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Department of English and American Studies English Language And Masaryk University Faculty of Arts Department of English and American Studies English Language and Literature Nikola Weiglová Religion and Life after Death in J.K. Rowling and J.R.R. Tolkien: A Comparison Bachelor’s Diploma Thesis Supervisor: prof. Mgr. Milada Franková, CSc., M.A. 2017 I declare that I have worked on this thesis independently, using only the primary and secondary sources listed in the bibliography. …………………………………………….. Author’s signature 2 I would like to thank my supervisor, prof. Mgr. Milada Franková, CSc., M.A., for allowing me to do something I really love and her guidance while doing so. Also, I wish to thank my mother and partner Martin for their endless support. 3 Table of Contents Introduction ................................................................................................................. 5 1. The Catholic Myth of the Middle-earth ............................................................. 7 1.1. The Life of J.R.R. Tolkien ................................................................................. 7 1.2. Mythological Concept of Tolkien’s Books ....................................................... 9 1.2.1. Ilúvatar as a figure of God .......................................................................... 9 1.2.2. The Angel Figures .................................................................................... 12 1.2.3. Morgoth as Satan figure ............................................................................ 13 1.3. Visions of Heaven ........................................................................................... 16 1.3.1. Valinor ...................................................................................................... 16 1.3.2. Circles out of the world ............................................................................ 17 1.4. Life after death ................................................................................................. 19 1.4.1. The Ringwraiths ........................................................................................ 19 1.4.2. The Oathbreakers ...................................................................................... 21 1.4.3. Barrow-wights .......................................................................................... 22 1.5. The Christ figures ............................................................................................ 24 1.5.1. Frodo Baggins ........................................................................................... 24 1.5.2. Samwise Gangee ....................................................................................... 25 1.5.3. Aragorn ..................................................................................................... 26 1.5.4. Gandalf ...................................................................................................... 27 2. Christian Myth in the Harry Potter series ....................................................... 29 2.1. The Life of J. K. Rowling ................................................................................ 29 2.2. Vision of Heaven ............................................................................................. 31 2.3. Christ and Satan figures ................................................................................... 33 2.3.1. Harry Potter ............................................................................................... 33 2.3.2. Lily and James Potter ................................................................................ 34 2.3.3. Albus Dumbledore .................................................................................... 35 2.3.4. Lord Voldemort ........................................................................................ 37 Comparison and Conclusion ..................................................................................... 40 Works cited ............................................................................................................... 44 Abstract in English.................................................................................................... 46 Abstract in Czech ...................................................................................................... 47 4 Introduction If one believes that the book is a reflection of the author’s mind then it seems only natural that even the religious belief will be projected in the story as well. Religion and its imprints often seem to be some kind of added value to the story – one can read the book without noticing it and enjoy it still, but those who read between the lines may discover the whole new level of the story. This applies to the works of both J.K. Rowling and J.R.R. Tolkien who are known to be Christian authors. The purpose of this thesis is to analyse the topic of the religion and afterlife in the works of J.K. Rowling (focusing mainly on the Harry Potter series) and works of J.R.R. Tolkien (especially The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion) and subsequently compare these findings. As far as the organization of this thesis is concerned, the first chapter deals with the Tolkien’s part of the thesis. The first subchapter focuses on the JRRT’s life and upbringing in connection to faith in order to prove that his writings were remarkably influenced by Catholicism. Yet, he perceived his works differently to his critics – not as an allegory or completely made-up story, but as a myth that God has revealed him. The second subchapter strives to find similarities between Tolkien’s creation myth and the biblical one. Special focus is put on the character of Ilúvatar (God’s representative), the hierarchy of Ainur (in the places of angels) and the character of Melkor (reflection of Lucifer and later Satan figure). The third subchapter centres round places where the dead go – the vision of heaven for elf-kind, men and dwarves. The forth subchapter, similarly to the preceding one, deals with the dead, but only those, who, for different reasons, are not able to leave the Arda - such as Ring-wraiths, Barrow-wights and Oath breakers. The very last subchapter of the Tolkien’s part of the thesis concentrates on analysing characters from The Lord of the Rings who bear Christ-like traits; namely it 5 deals with Frodo Baggins, Samwise Gamgee, Aragorn and Gandalf in whom the parallels to the life of Jesus are pronounced the most. Second chapter of the thesis is devoted to the religion and afterlife in J.K. Rowling’s writings. The division of subchapters is designed to follow the same order as the previous chapter – the life of JKR and the influence of her belief on her works are debated in the first subchapter. Since Rowling did not create fictitious world to put the Hogwarts School in it, there is no mythological concept to discuss and therefore the second subchapter of JKR’s part of thesis is dedicated to the vision of heaven (mostly based on Harry Potter and Deathly Hallows). In the next subchapter the attention shifts to the forms of life after death besides the heaven – to ghosts of Hogwarts, paintings of the headmasters and results of necromancy – the Inferi. Because of the non-existing mythological concept of her works (in comparison to Tolkien), the character of Lord Voldemort, who is representing the ultimate evil is compared to Satan is the forth subchapter together with his opposites – the characters resembling the Christ (specifically Lily and James Potter, their son Harry Potter and Albus Dumbledore). The conclusion of the thesis serves as the actual comparison of the Christian parallels shared by both authors, who are being discussed in the thesis, and as the summary of the most important findings on the topic of religion and after-life in their works. The main reason for uniting these two parts of the thesis is that since their content is very similar (even though one part described in details and one in general), reading it twice in very short time does seem quite pointless. 6 1. The Catholic Myth of the Middle-earth 1.1. The Life of J.R.R. Tolkien John Ronald Reuel Tolkien was born on January 3rd, 1892 in Bloemfontein as an older son to the English parents seeking better job opportunities in South Africa. When John was three years old, the whole family (except for boy’s father Arthur) travelled back to England for a family visit, but soon after their departure Arthur died and family had never returned back. Despite the financial help provided by Mabel’s family, the Tolkiens had to move a lot, constantly trying to escape the poverty. As John reached the age of eight, Mabel was received into the Roman Catholic Church – decision, which subsequently caused the Tolkiens to lose the little money that Mabel’s family supported them with (as Mabel’s family members disapproved with her convention - being Methodists themselves). However, soon after John’s First Communion Mabel’s health quickly worsened as she was diagnosed with diabetes. Worn by poverty and emotional strain, her death quickly followed and the brothers became wards of Mabel’s old friend – Catholic father Francis Morgan. He took over providing orphans with support both financial and more importantly spiritual. Partly living in Oratory and serving Mass every morning, Tolkien set off on path of Christianity and never looked back. Joseph Pierce further explains Tolkien’s belief in Tolkien: Man and Myth: “For Tolkien, Catholicism was not an opinion to which one subscribed but a reality to which one submitted. Quite simply, and pseudo-psychology
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