n , what k i n d of world we a r e creating?' 69

P e t z o l d s e e s a r e l i g l o u s component a l s o I n O r w e l l ' s c r l t l c l s m o f ' t o l u l l -

tdr, ianlsm: man t a k e s o v e r t h e r o l e of God, but what he c r e a t e s 1s o n l y a

~ r v e r s l o n o f Crea t ior l . But t h e s l m l l a r l t y i n t h e o u t l o o k o f t h e two a u t h o r s

:omes l e s s from r e l i g i o s l t y . I t s t e m s f a r more from t h e knowledge of t o t a l l -

t a r ian lsm I n t h e t w e n t i e t h c e n t u r y whlch i s common t o both au thor-s . Tolk lun .

naking use of t h e a d v a n t a g e s of t h e mode of f a n t a s y , r e f u s e s t o cor i s ldur

Jeeper lrl h i s world o f Mlddle-ear th , t h e good and t h e e v l l a r e

c l e a r l y d l v i d e d . The h e r o h e r e o n l y needs c o u r a g e t h e t o f a c e t h e e v l l , wha1.a~

In r e a l i t y one a l s o needs t h e a b l l l t y t o l d e n t l f y t h e e v l l . E v l l i n r e a l i t y i s

not a lways s o ugly a s i n H l d d l e - e a r t h nor c a n I t be s o l n t u l t l v e l y recognized

6 In M l d d l e - e a r t h . Our a c t l o n s a r e seldom a s l m p l e and r a t l o n a l c h o i c e

k t u e e n two a l t e r n a t i v e s . T o l k l n e makes I t c l e a r t h a t he u n d e r s t a n d s t h i s

Problem, but d o e s not u n d e r t a k e a n y t h i n g t o c l a r l f y I t .

The same a p p l i e s t o T o l k l e n ' s t r e a t m e n t o f p o l l . t l c s I n t h e book. The

d i f f e r e n t s t a t e s have a k l n g as t h e head whose a u t h o r l t y 1 s a c c e p t e d wi thout

question. The s t a t e s of Condor and Rohan f u n c t l o n s u c c e s s f u l l y because of

:heir good kings. The negatlve examples of Thboden vlth its evil klng glvcs

to the relevant question of authority uhlch goes unanswered by Tolklcn.

:he klng Aragon is treated almost llke a god, and parallels to this In recent

plltl~al history of the uorld are abundant. In our uorld, such treatment of'

rulers could and did give rise to a dangerous nationallsm. When the fact that

Lhe ruler is good is a precondltlon to the well-being of the folk urld not that

:he folk chooses a good ruler, the polltlcal slgnlflcance is nalurully

ilmlted. In contrast to the aspect of polltlcal system, the folk of

Hiddle-earth comes surprlslngly close to our understandlng In olher aspects.

Yhether Elves, dwarfs or Hobblts, thelr way of thought and behavlour 1s human,

although the frame of reference may be foreign to us. Especially in

:onslderlng their herolsm, the characters of Tolklen's book are far closer to

us than many characters found In the literature of realism of the eigtiteentt~

and nineteenth centurles.

Bllbo 1s Tolklen's first hero we meet in The Hobblt. B11bo 1s Everyman,

*lthout any idrntif'iable herolc qualitles. His herolsm comes more from tiis

dbllity to face fear than from hls courage, from his cleverness than f'r'orn hi5

itrength, and he 1s not very Intelligent, but understands hls fallow people

perfectly. What makes Bilbo human to us is his good temper, self'lessrless nnd

flurnllity. The dwarf klng Thorin 1s aptly set as a contrast to Bllbo arid servrs

t o illustrate the simple human qualities. Ecilbo acts ratlonally and selflessly

arid thereby avoids dangerous conflicts. In contrast to Superbla, Ullbo

displays ~umllltas,~' vhlch leads to hls victory In the lnner struggle. Bllbo

1s able to give up the marvellous Arkenstone, "not without a shudder, r ~ o t

without a glance of longlng." Frodo's herolsm is the same as Bllbo's, only hls

Gslgnment is of a different sort. The protagonlst of The Lord of the Xlrtes IS

again uncertain of his abllltles to fulflll the task asslgned to hln~, but

takes it up nevertheless. Frodo's sklll and his sense of responslbll ity grow

on his long Journey and Frodo's hardest task 1s also to be able Lo

Helms llnks Tolkien's shifted ldeas of herolsm wlth the general change In

o u t look that became pervaslve after the second World War. Accordlng to Helms,

the theme of The Lord of the Rings 1s what became important after the inven-

tion of the atomlc bomb, namely "restralnt, natlonal as well as personal

selflessness, and a concern for the good of all rather than merely of the

natlonal group. "72 Helms refers In thls context to Tolklen's essay attached to

:he Homecoming of Beorhtnoth Beorhtnelm's Son In whlch Tolklen studies ttie

creatlon of Beowulf in a new Ilght. Tolklen sees in Beowulf's baLt le wlth the

dragon a conceited arrogance and presumptlon to whlch the Christlan composer

of' the poem himself had no sympathy. In Tolklen's vlew, herolsm oughl not t o

seek fame. It ought Instead to seek to serve fellow-beings:

'It 1s the herolsm oi' obedience and love not of prlde or wilfulness thiit 1s

the most heroic and the most movlng; from Wlglaf under hls kinsman's shleld.

Lo Beorhtwold at Maldon, down to Balaclava, even If It is enshrined In verse

no better than The Charge of the Light Brigade. 73

This shift in the ideas of herolsm 1s one of the most lmportarlt factor,s

tlirough which the book speaks for our century. Already before Tolklen. L'dr,lyle

had spoken of the new Image of the hero and his lnner values, and Shaw

Juxtaposed In his Arms dnd the Ifan the herolsm of common sense to the roniarltlc

idea of heroism and stripped it of its assumptlons. Also, thls hrrolsm doeb

riot have anything to do with pathos as Gandalf expresses I t :

"Authority 1s not glven to you, Steward of Candor, to order the hour of your

death, 'answered Gandalf. 'And only the heathen kings, under the domlrrat ion of

the Dark Power, dld thus, slaylng themselves In prlde and despair, murderlng

thelr kln to ease thelr own death. '74

Thls Christian vlew 1s masterfully lnterpreted In medleval terms through-

:,I the book. In the Chrlstlan view of the World that Candalf here expresses.

the heroic pathos of Frodo is sinful. In a world created and ordered by III)

aimlghtY, benevolent Cod, tragedy in the classlcal sense 1s not possible.

jolkien is nevertheless unable to resist such herolc treatment of tils

~haracters. But under his strongly Chrlstlan view of the world expressod In

Ttte Lord of the Rings, i t takes on a new meanlng. Tolkien says thaL tlte

;reator of Beowulf interprets the heroism of his protagonlst so-to servc G(ld

I n the battle against evll-and hence built In the numerous anulogles to Cod

dnd the Biblical story in his hedonlstic theme: "Msn allen in a hostlle world,

cngaged in a struggle uhlch he cannot wln whlle the world lasts, Is assur,cd

that hls foes are the foes also of Dryhten [Godl that his courage noble In

lrself is also the higitest loyalty. u7'

Frodo's heroism is more realistic and more modern ttran that of tile

:iassical hero who is marked by absolute fearlessness. The classlcal hero does

ndt entertain any doubts as to the necessity and certslnty of battle Frodo 1s

the unwilling hero and Tolklen plays with the idea of provldencc. whlch brlrigs

111s protagonist close to the Bellow protagonists: "Behind that there uaa

sumethlng else at work, beyond any deslgn of the Ring-maker. 1 can puL it no

plainer than by saying that Bllbo was meant to find the Ring, and not by Its

niaker. In which case you also were meant to have It. And that may be an

encouraging th~ught,"'~ says Candalf, and I t is Important Jto note that ttre

People of the Middle-eart~t know nothing of Cod.

Throughout the quest to destroy the ring and put an end to Its evll pouer,.

Tolkien attrlbutes a Chrlstlan element to hls chief characters and crltlcs

have also seen partial anticlpatlons of Chrlst In Frodo and in ~ a n d a l f . ~ ~ In

Frodo's concern for his frlends and Sam's feellng of compulslon "to take a

very long road lnto darkness" out of loyalty to hls master Frodo, such a

Parallel could be traced. Frodo at varlous levels undergoes purgation till he

is ab l e t o overcome the greed t o possess t he r lng .Hl s rescue by Tom b m b a d l l l ,

rho possesses a unique moral n e u t r a l l t y beyond t h e conf lnes of e l t h e r herolsm

or v l l l a l n y , 1 s another of t hese . Tom b r ings l l l l e s f o r h i s lady--symbolic of

pur l ty and Innocence, and the co lou r s of I t , green and ye1 low, the colour-s of

hope, l l f e and love, constancy and wlsdom a r e s l g n l f l c a n t In C h r l s t l a n l t y . 'Tom

ouns nothlng but 1s master of a l l , t h e Good Shepherd, and a s Coldkr.ry says ,

-He 1s . "78 This , of cou r se , 1s t he ldea l s a f e t y , but t he ho r ro r s of the wor,ld

as revealed i n t h e i r dreams a r e t o be f aced , balanced by Goldberry 's words.

Have peace. Head no mighty n 0 1 s e . " ~ ~ The good a r e u sua l ly weaker than the

bad, but

All t h a t Is gold does not g l i t t e r ,

Not a1 1 those Wander a r e l o s t .

. . . . Deep r o o t s a r e not reached by the f r o s t . 80

The power of e v i l In i n t e r r o r , and the enemy's sword wounds Frodo physi-

c a l l y and s p i r l t u a l l y . But e v i l I s s h o r t l i v e d In the f ace of' Will , and Tolklen

adopts b l b l l c a l syrnbollsm uher ln t h e r l v e r r l s e s hlgh and des t roys the enency.

Sauron exempl l f i e s one concept - t h a t nothlng 1s e v l l i n the beglr~nlng, but

ev i l assumes many for-ms: t he r i n g , t he Shadow, the black r l d e r s , Collum. And

the t e r r o r sp reads , - a c l e a r a l l u s l o n t o t he events of the second World War.,

the Shadow lengthening, t h e f r igh tened people ready t o y l e l d . In h l s f l g h t

agalns t t h l s power, Frodo grows. Though he a t f l r s t longs t o abandon h i 5

mission, he cont inues wlth g rea t lnner s t r e n g t h . Hls perception becomes deeper

with exper lence. A t t h e end of Book 11, t he eye comes upon hlm wlth i t s

f l e r c s , eager w l l l and Frodo undergoes a f l e r c s lnner conf l l c t between the

Power of e v l l and the power of good and as he f i n a l l y chooses t o do h l s duty ,

emerging v i c t o r . He 1s kneel ing, not s u r e what he c r i e d , I t could have been

"Verl ly , I come. I come t o you." echolng b i b l l a l language." Throughout the

book, Tolklen br lngs out e v l l a s t h e more pouerful f o r c e , all-pervasive,

~apable of reducing the good to the depraved level of the enemy Itself'.

;rushing Individuality till the person merely 'exlsts' instead of Ilvlng. Evil

~ l f e s t s itself in a strong determination to dominate. Man can never totally

recover from his confrontation with depravlty, but he possesses free ulll.

uhich enables him to act according to the dictates of his consclence.

seemingly inadequate, an lndivldual nevertheless f lnds a source of strength in

himself. All evll is good dlstorted in Tolklen's belief, llke the fallen

uigels. Hence 1s the world dangerously susceptlble to corruptlon through the

{forces of evil. The only real weapon against this 1s man's lnner resource.

Tolklen uses the symbol of the Ring to underline his bellef In a purpose-

ful, guided universe - Bllbo believes that he has found the rlng, whereas I t

is the rlng that has found Its m y to him. Bllbo's nephew Frodo now has the

task of being the ringbearer, and when he deplores his role as rlngbearer.

saying that i t need not have happened In hls time, Gandalf answers hlm wlth.

' .so do all who live to see such tlmes. But that 1s not for them to declde.

All we have to decide Is what to do ulth the tlme that 1s glverl Lo us. "82 The

ring also emphasizes man's lnner resources, whlle in the struggle between evll

and good, the spirit 1s the Ilfe-glvlng force. The rlng at the same tlme

represents power and avarlce, and thls evll must be confronted and conquered

by Bllbo. He must leave the sheltered womb of Bag End and enter the world of

experience. The rlng expounds several messages - malnly that power corrupLs Sauron, the black, is the epitome of thls, and thls Is seen right down to

Gollum, Bilbo and Frodo. The rlng 1s not only extremely powerful,-It can make

the wearer invisible-It ultlmtely devours the individual. One who succumbs

to the rlng suffers a permanent erosion of personality. The power corr.upts,

the temptation to own It 1s great and evil infiltrated Middle Earth, sllhoue-

tlng the spread of Nazism In our own world. Frodo the rlngbearer must fight

against his temptation to be powerful and reign over the world, and later hls

just f o r t h e r i n g . "Where s h a l l I f l n d courage?"83 1s h i s anguished lament.

and he f i n d s I t In h imse l f , because he must, a s C i ldo r Ing lo r lon , t h e leader

of t he Elves , t e l l s hlm: "The wlde world 1s a l l about you. You can fence

In , but you cannot fo reve r fence i t l t h e danger1 o u t . "84

Frodo has chosen t o s u f f e r i n o r d e r t o f r e e t h e world from I t s suff 'e r lng.

and i s not seldom exasperated: " ' I do r e a l l y wish t o des t roy i t ! ' Cr led Frodo.

'Or, we l l , t o have i t des t royed. I am not made f o r p e r i l o u s q u e s t s . 1 wlsh I

had never s een t h e r ing ! Why d i d I t come t o me? Uhy was I ~ h o s e n ? ' " ' ~ Frodo 's

humility i n c o n t r a s t t o t h e presumptlon of t h e classical hero appears c h r l s -

t i an , as a l s o the r o l e played by t h e f e e l i n g of sympathy. Tolklen obviously

wants t o s t r e s s t h l s polnt s l n c e he adopts t he technlque of' f l a sh -back- - thu

only tlme he does s o i n t he book-to br lng out h l s p o l n t . A s Frodo r e f u s e s t o

Kill Gollum when he has Collum under c o n t r o l , he remembers a conversatlori

with Gandalf almost l i k e a v l s ion :

"'What a p i t y Bilbo d i d not s t a b t h e v l l e c r e a t u r e , when he had a chance! '

'P l ty! I t was P l t y t h a t s t ayed h l s hand. P l t y , and Mercy not t o s t r l k e wlttlout

need. '

' I do not f e e l any p i t y f o r Collum. He deserves d e a t h . '

'Deserves dea th ! I daresay he does. Many t h a t l l v e deserve dea th . And some

die t h a t deserve l l v e Can you g ive t h a t t o them? Then be not too eager t o

deal out dea th In t h e name of j u s t l c e , f e a r i n g f o r your own s a f e t y . Even the

Wise cannot s ee a1 l ends . ' "86

This C h r i s t i a n mercy p l ays an lmportant r o l e , s i n c e i t i s Gollum who a t the

end u n l n t e n t l o n a l l y f u l f l l l s F rodo ' s t a s k . This Image of provldence i s

Continued from The Sllmarfllion In the f l r s t speech of I l uva tha r t he c r e a t o r :

"Of t h e theme t h a t I have dec l a red t o you, I w l l l nor t h a t ye make In harmony

together a Great Muslc. And s l n c e I have klndled you wlth the Flame I m p r l -

Shable, ye s h a l l show f o r t h your powers i n adornlng t h l s theme, each wlth h l s

oun thoughts and devices, if he ulll. But 1 will slt and hearken, and be glad

that through you great beauty has teen wakened into song. '87

As Helkor has evil thoughts and thereby dlsturbs the harmony of the music,

lluvatar says:

,'Mighty are the Alnur, and the mightlest among them 1s Helkor; but that he may

know, and all the Ainur, that I am Iluvatar, those thlngs that ye have sung, 1

u~ll show them forth, that ye may see what ye have done. And thou, Melkor.

shalt see that no theme may be played tht hath not Its uttermost source in me.

nor can any alter the muslc in my Jdespite. For he that attemp- teth thls

shdll prove but mlne lnstrument in the devislng of thlngs more wonderful,

vhlch he hlmself hath not imaglned. ""

Hence even the happenlngs that appear to be co-lncldence are all In some

sense pre-ordalned: "...Bilbo was meant to find the Rlng, and not by Its

maker." Helms analyzes the lnternal laws of Middle-earth which we could well

&stme that Tolklen believed to be real and as such appllcatlon to reirllty,

thus :

I11 The cosmos is providentially controlled.

( 2 ) Intention structures result. That Is, Hlddle-earth's mor,al structure

works according to a klnd of 'truth table. ' that a good act1011 wl Lh a good

intent will gave a good result; an evil actlon wlth an evll Intent wlll also

have an ultimately good result. 89

This mlght appear to be too slmple and chlldlsh an ex plan at lor^ of the human

Condition in the present world. But It has more wlth Tolkien's chosen mode ol'

fantasy to do than wlth bellef or disbelief In, or existence or non-existence

Of Providence. Tolklen's problem Is preclsely that of every author who chooscs

a mode that necessitates a happy end. When one conslders the book wl LhouL 1 Ls

happy end. Tolkien's message becomes qulte clear, slncc nowhere I n the

narration is any mention of a protective hand over the hero. Moreover, desplte

� he happy end of the s t o r y , c r l t l c s s t i l l occupy themselves wlth the questlon

ghether the outlook here 1s opt lmlst lc or pesslmlst lc . Tolkien makes c l e a r In

the chapter "Scouring of the Shire" tha t the e v l l has been conquered, but not

banished from the world. Urang, s t i l l speaking of " a p p l l c a b i l l t y , " says of

~ o l k l e n ' s vls lon: "Tolklen's fantasy speaks of the nature of the s truggle

against e v i l , the lnescapabll l ty of involvement, the q u a l l t l e s of heroism, and

the p o s s l b i l i t y of rea l loss In that encounter. I t a l s o declbres the vl i lbi l i ty

of' hope. ,, 90

NOTES AND REFERENCES

I . Biesterfeld. Wolfgang: Die Li terarische Utopic. J. B. Metzlersche

Verlagsbuchhandlung and Carl Poeschel Verlag GmbH, Stuttgirt, Germany,

1982, p. 1-15. Biesterfeld traces the etymology of the term utopla in

England beginning wlth the word eu-topla, the land in which one lives

happily. Since the use of the term utopla to slgnlfy social movements

started with Engels, only the works of the German authors who may have

influenced him have been clted.

The utoplas, thougti vastly different from each other, have one char,actar,

In common: a radical revolt agalnst a rash comprornlse ulth the bad

world-the present is counterposed wlth an ideal future or past. Some take

the motive of dignity, but most take the motive of happiness, Tlle utopia

in essence presents the writer's dream of' a society In whlch marl would bc

happy In a culture without allenatlon, without dehumanization, wltli

freedom and peace, fairness and a feellng of brotherhood. What

characterizes them 1s the anticipatlon, hope, intention of a still nut

realized possibility. What we see in Salnt-Exuwry and Tolklen is an

awareness of the human weakness and a determination arising out of ttiis

knowledge to explore into human strength.The writers of utopia are awn1.e

that the aim of man 1s not pure personal happiness but an awareriess of' tils

sense of being human. Shaw made thls clear in hls Buoyant Blilions. " 1

don't mt to be happy; I want to be a1 lve and active. "

2 Blesterfeld, Wolfgang: Ibid., p. 10, quotes from Lars Custafsson.

In defining utopia, a differentlation between the not-here and the nut-yet

here is seen to be essentlal by many writers, the most Important of them

being H.G. Wells with the terms 'static' and 'kinetic' utopla

3. Allen, Walter: Tradition and Dream, op. cit., p. 260.

1 Petzold, Dleter: l.R.R.Tolklen, Carl Wlnter Vnlverslt&itsverlag,

Heldelberg, 1980, p. 109, quotes Hobley, Jane: "Tovards a det'lnltlon of

Fantasy Fiction," which treats fantasy and myth as one due to thrlr

ability to connect llterature and religion. Hobley sees Lhe t'unctlori-ar~d

also the justification--of both In an avakening of the srnsiblllty for t h e

Nunlnose: "Fantasy flctlon, like myth, preserves and glvus slgnlflca~rce In

the present real lty to the sensatlon of mana or naglc. "

5 Rahv. Philip: Literature and the Sixth Sense, op. cit., p . 205, quotes

Uhltehead.

t j Rahv, Philip: Ibid., p. 206, quotes S.M. Hooke.

7 . Rahv, Phillp: Ibid., p. 206.

8. Rahv, Phlllp: Ibid., p. 206, 207, quotes Langer, Susanne M.

3 Rahv, Philip: Ibid., p. 207-208, quotes Casslrer, Ernst.

10 Rahv. Phi 1 ip: Ibid., p. 210.

1 1 Rahv, Phillp: Ibid.. p. 210-211, quotes Frank, Joseph.

12. Rahv, Phillp: lbld., p. 213.

13 Rahv, Phillp: Ibid., p. 213, quotes Tllllch.

14. Rahv, Phillp: Ibid.. p. 213.

I S Kllby, Clyde S . : "Mythlc and Christian Elements In Tolklen," ln

Hontgomery, John W . led. ) : Myth, A1 legory and Gospel. Penguln Books.

Harmondsuorth, Middiesex, 1974, p. 122.

16. Tolklen, J.R.R.: Tree and Leaf, Unuln Paperbacks, London, 1974, p. 43.

17. Tolklen, J.R.R.: Ibid., p. 66.

18. Petzold, Dleter: J.R.R. Tolklen, op. c l t . , p. 115-116, quotes Erlch Fromm.

19. Tolklen, J.R.R.: Tree and Leaf, op. cit., p. 61.

20. Tolklen, J. R. R. : The Hobbit, Unuln Paperbacks, London, 1937.

The Lord of the Rings. Unwin Paperbacks. London. 1968.

21. Tolklen, J.R.R.: The Lord of the Rings, Ibid., p. 10.

Tolkien. J.R.R.: Tree and Leaf, op. cit., p. 56.

Tolklen, J.R.R. : lbid., p. 54.

Tolklen, J.R.R. : lbid., p. 54.

Tolklen, J.R.R. : lbld., p. 58.

Tolklen, J.R. R. : Ibid., p. 60.

Helms, Randel: Myth. Hagic and Meaning in Tolkien's World. Hougllton

Mifflin Company, Boston, 1974, p. 15.

Tolkien, J.R. R : Tree and Leaf, op, cit., p. 57.

Tolkien, J.R.R : [bid.. p. 68.

Tolkien, J . R R.: Ibid.. p. 71.

Tolkien. J.R.R.: Ibid., p. 68.

Horrlson, Louise D. : J. R. R.Toikien's The Fellowship of the Ring: A

Cri tical Com~entary, Monarch Press, Simon & Schuster, New York, 19'Iti, p.

88, cites Tolklen's letter to Phlllp Norman

Hassan, Ihab: Contemporary Literature in America, op. cit., p. 21; Un p .

85, Hassan says of science fictlon that I t "tends to be prophetic,

visionary in Its invocations of utopla, as well as satlrlcal, m1mator.y 111

Its projections of dystopla. Beneath its peculiar mythopoetics of' hope

lurks some violent unease, expressing, more than a fear of drhunranizat iori,

man's terror of the void, annlhilatlon of his selfhood." And f'urthrr:

"Science flction can be phllosophlcally naive, morally simple.

aesthetlcally willed or crude. Yet, at Its best, i t seems tu touch a ncrvr

of the collective dream, to release some fantasy locked within our

machines. A t its best, it can enlarge the realm of human posslbllltles

Hassan also says, on p. 170, that the concern of wlters In general has

been the endurance of art and man, questions that concern the very nature

of belng, questions which the witers have not ceased to prusue: "Yet such

queries, bouncing off the llmlts of the possible, return In another shape.

. . . Contemporary literature seeks to reaffirm human exislence in what may

be termed a post-humanlst future; . . . "

33 Salnt-Exupery. Antoine de: Lettres B sa &re , Galllmard. Parls, 1955.

54 Saint-Exupery, Antoine de: Preface to Vent se leve by Anne Morrow-1llrdbcr.g

in Un Sens dans la vie, collected and presented by Claude Reynal.

Callimard. Paris. 1956. p. 248.

35 Salnt-Exupkry, Antolne de: Terre des hommes, Calllmard, Parls, 1939, p.

40.

36. Salnt-Exupery. Antoine de: Pilot de guerre, Calllrnard, Par.1~. 1942, p . 6 7 .

"Vlvre, c'est naitre lentement. "

J / Saint-Exupery. Antolne de: The Llttie Prince. Pan Books I.Ld. London. 1374.

First published i r ~ 1945.

38 Salnt-Exupkry, Antoine de: Terre des honmes, op. ci t . , p. 55.

JY Salnt-Exupbry. Antoine de: Lettre A un otage, Gallimard, Paris, 1944

40. Salnt-Exupkry, Antoine de: Preface to Vent se leve, op. cit., p. 249.

41 Salnt-Exupery, Antoine de: Terre des hommes, op, cit., p. Y

;2. Salnt-ExupCry. Antoine de: The Little Prince, op. cit., p. 27-28.

43 Saint-ExupCry, Antoine de: Ibid. , p. 66-67.

44 Saint-ExuHry, Antoine de: Ibid., p . 70.

45. Salnt-Exupkry, Antoine de: Ibid.. p. 74.

46. Salnt-Exupery, Antoine de: Ibid., p. 75.

4 7 . Honin, Yves: L'tsoterisme du Petit Prince de Saint-Exuery, Editions A-L.

Nlzet, Paris, 1976, p. 116.

48. Salnt-Exupery, Antoine de: The Little Prince, op. cit., p. 93.

49. Salnt-Exupkry, Antolne de: Ibid., p. 75, 76.

50. Saint-Exupery, Antolne de: Ibid., p . 74.

$1. knln, Yves: L'Esoterisme du Petlt Prince de Saint-Exupl?ry, op. cit., p.

132.

52. Salnt-fxupery, Antolne de: The Little Prlnce, op. cit.. p. 23-24.

53. Saint-Exupery. Antolne & : Ibid., p. 78.

54. Robbe-Crillet, Alaln: For A New Novel: Essays on Fiction, translated by

Richard Howard. Grove Press, New York, 1965, p. 156.

55. Tolklen, J.R.R. : Beowulf: The Nonsters and the Critics, From the

Proceedings of the British Academy, vol. XXII, London, 1963, p. 20.

56. Morrison. Louise D.: J.R.R.Tolkien's The Fellowship of the Ring, op. cit . p. 9, cites Tolklen.

57. West, R.C.: "The Interlace Structure of The Lord of the Rlngs," in

Lobdell, J. (ed. 1 : A Tolklen Compass, Open Court, Ld Salle, p . 78. Tolklen.

J.R.R. : Tree and Leaf, op, cit.. p. 56, says that It 1s not the wonderful,

but the natural that achieves thls effect: "For creatlve Fantasy 1s

founded upon the hard recognitlon that thlngs are so In the world as i t

appears under the sun; on a recognition of fact, but not slavery to I t . "

58. Tolklen, J. R. H. : The Lord of the Rings, op. ci t . , p . 9.

59. Tolkien, J.H R.. Beowulf, op. cit., p. 20.

60. Carpenter. Humphrey: J. R.R.Tolkien: A Biography, Penguin Books.

Harmondsworth, Middlesex, 1978, p. 133.

61. Carpenter. Humphrey, Ibid., cites Tolkien.

62. Carpenter, Humphrey: Ibld., p. 133.

63. Tolkien, J.R.R.: Beowulf, op. clt., p. 21.

64. Tolklen, J.R.R.: Ibid., p. 20.

65. Tolkien, J.R.R.: The Lord of the Rings, op. cit., p. 100.

66. Tolklen, J.R.R. : The Silnarillion, Unwln Paperbacks, London, 1979, p. 16.

67. Tolklen, J.R.R. : fbid.. p. 19.

68. Urang, Cunnar: Shadows of Heaven: Religion and Fantasy in the Writings of

C. S. Lewis, Charles Yil llams, and J . R. R. Tolklen, PI lgrim Press,

Philadelphia, 1971, p. 102.

69 Orwe1 1, George: Nineteen Eighty-Four. Penguln Books. Harmondsuorth,

Mlddlesex, 1954. p. 214.

70. Petzold, Dieter: J.R.R.Tolkien, op. cit., p. 79.

71. Petzold, Dieter: Ibid.. p. 90.

72. Helms. Randel: Plyth, Plagic and Pleaning in Tolkien's Vorld, op. cit., p 64.

73. Tolkien, J.R.R. : Tree and Leaf, op. cit., p. 173.

74. Tolklen, J.R.R.: The Lord of the Rings, op. cit., p. 113.

75. Tolklen, J . R . R : Beowulf, op, cit., p. 76.

76. Tolkien, J.R.R. : The Lord of the Rings, op, cjt., p. 62.

77 Fuller, Edmund. "The Lord of the Hobbits: J.R. R. Tolkien," In Issacs. N

and Zimbardo. R (eds): Tolkien and the Critics. Unlverslty of' Notre Uarnt,

Press, Notre Dame. 1969, p. 17-39, and Ellwood, Gracln Fay: Cuod Nrws Iroa

Tolkien's Middle Edrth: Two Essdys on the "Applicability" of The Lord of

the Rings, Eerdmans Publlshlng Co., Grand bplds, Mlch., 1970, p. 85-156.

analyze in detail the christ symbolism.

78. Morrison, Louise D . : J.R.R.Tolkienls The Fellowship of the Ring, op. c l t . ,

p. 33, likens Tom to the Good Shepherd.

'19 Tolkien, J. R. R : The Lord of the Rings, op. ci t . , p. 140.

80. Tolkien. J.R.R.: Ibid., p. 186.

81. Tolkien. J.R.R.: Ibld., p. 421.

82. Tolkien, J.R.R.: Ibid.. p. 64.

83. Tolkien. J.R.R.: Ibid., p. 98.

84. Tolklen, J.R.R.: Ibid., p. 97.

85. Tolkien. J.R.R.: Ibid., p. 66.

86. Tolklen, J.R.R.: Ibld., p. 194.

87. Tolklen, J. R. R. : The Silmarillion, op. cit., p. 15.

88. Tolklen. J.R.R. : Ibld., p. 17.

89. Helms, Randel: Myth, Magic and Pleaning in Tolkien's World, op. clt., p. 75

30 Urang, Cunnar: "Tolkien's fantasy: The Phenomenology of Hope, " in

Hlllegas, M . R . (ed. 1 : Shadows of Imagination: The Fantasies of C . S . Lewis,

J.R, R-Tolkien, and Charles Williams, Southern Illlnols University Press,

Carbondale and Edwardsvllle, 1969, p. 100.