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Reimagining Tolkien: a Post-Colonial Perspective on the Lord of the Rings

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Reimagining Tolkien: a Post-Colonial Perspective on the Lord of the Rings Reimagining Tolkien: A Post-colonial Perspective on The Lord of the Rings Name: Louise Liebherr Award: PhD. Mary Immaculate College, University of Limerick Supervisor: Dr. John McDonagh Submitted to University of Limerick July 2012 i Declaration: I hereby declare that this thesis represents my own work and has not been submitted, in whole or in part, by me or any other person, for the purpose of obtaining any other qualification. Signed: __________________________________ Date: __________________________________ ii Dedication To my boyfriend Niall and my parents Michelle and Louis, the people who have most directly had to endure the wide range of emotions that this undertaking has subjected me to. iii Abstract This thesis analyses J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings from a post-colonial perspective. An Oxford don and philologist, who was born in Bloemfontein, South Africa but spent the majority of his life in Britain, Tolkien is best known amongst the general reading public for being the author of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, although he also published a number of other texts during his lifetime. The primary aim of this project is to conduct a close textual examination of Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings in light of twentieth century post-colonial concerns regarding the representation of the Other, Orientalism, language and the environment. By approaching his text in this way, it will be possible to ascertain whether or not Tolkien utilises some of the issues which arise in his text in such a way that they engage with the concerns raised by twentieth century post-colonial theorists, a feat which would determine whether or not The Lord of the Rings can be seen to function as a twentieth century post-colonial critique of colonial attitudes and ideas. In conjunction with this central aim, this thesis will also endeavour to challenge the often cited belief that The Lord of the Rings and texts which utilise fantastical elements in their narrative/fantasy fiction as a whole have little more to offer readers other than an escape into a mythical realm, as by undertaking a post-colonial analysis of Tolkien’s text, it will be possible to demonstrate not only the relevance of this approach to the text, but also the fact that Tolkien uses The Lord of the Rings as a device through which he can engage with some of the central concerns of the period in which it was written. However, even though The Lord of the Rings is the main focus of this study, in order to ensure that this investigation is as extensive as possible, it will be necessary, on occasion, to utilise information garnered from The Silmarillion and The Hobbit, as both of these texts recount events prior to but related to the events that occur in The Lord of the Rings. In addition, it will also be necessary to draw upon the work of post-colonial scholars such as Trinh T. Minh-ha, Edward Said, Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o and Val Plumwood. iv The arguments of Tzvetan Todorov and Chinua Achebe will be drawn upon as well. Therefore, the overall argument made in this thesis is that even though Tolkien utilises fantastical elements in his text, The Lord of the Rings is a text which ‘is replete with themes that directly pertain to discourses involving Orientalism and postcolonial concerns ...’ (Winegar 2005, p.1), and as such, should be viewed as a product of both Tolkien’s personal experiences and the timescale in which it was written. v Acknowledgements Many thanks to Dr. John McDonagh, as without his help, guidance and support, this thesis would never have come to pass. Thanks also to all of my family and friends for the countless ways in which they expressed their support to me throughout the past three years. To my sister, Emma, and brother, Karl, who continuously expressed an interest in how this undertaking was progressing. To Colette, whose interest in my progress and well-being has never dwindled, and who never said no when I needed her credit card to purchase resources. To my father, Louis, and my mother, Michelle, whose love and support over the last three years has been unwavering and never-ending. To my boyfriend, Niall, who amongst other reasons which he already knows, helps keep me going on a daily basis. vi Table of Contents Declaration …...……………………………………………………...……..……………. ii Dedication .………………………………………………………………….…………… iii Abstract ……………………………………………………………………….....………. iv Acknowledgements …………...………………………………………………..………... vi Table of Contents ………………………………………………………………..………. vii Notes and Abbreviations ……………………...…………………………………...…….. x Publication Note ……………………....……………………………………………..….. xii General Introduction …………………………………………………………………...... 1 Chapter One Post-colonial Theory and Tolkien’s Life ……………………………………………… 10 1.1 Introduction ………………………………………………………………………….. 10 1.2 Post-colonial theory: its main concerns …………………………………………..…. 15 1.3 Tolkien’s early life ………………………………………………………………..…. 27 1.4 Tolkien’s experience of othering ……………………………………………………. 36 1.5 Tolkien the philologist ………………………………………………………………. 41 1.6 Tolkien’s retirement, and the legacy of The Lord of the Rings ……………………... 44 1.7 Conclusion …………………………………………………………………………... 53 Chapter Two Representation in The Lord of the Rings ……………………………………………… 55 2.1 Introduction …………………………………………………………………….……. 55 2.2 Bilbo Baggins: The interior Other in The Lord of the Rings ………………………... 60 2.3 Frodo Baggins: The interior Other in The Lord of the Rings ……………………….. 67 2.4 The West versus the East ……………………………………………………………. 74 2.5 Exterior othering within the West …………………………………………………… 86 2.6 The One Ring: aligning difference …………………………………………..……… 95 2.7 Conclusion …………………………………………………………………………... 98 vii Chapter Three Tolkien the Orientalist? ……………………………………………………………….. 101 3.1 Introduction ………………………………………………………………………….. 101 3.2 Differentiating between the East and the West ……………………………………… 104 3.3 Derogatory terms and The Lord of the Rings ……………………………………..…. 126 3.4 The East in Middle-earth: creator of fear or victim of control? …………………...... 134 3.5 Literary influence versus empirical evidence ……………………………….………. 138 3.6 Conclusion …………………………………………………………………………... 162 Chapter Four Language as a Post-colonial Concern ………………………………..……………….. 166 4.1 Introduction ………………………………………………………………………….. 166 4.2 The post-colonial stance ……………………………………………………….……. 170 4.3 The languages of Middle-earth ………………………………………………….…... 180 4.4 Language as a barrier to the Other ……………………………………………….….. 193 4.5 Refusal to use a language as a process of othering ………………………………….. 198 4.6 The relevance of written literature and orature ……………………………………… 205 4.7 The relevance of names and naming ………………………………………………... 217 4.8 Conclusion …………………………………………………………………………... 229 Chapter Five The Relationship between Humanity and the Natural World ………………………. 232 5.1 Introduction ………………………………………………………………………….. 232 5.2 Nature as an entity which reflects post-colonial concerns within The Lord of the Rings …………………………………………………………………..………………… 241 5.3 Saruman and modernity ……………………………………………………………... 251 5.4 The Ents and their response to Saruman’s actions ………………………………...... 259 5.5 The semi-industrialisation of the Shire ………………………………………….…... 264 5.6 Saruman and his revenge narrative against the Shire ……………………………….. 272 viii 5.7 Cleansing the Shire ………………………………………………………………….. 279 5.8 Conclusion …………………………………………………………………………... 282 General Conclusion ……………………………………………………………………. 285 Bibliography ……………………………………………………………………………. 296 ix Notes and Abbreviations 1. The following is a list of Tolkien’s texts mentioned in this thesis, giving the name of their first publication, the edition used, and the abbreviated names here employed. Abbreviations will be used where it is appropriate to do so; sometimes however, mentioning the texts’ full title is necessary: 1. The Fellowship of the Ring: Being the first part of The Lord of the Rings, first published by George Allen & Unwin in 1954, edition used here is: Harper Collins, 1994. Abbreviations with regards to this volume will appear as FotR. 2. The Two Towers: Being the second part of The Lord of the Rings, first published by George Allen & Unwin in 1954, edition used here is: Harper Collins, 1994. Abbreviations with regards to this volume will appear as TTT. 3. The Return of the King: Being the third part of The Lord of the Rings, by George Allen & Unwin in 1955, edition used here is: Harper Collins, 1994. Abbreviations with regards to this volume will appear as RotK. 4. The Hobbit: or There and Back Again, first published by George Allen & Unwin in 1937, edition used here is: Harper Collins, 1999. This edition has been edited by Christopher Tolkien. Abbreviations with regards to this volume will appear as The Hobbit. 2. Please note that, as The Lord of the Rings is the overall title which Tolkien bestowed upon the text, which the three volumes The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers and The Return of the King comprise, this title will be employed in the thesis where reference is made to the text as a whole. Consequently, abbreviations with regards to the overall title of the text, The Lord of the Rings, will appear as LotR. 3. Please note also that while the list of bibliographical references is for the most part compiled alphabetically by author’s name, then chronologically by the publication year of the edition of the text being used, and then alphabetically in reference to the title of the text, the decision has been taken to amend this slightly in relation to the three volumes which comprise the text of The Lord of the Rings, as rather
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