Volume 6 Number 3 Article 1

6-15-1979

Two Faces Of Eve: Galadriel and Shelob as Anima Figures

Peter Damien Goselin

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Recommended Citation Goselin, Peter Damien (1979) "Two Faces Of Eve: Galadriel and Shelob as Anima Figures," Mythlore: A Journal of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature: Vol. 6 : No. 3 , Article 1. Available at: https://dc.swosu.edu/mythlore/vol6/iss3/1

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Abstract Examines Galadriel as a Jungian anima figure, and Shelob as her opposite, the shadow anima, in The Lord of the Rings. Further, “each characteristic of Galadriel and its perversion in Shelob can be related to the characteristics of the anima.”

Additional Keywords Anima figures in literature; Jungian analysis of Irish mythology; Tolkien, J.R.R.—Characters—Galadriel; Tolkien, J.R.R.—Characters—Shelob; Valerie Protopapas

This article is available in Mythlore: A Journal of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature: https://dc.swosu.edu/mythlore/vol6/iss3/1 Two Faces Of Eve: Galadriel And Shelob As Anima Figures Peter Damien Goselin

That loveliest lady there conservative and clings in the most exasperating fashion to on them glanced with eyes of grey; the ways of earlier humanity. She likes to appear in historic t h a t h e found ever one more fair dress, with a predilection for Greece and Egypt."3 While in sooth might no man say. 1 neither Galadriel nor Shelob wears any outward sign of anti­ quity, their links to the earliest days of Middle-Earth show f r o m Sir Gawain and the Green Knight just such conservative clinging.

Occasionally she (the anima)... unleashes Of all the elves of Middle-Earth in the Third Age, none terrors in us not to be outdone by any is of greater nobility than Galadriel. She is the daughter manifestations of the devil. 2 of Finarfin, who was counted "the fairest, and the most wise of heart"6 of the sons of Finwe, first King of the Noldor in from C.G. Jung's Archetypes of the Aman, the land of the Valar. Only Galadriel, of all the lead­ Unconscious ers of Middle-Earth, is old enough to remember the light of the Two Trees of Valinor, which were destroyed before the From the goddess Isis to the Virgin Mary, the "fair birth of the moon and the sun. queen" or, in psychological terms, the anima, has its mani­ festation in virtually all mythic cycles. Often seen as a But Shelob, too, is of ancient lineage, and of one which link to the supernatural or divine, the anima was described must have once been higher than that of any elf. For she is by Marie-Louise von Franz as a "guide, or mediator, to the "Shelob the Great, last child of Ungoliant."' And of Un­ world within and to the self."3 Under this benevolent as­ goliant it is said in the Quenta Silmarillion that she "des­ pect, the qualities of the anima are those of the mother to cended from the darkness that lies about Arda"8 (the Earth). the child. The anima is seen as noble, beautiful, wise and compassionate. Thus, it would seem that the origin of Ungoliant must have been as a spirit that existed before the Creation, when only "the Ainur, the Holy Ones" existed with Eru. 9 Yet the anima is also ambivalent in its appearance and significance. This female principle takes two forms in the mind of man, and though as the Heavenly Queen or Virgin Great beauty (or great ugliness) is related by Jung in she is benevolent and beneficent, the shadow of the anima, his discussion of the anima to the concept of the "Kalon its opposite or perversion, is represented throughout myths Kagathon, the 'beautiful and the good,' "10 which he says and legends as the witch or "femme fatale." As such she supposes the co-existence of goodness and beauty by neces­ deceives men, promising them heart's delight but leadinq sity. Primitive man, he theorizes, saw an intimate connection them on to ruin. between inner goodness or malice and outward beauty or ugliness. Though Jung goes on to show how man has grown The invented mythology of Professor Tolkien is no out of this idea on the philosophical level, no doubt in dealing exception in its portrayal of the anima and its shadow. In with spiritual beings who take on "appropriate" physical the Quenta Silmarillion it is Elbereth, Queen of the angelic forms, one can see that beauty or its lack is essential in Valar, who is portrayed as an anima figure, while the evil Tolkien's use of the anima. spider-spirit Ungoliant is the anima shadow. One orders the world for the sake of beauty and good, while the other seeks And in Galadriel we find a truly magnificent beauty only the fulfillment of her own lusts at the expense of all even for one of her race. Though all of the Noldorin elves else. are fair (as, indeed, are all of the Eldar), yet in all of the ages of Middle-Earth, few were as fair as Galadriel. Looking But the most developed case of anima and shadow can once again at the Quenta Silmarillion, we read of Galadriel be seen in the characters of Galadriel, "the greatest of that she is "most beautiful of all the house of Finwe; her elven women,"4 and the evil spider Shelob. The Queen of hair was lit with gold as though it had caught in a mesh the Lorien is of high lineage, great beauty, and a wise and radiance of Laurelin."11 compassionate nature, while Shelob, as a spawn of Ungoliant is a perversion of even the ugly spider-shape she carries In Lorien, surrounded by those who had once been and is interested only in using her powers to serve her own enemies of his people, Gimli feels threatened and without hope. ends - deceiving and devouring all who cross her path. Further, each characteristic of Galadriel and its perversion But then he meets the highest of all the Elves in Middle-Earth: in Shelob can be related to the characteristics o f the anima She looked upon Gimli, who sat glowering as noted by Carl Gustav Jung (in his Archetypes of the Un­ and sad, and she smiled. And the Dwarf, conscious) and Marie-Louise von Franz (in Man and His hearing... his own ancient tongue, looked Sym bols). up and met her eyes; and it seemed to him that he looked suddenly into the heart of The lineage or ancestry of the two characters is im­ an enemy and saw there love and under­ portant primarily because of its connection with ideas of standing. Wonder came into his face, and antiquity or even primitiveness. Jung notes "the anima is then he smiled in answer. 16 3 And if such beauty were notable in Aman, where all is fair, so much more beautiful must Galadriel have appeared to the inhabitants of Middle-Earth in the Third Age. In her revelation to the Ringbearer, we read that "She stood before Frodo, seeming now tall beyond measurement, and beautiful beyond enduring, terrible and worshipful."12

Of the ugliness of Shelob, mention need scarcely be made, for simply her spider-shape suggests loathsomeness. But she is described in two passages of the chapter "Shelob's Lair" in Book Four of The Lord of the Rings as having "mon­ strous and abominable eyes" and a "loathly shape... horrible beyond the horror of an evil dream." Shelob is uglier than even the great hunting-spiders of Mirkwood, for she is in the shape of an animal, yet she is animated by a fierce, malicious w ill.1 3

The wisdom and compassion of the anima, or the con­ ceit and manipulatory tricks of its shadow, have their roots in the psychological role which the anima plays. As a link to the supernatural world which is actually the hidden world of man's mind, the anima is a more spiritual form of life with powers and knowledge not given to man or man's ego. When the anima is understood and accepted for what it is, it assumes a benevolent role, hence the coupling of compassion with wisdom. But the refusal of the anima, with its promise of a higher form of life, brings to light its shadow manifesta­ tion, which does not guide but deceives, and which does not act with compassion, but is merciless.

The great wisdom of Galadriel can be seen in her refusal of the One Ring of Sauron. Though Frodo, as the Ring- bearer, offers her the One Ring hoping that she will thus be able to defeat Sauron, Galadriel knows that the ring would only corrupt her to Sauron's will. This act grants her the clemency of the Valar, against whom she revolted in the First Age.l4

A further example of her ability to guide can be seen in her counsel to the members of the Company of the Ring. For Caladriei tells them that she cannot counsel them "saying do this or do that," but can aid them only "in knowing what was and is, and in part also what shall be."15 And by the advice and gifts which she gives to each, Galadriel sets them on their road better prepared both to face trials and hardships, and to escape the traps of Sauron. back; then in Sam's fight with her, the light enters her And although the compassion of Galadriel is evident in wounded head and pains her intolerably; it blinds her and all that she has done to forestall and defeat Sauron - not to causes her to flee in defeat. benefit herself (indeed, the magic ring Nenya which she wears will be destroyed in Sauron's defeat) but to aid all of Whether Galadriel knew when she gave the talisman Middle-Earth - still, the best example of her compassion is that they would be passing thru Cirith Ungoi is not certain; the befriending of Cimli the Dwarf. For though he later certainly she possessed supernormal knowledge, though she became Galadriel's gallant defender, Cimli had formerly held claimed no omniscience. But evidently the providence governing a great distrust of Elves. the events of Middle-Earth intended it.

No difference of race or nation can thus separate two who It is also certain that for Tolkien the power of the have experienced pure spiritual love. bright anima surpasses that of the dark one. Yet the victory of light is not assured: necessary to tip the balance By contrast, Shelob exists for none save herself. are the humble virtues of courage and hope in a small, She is wholly merciless: supposedly insignificant mortal.

and she served none but herself.. .for all Clearly, the role of Galadriel and Shelob in Tolkien's living things were her food, and her mythology is to illuminate the two poles of the female prin­ vomit darkness.. .she.. .only desired ciple. Like the shining angel and the "motherly ghost" death for all others, mind and body, and in C.S. Lewis' The Great Divorce, Galadriel and Shelob for herself a glut of life... 17 are the extremes in the wide spectrum of Spirit and Flesh, Selflessness and Selfishness, and Good and Evil. While This is the anima in its most evil and destructive form, one beckons us on to self-knowledge and Life, the other swallowing up the individual in an ocean of selfishness.18 uses our own desires to lead us onto the first slippery and steep steps to a personal Death and Hell. That Tolkien intended these two figures to be linked in our minds as polar opposites is evident by the function of th e sta r-g la ss. Miade by G aladriel, it held th e light of N o te s Earendil's Silmaril set in the water of her fountain; it was to "be a light to you in dark places, when all other lights 1J.R.R. Tolkien, trans.. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight go out." In Shelob's Lair Sam hears her voice, repeating (Boston, Houghton Mifflin Company, 1975), p. 27 these words, whether in his mind or with his ears we are 2 not told; and he draws out Galadriel's weapon to use against Carl Gustav Jung, The Basic Writings of C.G. Jung, ed . Shelob. Brightened as its holder gathers courage, the star- Violet S. deLaszIo (New York, Random House, 1959),p. 310 glass first disturbs the monster, and causes her to fall 4 Cont'd. on page 28 The Staff O f M ythlore

Express Their Thanks

T o A n d F o r

Nancy-Lou Patterson

On The Occasion Of

H er Fiftieth Birthday

5 September 1979

5 strange. She intentionally confuses Irene. When Irene mind," and we conclude that the grandmother is merely a first meets her, she learns that her grandmother's name is figment of Irene's overactive imagination. After all, the also Irene, and that the grandmother has allowed Irene to grandmother tells Irene that she has been in the tower only have her name. Irene thanks the lady, but the lady replies: as long as Irene has lived in the house. She is Irene's "A name is one of those things one can give away and keep conception of her missing mother, a private creation Irene all the same." Then she tells Irene who she is, Irene's desperately wishes to share, but can't. This is why Curdie "father's mother's father's mother." This confuses Irene, cannot see the grandmother when Irene takes him to the but the grandmother says she expected Irene would not tow er. understand. This same use of paradox and riddle is evident when the grandmother presents Irene with the But there is the fact of the healed wound; there is ball of finely spun spider's thread. She first throws the pigeon that lands on Irene's head in Chapter 10; there is the thread that enables Irene to invert convention and into into the fire and then places it in her cabinet. Irene rescue Curdie; there is Mrs. Peterson's experience with exclaim s: the goblins; and there is Curdie's strange experience while delirious. Hearing goblins breaking into the King's house, "I thought you had spun it for me." Curdie who has been wounded in the leg tries to get out "So I did, my child. And you've got it." of bed. But he is dreaming and his repeated efforts to "No, it's burnt in the fire!" rise are futile. MacDonald clearly states: "in fact he was not awake, only dreamining that he was." His despair "Have I done anything to vex you, grandmother?" mounts until said Irene pitifully. "No, my darling. But you must understand there came, as he thought, a hand upon the lock that no one ever gives anything to another properly of his door. It opened, and, looking up he saw a and really without keeping it. That ball is yours." lady with white hair carrying a silver box in her "But what use can I make of it, if it lies hand, enter the room. She came to his bed, he in your cabinet?" thought, stroked his head and face with cool, soft "That is what I will explain to you. It would hands, took the dressing from his leg, rubbed it be of no use to you - it wouldn't be yours at all with something that smelt like roses, and then if it did not lie in my cabinet." waved her hands over him three times. Strange explanation! And yet MacDonald is serious. Only He falls deeper into sleep and later wakes to find himself by grappling with this kind of problem can Irene learn healthy again. When MacDonald says that Curdie was "only to think independently. This teaching is antithetical to dreaming" he was awake we must take care about reading that of the McChoacumchild school. It asks for both faith this too literally. The awakened condition, in MacDonald and intellectual struggle, faith in the grandmother's good­ as in Blake, is the condition of cleansed perception. ness and intellectual struggle to reconcile the paradoxes. Irene is awake; she sees her grandmother. Lootie is Irene will grow to understand her grandmother's meaning not awake; she cannot see or believe in the grandmother. that our imaginations are useless unless tied to an ideal, Curdie is on his way to this awakened condition, but as a vision; that a unity of mind is necessary for fulfillment. yet he has not reached it. So he dreams, but we remember: "Our life is no dream, but it should and will perhaps This brings us to the final paradox reconciled by become one." The grandmother is both dream and reality, the grandmother: dream and reality. The grandmother, nature and supernature. She reconciles the two. shut away in her tower, appears to offer little that is practical for the reader. She suggests fairy tale escape. Cont'd from page. 4 3 Positivists would see little value in offering her seriously Marie-Louise von Franz, "The Process of Individuation," as a "true" character to children. Fairy godmothers do Man and His Symbols, ed. Carl G. Jung and Marie-Louise not exist; nor do mystic balls of thread that help us out von Franz (New York, Doubleday 8 Company, Inc., 1964) of danger. The grandmother is closer to dream than to reality. Dreams may tell us something about our neuroses, but they are of little practical use unless we can either 4Paul H. Kocher, Master of Middle-Earth (Boston, Houghton explain them away, or find moral truths in them to help Mifflin Company, 1 972), p. 183 us program our lives. Irene can neitherexplain her grand­ 5Ju n g , The Basic Writings, p . 312 mother away, nor extract moral truths from her cryptic remarks. Neither can we if we wish to remain faithful to the spirit of the book. 6J.R.R. Tolkien, The Silmarillion (Boston, Houghton Mifflin Company, 1 977), p. 60 For much of the book Irene worries that her grand­ mother is a dream, and MacDonald hints that Irene's worries 7J.R .R . Tolkien, The Two Towers (New York, Ballantine Books, 1 965), p . 423 have foundation. After her father's first visit Irene con­ 8 cludes that her grandmother is a dream although she "often T olkien, The Silmarillion p . 73 and often wishes that her huge great grandmother had not been a dream." Her next visit to the grandmother follows 9 the accident with the old brooch when Irene cuts herself. T olkien, The Silmarillion p . 15 Her sleep that night is troubled with dreams. Finally she searches for her grandmother "not quite sure that she was 10u n g , The Basic Writings p. 312 not dreaming." She finds her grandmother who heals Irene's hand and ties a handkerchief around the wound. Irene falls asleep on the old lady's lap and wakes in her 11To lk ie n , The Silmarillion p . 61 own bed. How did she get there? Presumably she never 12 left it. But in the morning the handkerchief is gone, the J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship o f the Ring (New York, swelling has disappeared and the pin prick has vanished. B allantine Books, 1965) p . 473 What are we to make of this? But the suggestion of dream 13 T olkien, The Two Towers p . 425 is even stronger after Irene's next visit to her grandmother. This time the grandmother tells Irene of her worries that 14 Irene had all but made up her mind that her grandmother T olkien, The Silmarillion p . 85 was a dream "and no real great-great grandmother." 15 Clearly the grandmother thinks of herself as a reality and T olkien, The Fellowship o f the Ring p . 462 we are not asked to disbelieve her. Again Irene falls asleep in her grandmother's arms. MacDonald then writes: 16 "How long she slept, I do not know. When she came T olkien, The Fellowship o f the Ring p . 461 to herself she was sitting in her own high chair at the nursery table, with her doll's house before her." Again, 17 how did she get there? Even the ring she had received T olkien, The Two Towers pp. 422-423 from her grandmother turns out to have been in her possession for years. By now we remember what Lootie whispered to 18 the other servants, that "the princess was not in her right Marie-Louise von Franz, Man and His Symbols p . 178 28