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View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Texas A&M Repository THE SERVANT OF DARKNESS A Thesis by CALEB JOSEPH MULLINS Submitted to the Office of Graduate and Professional Studies of Texas A&M University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS Chair of Committee, Jennifer Wollock Committee Members, William B. Clark Tim McLaughlin Head of Department, Maura Ives August 2016 Major Subject: English Copyright 2016 Caleb Joseph Mullins ABSTRACT This work of creative fiction with a critical introduction has been written as a defense and culmination of my studies of Medieval Literature and creative writing at Texas A&M University. The critical introduction analyzes the history and purpose of fanfiction, the inspiration for my writing, and attempts to dialogue with the works and thoughts of J. R. R. Tolkien within the world he created in the genre of fantasy fiction. The story focuses on a villainous protagonist in Tolkien’s Middle Earth with the intent of demonstrating theological points such as the purpose of evil, reprobation, and predestination. ii DEDICATION To the Memory of Tamara Berry, 1955-2014 iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Special thanks to Dr. Livia Stoenescu, Dr. James Hannah, Dr. Robert Boenig, and my family and colleagues- Sarah Mullins, Cora Mullins, Jeffery Mullins, Dr. Richard Williamson, and Victor DeBonis. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ABSTRACT……………………………………………………………………………...ii DEDICATION…………………………………………………………………………..iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS……………………………………………………………...iv TABLE OF CONTENTS………………………………………………………………...v INTRODUCTION………………………………………………………………………..1 Of Fanfiction and Orcs, and Why a Creative Work…………………………………...2 Thesis Influences: Medieval Literature, Fantasy, Theology, and the Grotesque……...5 The Thesis as a Critical Response: Tolkien’s Catholicism, my Protestantism……….11 THE SERVANT OF DARKNESS……………………………………………………...16 Prologue………………………………………………………………………………17 Chapter 1……………………………………………………………………………...30 Chapter 2 Eleven Years Ago…………………………………………………………46 Chapter 3……………………………………………………………………………...55 Chapter 4 Five Years Ago.…………………………………………………………...67 Chapter 5……………………………………………………………………………...82 Chapter 6……………………………………………………………………………...96 Chapter 7…………………………………………………………………………….111 Chapter 8…………………………………………………………………………….118 Chapter 9…………………………………………………………………………….129 Chapter 10 Five Days Later…….…………………………………………………...133 Chapter 11…………………………………………………………………………...147 Chapter 12…………………………………………………………………………...157 Epilogue……………………………………………………………………………..176 SUMMARY……………………………………………………………………………182 WORKS CITED……………………………………………………………………….184 Works Consulted……………………………………………………………………185 v INTRODUCTION Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use? What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory—even us whom he has called, not from the Jews only but the also the Gentiles? -St. Paul, Romans 9:21-24 (English Standard Version) The Servant of Darkness is a work of fantasy fiction which encompasses both my studies of Medieval Literature, and my experience and interaction with creative writing. Likewise, this work marks a pause in my academic journey, and concludes my studies at Texas A&M University. In this introduction, I intend to communicate the place and purpose of fanfiction in literature, my own literary influences, and why I chose a creative work rather than the traditional approach. The Servant of Darkness is not the first story I have written. The intent of my other works was none other than to keep my readers turning the page. By contrast, this thesis is the first story I have written with dual intent: not only to create an engaging story, but to make a strong apology for a position which has been debated for centuries. This story can be thought of as an analogy of sorts. Using Tolkien’s Middle Earth, the work’s purpose is to address certain aspects which the author incorporated into the framework of the story by use of demonstration. It is not an attempt to revamp what he created, but to introduce characters which adhere to the author’s vision of Middle Earth. 1 In this way, the protagonist whom I have created is a medium by which I dialogue with Tolkien and his theological ideals. This analogous story which seeks to demonstrate in- depth concepts is certainly not perfect. Since the work is set in Tolkien’s world, I abide by the rules, boundaries, and limitations which the author has set. This is partially the reason why the analogy is imperfect, the other reason being that there appears to be no such thing as perfect analogies. Despite these limitations, I wrote The Servant of Darkness in hope that it will aid my readers in grasping the theology of predestination in such a way that it is easy to comprehend, and enlightening. Of Fanfiction and Orcs, and Why a Creative Work Perhaps one of the most controversial forms of writing is fanfiction. With the advent of the internet, this form of writing has become more prevalent. Popular franchises have spawned a number of books, films, games, and adaptations created by admirers. The thing which makes this writing so controversial is a question of ethics. Intellectual property, especially in Western culture, is a well-held principle. For an aspiring author to undertake a work of fanfiction is a task which carries much risk. According to Henry Jenkins, “These questions of ethics also impact fans at the intersection of academia and fandom, as fans must choose whether to make their creative work visible and available, risking not only academic exposure, but also legal question,” (343). Many authors consider such works to be plagiarism, which is a serious offense for writers. With such risks, why write fanfiction at all? Why take such a risk to reputation and authorial credibility? My answer is threefold in nature. 2 The author of a piece of fanfiction first must come to terms with the intent of the work. The default intent of those who engage in fanfiction is generally not malicious. As the name implies, the “fan” in fanfiction refers to the author who is also an admirer of the work which he or she is engaging. The purpose is not to overturn or devalue the original work’s framework, but to pay tribute to the author admired. As an unspoken rule of aspiring fanfiction writers, the purpose of the new work is usually to build upon the author’s original work by introducing new conceptions of the genre and characters that fit within the framework of existing materials rather that ignore, or reject, them (Jenkins 160). When thinking of fanfiction as a tribute, this notion is directly related to its purpose. As an author writes an original work, there are almost always some details which spark the interest of the reader other than the obvious materials, something like an obscure character or an event which gets only a brief mention in the story. This curiosity with seemingly less than significant details is what then drives fanfiction writers to compose a work which satisfies the curiosity of fans, yet is completely compatible with the world which the author has constructed. Due to the tributary nature of fanfiction and the satisfactory appeal it contains, there is another aspect of fanfiction which seeks a more challenging purpose. This other purpose is to interact with the ideals of the authors themselves, which is what I strive to do with The Servant of Darkness. Authors often place their strongest sentiments into their works, and Tolkien is certainly no different in this respect. Tolkien’s colleague C.S. Lewis wrote a curious work entitled The Pilgrim’s Regress. The title and the work itself are very similar to an older work, and this is certainly of no coincidence. John Bunyan’s 3 The Pilgrim’s Progress was Lewis’ primary influence for this story. In a letter to his publisher, Lewis described the novel as “a kind of Bunyan up to date” (McGrath 169). Did Lewis view his work as plagiarism since it was obviously heavily borrowed from Bunyan? No, he did not. Bunyan was obviously an influence on Lewis in both his life, and his writing. By creating a work which heavily mirrored Bunyan’s, he was not attempting to rewrite the story better, but to create a “what if” experiment with Bunyan’s tale as a starting point. Lewis’ curiosity was to speculate how certain elements not addressed in the original story would unfold. Bunyan died hundreds of years before Lewis’ time, and The Pilgrim’s Regress was a way to have a theoretical dialogue with Bunyan by interacting with the framework of his story. In my own fanfiction which I have presented as my thesis, this was my exact intent when interacting with the works of Tolkien. By creating characters who adhere to the boundaries he determined in his works, I aim to explore certain concepts and demonstrate how they would work in Middle Earth. Although the majority of characters I have created are original, there is something to be said about casting an orc as the protagonist. One of the aforementioned risks in fanfiction is copyright infringement. The fanfiction writer treads a fine line between tribute and plagiarism, so naturally, orcs are questionable. Even though the word “orc” appears first in Tolkien’s works, the type of creatures they are is not original. In The Hobbit, orcs are called by a more commonly recognized term, “goblins” (Tolkien 5). This means that their origins transcend Tolkien, and reach into centuries of human folklore. The aforementioned term, “orc”, is also not without its origin in the distant 4 past. Tolkien seems to have borrowed the word “orc” from the Anglo-Saxon term for evil spirits, “orcneas”, which appears in the text of Beowulf (112). In recent years, orcs have become common characters in the fantasy genre, and they also appear in numerous role-playing games.

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