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Fawcett, Christina (2014) J.R.R. Tolkien and the morality of monstrosity. PhD thesis. http://theses.gla.ac.uk/4993/ Copyright and moral rights for this thesis are retained by the author A copy can be downloaded for personal non-commercial research or study, without prior permission or charge This thesis cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the Author The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the Author When referring to this work, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given Glasgow Theses Service http://theses.gla.ac.uk/ [email protected] J.R.R. Tolkien and the Morality of Monstrosity Christina Fawcett Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of PhD College of Arts School of Critical Studies English Literature University of Glasgow February 2014 © Christina Fawcett, 2014 ii Abstract This thesis asserts that J.R.R. Tolkien recreates Beowulf for the twentieth century. His 1936 lecture, ‘Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics’ sets the tone not only for twentieth century criticism of the text, but also Tolkien’s own fictional project: creating an imagined world in which ‘new Scripture and old tradition touched and ignited’ (‘B: M&C’ 26). At the core of his analysis of Beowulf, and at the core of his own Middle-earth, are the monsters. He creates creatures that are an ignition of past and present, forming characters that defy allegory and simple moral categorization. To demonstrate the necessity of reading Tolkien’s Middle-earth through the lens of his 1936 lecture, I begin by examining the broad literary source material that Tolkien draws into his creative process. I assert that an understanding of the formation of monstrosity, from classical, Augustinian, late medieval, Renaissance, Restoration and Gothic sources, is fundamental to seeing the complexity, and thus the didactic element, of Tolkien’s monsters. As a medieval scholar and professor, Tolkien’s focus on the educational potential of a text appears in his critical work and is enacted in his fiction. Tolkien takes on a mode of writing categorized as Wisdom Literature: he writes a series of texts that demonstrate the imperative lesson that ‘swa sceal man don’ (so shall man do) found in Beowulf. Tolkien’s fiction takes up this challenge, demonstrating for the reader what a hero must do when faced with the moral and physical challenge of the monster. Monsters are a primarily didactic tool, demonstrating vice and providing challenges for the hero to overcome. Monsters are at the core of Tolkien’s critical reading; it must be at the core of ours. iii Contents Abstract ii Acknowledgements iv List of Abbreviations v Chapter One: Introduction 1 1.1 Tolkien’s Middle-earth: a Modern Beowulf 1 1.2 Definitions 10 1.3 Tolkien and his Critics 16 1.4 Method and Theory 25 Chapter Two: Tolkien and the Critical Landscape 31 2.1 Tolkien’s Critical Project 31 2.2 The Politicization of Beowulf 37 2.3 Textual and Historical Conceptions of the Other 48 2.4 Tolkien and the Language of Monstrosity 56 Chapter Three: Tolkien’s Later Influences 62 3.1 Tolkien’s Reading of Late Medieval Monstrosity and ‘Faerie’ 62 3.2 The Renaissance Monster 70 3.3 The Restoration Monster 79 3.4 The Gothic Monster 81 3.5 Victorian Neomedievalism 90 Chapter Four: The Monsters of Middle-earth 96 4.1 Tolkien’s Framework: Language and Loss 96 4.2 Tolkien’s Monsters 112 4.2.1 Orcs and Goblins 112 4.2.2 Trolls 125 4.2.3 Spiders 131 4.2.4 Dragons 137 4.2.5 Wraiths and Wights 144 4.2.6 Ghosts and the Dead 150 4.2.7 Smeagol/Gollum 154 4.2.8 Dwarves 160 4.3 The Monster Continues 165 Chapter Five: Middle-earth Ignites 167 Works Cited 178 Works Studied 185 iv Acknowledgements My family and friends both near and far have been an unending source of encouragement throughout this degree and I want to express my deepest thanks. You have made the journey easier every step of the way. To my parents for their incredible support of my education in every possible way: your generosity and encouragement has made this degree possible. I am eternally grateful. I have had a great many wonderful teachers and professors over the years who have each shaped me and guided my growth. Brenda Probetts, Jordan Burg, Professor W. John Rempel, Professor David Williams and Professor Robert Finnegan: you have my most heartfelt thanks. To Dr. Robert Maslen and Professor Jeremy Smith: I have loved and loathed you over the course of this degree. You have asked more of me than I thought I could give and shown me the kind of scholar I could be. You have pushed me, challenged me, frustrated me and helped me to grow each day. Thank you for accompanying me on this journey and being my Gandalfs. Lastly, Alan: you have been the backbone of this experience from the first day. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart. v Textual Abbreviations These conventions are from Tolkien Studies 1.1 (2004) vii-viii, augmented with my own abbreviations for commonly used texts in this thesis. ‘Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics.’ The Monsters and the Critics and ‘B: M&C’ Other Essays. Ed. Christopher Tolkien. London: HarperCollins Publishers, 1997. 5-48. Print. Beowulf and the Fight at Finnsburg. Ed. Fr. Klaeber. Third Edition. Lexington, Beowulf MA: D.C. Heath, 1950. Print. ‘Sir Orfeo.’ Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Pearl and Sir Orfeo. New ‘Orfeo’ York: Ballantine Books, 1975. 169-90. Print. ‘Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.’ Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Pearl Gawain and Sir Orfeo. New York: Ballantine Books, 1975. 23-121. Print. ‘Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.’ The Monster and the Critics and Other ‘Gawain’ Essays. Ed. Christopher Tolkien. London: HarperCollins Publishers, 1997. 72- 108. Print. ‘Fairy- ‘On Fairy-stories’ Tolkien on Fairy-stories. Ed. Verlyn Flieger & Douglas stories’ Anderson. London: HarperCollins Publishers, 2008. Print. The Fellowship of the Ring. The Lord of the Rings: Book One. London: FR HarperCollins Publishers, 2001. Print. H The Hobbit. London: HarperCollins Publishers, 1998. Print. The Children of Húrin. Ed. Christopher Tolkien. London: HarperCollins Húrin Publishers, 2007. Print. Index: The Histories of Middle-earth. Ed. Christopher Tolkien. The Histories Index of Middle-earth. London, HarperCollins Publishers, 2002. Print. The War of the Jewels. Ed. Christopher Tolkien. The Histories of Middle-earth. Jewels London: HarperCollins Publishers, 2002. Print. The Lays of Beleriand. Ed. Christopher Tolkien. The Histories of Middle-earth. Lays London: HarperCollins Publishers, 2002. Print. The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien. Humphrey Carpenter, ed. with the assistance of Letters Christopher Tolkien. London: George Allen & Unwin; Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1981. Print. The Lost Road and Other Writings. Ed. Christopher Tolkien. The Histories of Lost Road Middle-earth. London: HarperCollins Publishers, 2002. Print. vi The Book of Lost Tales: Part One. Ed. Christopher Tolkien. The Histories of Lost Tales I Middle-earth. London, HarperCollins Publishers, 2002. Print. The Book of Lost Tales: Part Two. Ed. Christopher Tolkien. The Histories Lost Tales II of Middle-earth. London, HarperCollins Publishers, 2002. Print. Morgoth’s Ring. Ed. Christopher Tolkien. The Histories of Middle-earth. Morgoth London: HarperCollins Publishers, 2002. Print. The Peoples of Middle-earth. Ed. Christopher Tolkien. The Histories of Peoples Middle-earth. London: HarperCollins Publishers, 2002. Print. The Return of the King. The Lord of the Rings: Book Three. London: RK HarperCollins Publishers, 2001. Print. S The Silmarillion. London: HarperCollins Publishers, 1999. Print. Sauron Defeated. Ed. Christopher Tolkien. The Histories of Middle-earth. Sauron London: HarperCollins Publishers, 2002. Print. The Return of the Shadow. Ed. Christopher Tolkien. The Histories of Middle- Shadow earth. London: HarperCollins Publishers, 2002. Print. The Shaping of Middle-earth. Ed. Christopher Tolkien. The Histories of Shaping Middle-earth. London, HarperCollins Publishers, 2002. Print. Smith of Wootton Major. Ed. Verlyn Flieger. London: HarperCollins Smith Publishers, 2005. Print. The Two Towers. The Lord of the Rings: Book Two. London: HarperCollins TT Publishers, 2001. Print. The Treason of Isengard. Ed. Christopher Tolkien. The Histories of Middle- Treason earth. London: HarperCollins Publishers, 2002. Print. UT Unfinished Tales. London: HarperCollins Publishers, 1998. Print. The War of the Ring. Ed. Christopher Tolkien. The Histories of Middle-earth. War London: HarperCollins Publishers, 2002. Print. 1 Chapter One: Introduction 1.1 Tolkien’s Middle-earth: a Modern Beowulf J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth is Beowulf for the twentieth century. Tolkien fashioned a literary world in which elements of past and present ‘touched and ignited’ (‘B: M&C’ 26). Feeling a lack of English myth, Tolkien invented his own mythology of Middle-earth by reaching into deep history and creating a world full of narrative dark matter: the ancient material that gives his twentieth century tales of Middle-earth weight cannot be seen directly, but adds ‘mass’ to the text. One way to analyse the constituents of this hidden ‘mass’ is through his monsters, which are at the centre both of his critical work on Beowulf and of his fictional texts. This thesis, then, begins by asking: what is Tolkien doing with his monsters? Does Tolkien's reading of Beowulf – which recuperated the role of the monsters in the poem after many decades of critical neglect – help us to understand his fiction? This thesis will demonstrate that Tolkien’s monsters are, in fact, one of the chief means by which Tolkien recreates the historical nexus between deep history and modern belief.

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