Symbolic and Mythic Expression
in J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings

Purpose or Chance

3/15/09

"Our paths cross theirs seldom, by chance or purpose"

-- Gildor to Frodo (Fellowship, p. 94)

There is a supernatural providence in Middle-earth. Look at the words of Gildor the Elf to Frodo.

Gildor laid down that some things happen by chance, while other things happen by design. The lives of Elves and the lives of other Free Peoples of Middle-earth rarely intersected. But when their paths did cross, it was either "by chance or purpose" (Fellowship, p. 94).

The purpose of whom Gildor doesn't say.

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Frodo Set Out Just in Time

11/25/07

"it seems to me that you have set out only just in time, if indeed you are in time"

-- Gildor to Frodo (Fellowship, p. 93)

Supernatural providence finds expression in that Frodo set out in the nick of time when he left the Shire with the Black Riders on his trail.

This idea of supernatural providence does not find graphic expression in any single image. Rather it's woven into the narrative.

The integration of the idea into the narrative is possibly another example of the author layering the story with meaning.

Gildor, the leader of the High-Elves whom the Hobbits ran into earlier, said to Frodo, "it seems to me that you have set out only just in time" (Fellowship, p. 93).

There is even the suggestion that the Hobbits may have been too late. The Hobbits have set out just in time, "if indeed you are in time" (Fellowship, p. 93).

Leaving the Shire is not in itself an expression of supernatural providence. Rather supernatural providence finds expression in the timing of the departure.

The narrative is layered with meaning.

Tolkien was one of the best-selling authors of the twentieth century. This was no mean feat in itself. However, this accomplishment is all the more remarkable when one considers that the author couldn't write.

Ask most college professors of English literature, and they will tell you. So many English professors can't be wrong. Or can they?

Something made Tolkien different. Could part of it have been the way in which he layered his stories with meaning? His stories are not just flat narratives but have dimension.

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Of Planets and Constellations

11/22/07

"slowly above the mists red Borgil rose, glowing like a jewel of fire. Then ... there leaned up, as he climbed over the rim of the world, the Swordsman of the Sky, Menelvagor with his shining belt."

-- Possible references to the planet Mars and constellation Orion (Fellowship, p. 91)

In the imagination of the story, The Lord of the Rings takes place in the distant past of Northwest Europe. The planet earth is therefore part of the world that Tolkien created. Tolkien created his own world, but he put our world in it.

This explains the references to planets in the solar system and to the constellations that we recognize, like the planet Mars and the constellation Orion:

slowly above the mists red Borgil rose, glowing like a jewel of fire. Then ... there leaned up, as he climbed over the rim of the world, the Swordsman of the Sky, Menelvagor with his shining belt (Fellowship, p. 91).

Middle-earth is our world. But it's not just our world. It's our world plus. The planet Earth and the universe are an extension of Middle-earth.

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