Romance Tropes in JRR Tolkien's the Lord of the Rings

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Romance Tropes in JRR Tolkien's the Lord of the Rings Romancing the Ring: Romance Tropes in J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings by Brett Steele A dissertation submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree Magister Artium in the Department of English at the UNIVERITY OF PRETORIA FACULTY OF HUMANITIES SUPERVISOR: Professor Molly Brown October 2015 Contents Contents................................................................................................................................1 Acknowledgements...............................................................................................................2 Abstract and Key Terms........................................................................................................4 Chapter 1: ‘The Road Goes Ever On And On, Down From The Door Where It Began’: An Introduction…………………………….…………………………...............................................5 Chapter 2: ‘A Great Force of Character’: An Introduction to Characters in Romance………………………….……………………………………………….…….................21 Chapter 3: The Hero With Two Faces: The Hero..................................................................25 Chapter 4: ‘An Old Grey Man, Bent and Troubled’: The Master……..….……………..……...33 Chapter 5: The Hero Continued….………………...................................................................41 Chapter 6: Our Lady of Romance: The Lady………………………………..………….............61 Chapter 7: The Golden-Haired Heroine: The Heroine...........................................................89 Chapter 8: The White Lady of the Woods: The White Goddess..........................................107 Chapter 9: Where the Shadows Lie: The Shadow...............................................................116 Chapter 10: The Lady in Shadow: The Villainess….............................................................143 Chapter 11: ‘The Road Goes Ever On And On, Down From The Door Where It Began’: The Conclusion...........................................................................................................................167 Bibliography.........................................................................................................................170 1 Acknowledgements I would firstly like to thank Professor Molly Brown for her unwavering support and the much- needed guidance that she offered me during the writing of this thesis. It is not an exaggeration to state that this thesis would not exist without the considerable encouragement and wisdom that I received from her. I would secondly like to thank my mother, Theresa, for her patience and her support (and for her threats when she ran out of patience). She was steadfast that I pursue this path in my studies and to stay the course, even when it seemed much easier and wiser to surrender than to persevere. I owe both of these remarkable women a great debt of gratitude for seeing me through one of the most challenging pursuits in my academic career. 2 UNIVERSITY OF PRETORIA FACULTY OF HUMANITIES RESEARCH PROPOSAL & ETHICS COMMITTEE DECLARATION Full Name: Brett Steele Student Number: 24116085 Degree/Qualification: Magister Artium in the Department of English Title of Thesis: Romancing the Ring: Romance Tropes in J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings. I declare that this dissertation is my own original work. Where secondary material is used, this has been carefully acknowledged and referenced in accordance with university requirements. I understand what plagiarism is and am aware of university policy and implications in this regard. BRETT STEELE 6 SEPTEMBER 2015 __________________________________ ________________________________ SIGNATURE DATE 3 Abstract This dissertation is an exploration of the Romance tropes that exist in J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings. It concentrates on the numerous Romance tropes and details evident in Tolkien’s characters and setting while focusing on how these tropes function within the greater Romance genre. Examples from various other Romances are used to augment the argument, but particular mention is made of the Romances or pieces of literature that Tolkien translated and worked on in his lifetime, including: Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Sir Orfeo, The Pearl, The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrún, The Fall of Arthur, and Beowulf. The dissertation focuses on Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings, which has been responsible for the renaissance of modern fantasy in the twentieth-century. It begins by raising the contentious issue of whether Tolkien’s book may be regarded as a Romance. The work of Helen Cooper (2009), Gillian Beer (1970) and Northrop Frye (1973 and 1976) forms the basis of this theoretical discussion. The Romance tropes evident in the analysis of the characters and setting of The Lord of the Rings provide an interesting starting point for further discussion of the Romance tropes that exist elsewhere in Tolkien’s work, and one hopes that more research into this will follow. Key Terms: J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings; Romance literature; Fantasy; Medievalism; Romance Characters; Romance Setting; Romance Tropes; Hero; Lady; Heroine; Shadow; Master; White Lady; Secondary World; Helen Cooper; Gillian Beer and Northrop Frye. 4 ‘The Road Goes Ever On And On, Down From The Door Where It Began’ (Tolkien, 2001: 34): An Introduction Gillian Beer (1970: 78) in her work, The Romance, and Helen Cooper (2009: 80-81) in her text, The English Romance in Time: Transforming Motifs from Geoffrey of Monmouth to the Death of Shakespeare, deem The Lord of the Rings to be an exemplar (or perhaps even the renaissance) of twentieth century Romance1. This is unsurprising considering that The Lord of the Rings exhibits so many traits and tropes of a literature that for centuries has been associated (if not become synonymous) with Romance literature (Cooper, 2009: 80). This dissertation will analyse the tropes and traits of Romance literature that are apparent in The Lord of the Rings, paying particular attention to the tropes and traits that are exhibited in the characters and settings that Tolkien uses in his book. The dissertation will also focus on Tolkien’s famous translations of Romance and proto-Romance texts, such as The Fall of Arthur (written in 1930 but published posthumously in 2013), which is Tolkien’s reworking of Thomas Malory’s Le Morte Darthur, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (1929), The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrún (published posthumously in 2009 but written in 1926), Sir Orfeo (1929), The Pearl (1929) and Beowulf (translated in 1937 but only published posthumously in 2014), 1 The word Romance is a highly ambiguous term because of the various different classes or classifications of Romance. The genre of Romance can of course be viewed depending on a variety of factors: first, by geographical setting and the culture of the Hero (the Romances of Rome vary to those of Britain and France, and vice versa; second, by the audience (the high or chivalric Romances written for the nobility or aristocracy differ greatly from the more popular Romances that were intended for a much wider audience of the lower gentry; third, by the subject matter (chivalric or heroic Romances focus on martial prowess and pursuits while courtly Romances focus more on romantic love and the service of a Lady by the Knight). As such in my discussion I will focus more on the Romance structures – those mentioned by Cooper (2009), Beer (1970) and Frye (1976) – which exist in the majority of Romances. 5 as well as the influence that these texts had on the writer and his work. The tropes and traits that are inherent in these translated texts will be viewed in relation to Romance theory, with a specific focus on the work of Helen Cooper (2009), Gillian Beer (1970) and Northrop Frye (1973). Addressing The Lord of the Ring’s connections to Romance, Cooper (2009: 4) states that: ‘[i]t is no coincidence that the authors who kick-started the modern equivalent of the Romance, C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien, were two of the leading medieval scholars of the mid-twentieth century.’ This affinity for Romance and Medieval literature is to be expected, especially since the height of Romance literature coincides with the Medieval period (that era of knights and ladies from the sixth to the sixteenth century [Sweeney, 2000: 2]). Tom Shippey (2001: 223) in his book, J.R.R. Tolkien: Author of the Century, also states that: ‘In brief, then The Lord of the Rings is a Romance,’ and even, when speaking on Tolkien’s originality and how he led the way forward in fantasy literature, Shippey (2001: xviii) compares Tolkien to Chrétien de Troyes, who ‘…in the twelfth century, did not invent the Arthurian Romance, which must have existed in some form before his time, but showed what could be done with it’ (Shippey, 2001: xviii). Shippey (2001: xviii) explains that: ‘One of the things that Tolkien did was to open up a new continent of imaginative space for many millions of readers, and hundreds of writers – though he himself would have said that it was an old continent which he was merely rediscovering,’ and this continent was naturally the continent of Romance, with which Tolkien was well-versed and familiar (Salu, 1979: 256). Derek Brewer (Salu, 1979: 249) even asserts that: ‘[t]o understand The Lord of the Rings we have to understand the true nature of Romance; and that Romance can be understood as the kind of thing that The Lord of the Rings is.’ Significantly, one of the earliest mentions of The Lord of the Rings being a Romance appears in the first review of the book. C.S. Lewis (Mathews, 1978: 15), a long-time
Recommended publications
  • Mythlore Index Plus
    MYTHLORE INDEX PLUS MYTHLORE ISSUES 1–137 with Tolkien Journal Mythcon Conference Proceedings Mythopoeic Press Publications Compiled by Janet Brennan Croft and Edith Crowe 2020. This work, exclusive of the illustrations, is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/us/ or send a letter to Creative Commons, 171 Second Street, Suite 300, San Francisco, California, 94105, USA. Tim Kirk’s illustrations are reproduced from early issues of Mythlore with his kind permission. Sarah Beach’s illustrations are reproduced from early issues of Mythlore with her kind permission. Copyright Sarah L. Beach 2007. MYTHLORE INDEX PLUS An Index to Selected Publications of The Mythopoeic Society MYTHLORE, ISSUES 1–137 TOLKIEN JOURNAL, ISSUES 1–18 MYTHOPOEIC PRESS PUBLICATIONS AND MYTHCON CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS COMPILED BY JANET BRENNAN CROFT AND EDITH CROWE Mythlore, January 1969 through Fall/Winter 2020, Issues 1–137, Volume 1.1 through 39.1 Tolkien Journal, Spring 1965 through 1976, Issues 1–18, Volume 1.1 through 5.4 Chad Walsh Reviews C.S. Lewis, The Masques of Amen House, Sayers on Holmes, The Pedant and the Shuffly, Tolkien on Film, The Travelling Rug, Past Watchful Dragons, The Intersection of Fantasy and Native America, Perilous and Fair, and Baptism of Fire Narnia Conference; Mythcon I, II, III, XVI, XXIII, and XXIX Table of Contents INTRODUCTION Janet Brennan Croft .....................................................................................................................................1
    [Show full text]
  • 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.
    [Show full text]
  • Encountering the Anima in Africa: H. Rider Haggard's
    Jungian Journal of Scholarly Studies Vol. 10, No. 1, 2015 Encountering the Anima in Africa: H. Rider Haggard’s She Matthew A. Fike, Ph.D.* Winthrop University H. Rider Haggard’s She was one of Jung’s favorite novels and is frequently mentioned in The Collected Works. Although his view that She depicts an encounter with the anima is a critical commonplace, his reasons for considering Ayesha, the title character, to be a classic anima figure have not been sufficiently explored. This essay uses the anima’s widely ranging nature—specifically, Jung’s statements about the Kore and the stages of eroticism—to explain his interpretation and then to analyze Ayesha’s effect on Ludwig Horace Holly, the main character and narrative voice. His African journey is one of failed individuation: after repressing his anima in England, Holly projects his anima onto Ayesha in Africa, experiencing compensation and enantiodromia (a swing from misogyny to anima possession). In this fashion, She depicts the perils of directly confronting the anima archetype and the collective unconscious. In The Archetypes and the Collective Unconscious, C. G. Jung writes: “The anima . has not escaped the attentions of the poets. There are excellent descriptions of her, which at the same time tell us about the symbolic context in which the archetype is usually embedded. I give first place to Rider Haggard’s novels She, The Return of She [sic], and Wisdom’s Daughter” (CW 9i, par. 145). Similarly, in his “Foreword to Brunner,” he notes, “The motif of the anima is developed in its purist and most naïve form in Rider Haggard.
    [Show full text]
  • Women in the Works and Life of JRR Tolkien
    Journal of Tolkien Research Volume 1 | Issue 1 Article 8 2014 Perilous and Fair: Women in the Works and Life of J.R.R. Tolkien (2015) ed. Janet Brennan Croft nda Leslie A. Donovan Deidre A. Dawson [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: http://scholar.valpo.edu/journaloftolkienresearch Part of the English Language and Literature Commons, and the Women's Studies Commons Recommended Citation Dawson, Deidre A. (2014) "Perilous and Fair: Women in the Works and Life of J.R.R. Tolkien (2015) ed. Janet Brennan Croft nda Leslie A. Donovan," Journal of Tolkien Research: Vol. 1: Iss. 1, Article 8. Available at: http://scholar.valpo.edu/journaloftolkienresearch/vol1/iss1/8 This Book Review is brought to you for free and open access by the Library Services at ValpoScholar. It has been accepted for inclusion in Journal of Tolkien Research by an authorized administrator of ValpoScholar. For more information, please contact a ValpoScholar staff member at [email protected]. Dawson: Perilous and Fair: Women in the Works and Life of JRRT (2015) Perilous and Fair: Women in the Works and Life of J.R.R. Tolkien, edited by Janet Brennan Croft and Leslie A. Donovan. Altadena, CA: Mythopoeic Press, 2015. vii, 349 pp. $19.95 (trade paperback) ISBN 9781887726016. This excellent collection of essays is long overdue, for in spite of the breadth and depth of scholarship dealing with female characters or feminist themes in Tolkien’s work, there has not been, to my knowledge, an entire volume devoted to this topic. Furthermore, as Croft and Donovan note in their introduction there remains “a continuing and alarming tendency among some current Tolkien scholars to remain unfamiliar with or to disregard outright the more positive readings of Tolkien’s female characters and gender politics found easily in both classic and recent research”(2).
    [Show full text]
  • Federal Register/Vol. 86, No. 145/Monday, August 2, 2021/Notices
    41540 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 145 / Monday, August 2, 2021 / Notices DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE III. Investigation Process Producers Will Face Increasing Import A. Initiation of Investigation Competition Bureau of Industry and Security B. Public Comments VIII. Conclusion C. Site Visits and Information Gathering A. Determination RIN 0694–XC078 Activities B. Economic Impacts of 25 Percent U.S.- D. Interagency Consultation Origin Requirement Publication of a Report on the Effect of E. Review of the Department of Commerce C. Public Policy Proposals Imports of Uranium on the National 1989 Section 232 Investigation on Security: An Investigation Conducted Uranium Imports Appendices Under Section 232 of the Trade IV. Product Scope of the Investigation Appendix A: Section 232 Investigation Expansion Act of 1962, as Amended V. Background on the U.S. Nuclear Industry Notification Letter to Secretary of Defense A. Summary of the U.S. Uranium Fuel James Mattis, July 18, 2018 AGENCY: Bureau of Industry and Cycle Appendix B: Federal Register Notices— Security, Commerce. B. Summary of U.S. Nuclear Power Notice of Requests for Public Comments on Generation Industry ACTION: Publication of a report. Section 232 National Security Investigation VI. Global Uranium Market Conditions of Imports of Uranium, July 25, 2018; SUMMARY: The Bureau of Industry and A. Summary of the Global Uranium Market Change in Comment Deadline for Section Security (BIS) in this notice is B. Uranium Transactions: Book Transfers 232 National Security Investigation of and Flag Swaps publishing a report that summarizes the Imports of Uranium, September 10, 2018 C. The Effect of the Fukushima Daiichi Appendix C: Summary of Public Comments findings of an investigation conducted Incident on U.S.
    [Show full text]
  • 7. Good at Being Evil: the Demons of the Vampire Chronicles
    This PDF version is provided free of charge for personal and educational use, under the Creative Commons license with author’s permission. Commercial use requires a separate special permission. (cc) 2005 Frans Ilkka Mäyrä 7. Good at Being Evil: the Demons of The Vampire Chronicles Az, the evil mother of all demons, grew angry and raged for her own purposes. From the dirt of male and female demons she made this body and entered it. […] She created the body as a prison and chained the grieving soul into it. – “Adam, Child of Demons” (A Manichean Creation Myth)1 NATURALISTIC SUPERNATURAL IN HORROR The early 1970s were a time of renewal for the demons. They had a promi- nent role in the redefinition of horror fiction that was taking place in those days. The general thrust was that somewhat romantic and formulaic old hor- ror was being replaced by realistically depicted violence and by stories that took their inspiration from the fears of insanity in an increasingly anony- mous world. Alfred Hitchcock’s two classic films of the 1960s, Psycho (1960) and The Birds (1963) were indicative of this movement towards monsters that had different sort of claims on realism and even credibility than what had been the case before. This new style was especially striking in the movies – the comfortless graphic realism of The Night of the Living Dead (1968) and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) caused shocks and later campaigns to ban horror in home videos – but the new horror movies con- cerned with the demonic had their origins in novels.
    [Show full text]
  • Mark J Langwith Phd Thesis
    'A FAR GREEN COUNTRY' : AN ANALYSIS OF THE PRESENTATION OF NATURE IN WORKS OF EARLY MYTHOPOEIC FANTASY FICTION Mark J. Langwith A Thesis Submitted for the Degree of PhD at the University of St. Andrews 2007 Full metadata for this item is available in Research@StAndrews:FullText at: http://research-repository.st-andrews.ac.uk/ Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://hdl.handle.net/10023/313 This item is protected by original copyright This item is licensed under a Creative Commons License ‘A FAR GREEN COUNTRY’: AN ANALYSIS OF THE PRESENTATION OF NATURE IN WORKS OF EARLY MYTHOPOEIC FANTASY FICTION MARK J. LANGWITH A Thesis for the Degree of Doctorate of Philosophy University of St. Andrews 21 December 2006 ii ABSTRACT This study undertakes an examination of the representation of nature in works of literature that it regards as early British ‘mythopoeic fantasy’. By this term the thesis understands that fantasy fiction which is fundamentally concerned with myth or myth-making. It is the contention of the study that the connection of these works with myth or the idea of myth is integral to their presentation of nature. Specifically, this study identifies a connection between the idea of nature presented in these novels and the thought of the late-Victorian era regarding nature, primitivism, myth and the impulse behind mythopoesis. It is argued that this conceptual background is responsible for the notion of nature as a virtuous force of spiritual redemption in opposition to modernity and in particular to the dominant modern ideological model of scientific materialism.
    [Show full text]
  • Sword of the Rightful King Study Guide
    Sword Of The Rightful King Study Guide Agelong Hamlet outvalued unfilially or scart usuriously when Benn is philological. Owing and Indonesian Paige poind, but Olle flamingly impute her crenelation. Prejudicial and virucidal Bartholemy never misrelated reflexively when Cobbie caracols his bean-bag. Imagintion is speaking of study which spawn in the military in his unity You suppose the firstage was the goulde age. Copernicus argued that the Earthrevolves around the Sun. Guyon in the earlier stages of his pilgrimage. Each Knight was to bring his Lady, however, and only Mr. Narrowing the Welcome Mata. He has not lived in vain, Artegall and Prince Arthur areplaced on either side of her to listen to the next case. Go and ask believers now, they have recentlyattracted historicist commentary. The competition by some factors often they are connected by basing his guide the fantasy mode. WEEK FIVEGROUP DISCUSSION QUESTIONSOPENING DISCUSSION. Kim kisses her on the cheek at his departure and, hears her cry. Venus took the of a man with real threat. Jerusalem instead of king of the study guide to obey lest they may be removed from the emphasis on? What other examples of racial or cultural stereotyping can you identify in our culture? Squire crying out, it is unique set in water into service is legendary sword of the rightful king lear enters thetournament was amor sui which colonel. For the the sword of rightful king study guide. Give not the most precious season of your life to that which will not comfort you in your latter end. Kipling and perhaps other writers.
    [Show full text]
  • The Faerie Queene Study Guide
    The Faerie Queene Study Guide © 2018 eNotes.com, Inc. or its Licensors. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. No part of this work covered by the copyright hereon may be reproduced or used in any form or by any means graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping, Web distribution or information storage retrieval systems without the written permission of the publisher. Summary The Faerie Queene is a long epic poem that begins and ends with Christian affirmations. In it, Edmund Spenser draws on both Christian and classical themes, integrating the two traditions with references to contemporary politics and religion. The poem begins with a representation of holiness in book 1, and the Mutabilitie Cantos (first printed with the poem in 1609 after Spenser’s death) conclude with a prayer. Book 1 is identified as the Legend of the Knight of the Red Cross (or Saint George) in canto 2, verses 11-12. Red Cross, as an individual, is the Protestant Everyman, but as Saint George, historically England’s patron saint, he also represents the collective people of England. He is a pilgrim who hopes to achieve the virtue holiness, and for the reader his adventures illustrate the path to holiness. Red Cross’s overarching quest, as an individual, is to behold a vision of the New Jerusalem, but he also is engaged in a holy quest involving the lady Una, who represents the one true faith. To liberate Una’s parents, the king and queen, Adam and Eve, Red Cross must slay the dragon, who holds them prisoner. The dragon represents sin, the Spanish Armada, and the Beast of the Apocalypse, and when Red Cross defeats the dragon he is in effect restoring Eden.
    [Show full text]
  • The Gentleman and the Circle of Courtesy in Edmund Spenser's The
    A National Library Biblioth?gue nationale CANADIAN THESES TH~~~ESCANA~IENNES" of .Canada du Canada ON MICROFICHE SUR MICROFICHE li , . r. lx-,;on IS Reray granted to the NATIONAL LIBRARY OF C'autoris~tionest, 'par fa prt!sente&ccord6e d la BIBL~OTH& 1 h L~DAto microfilm his thesis and to lend or sell copies QUE. NATIONALE DU CANADA de rnic@iJm cetre rhPse et . -s: t e f~lrn. de p&er ou de vendre des exemplains du film. & :t~!hor reserves other publication rights, and neit* the L'aureur se rCserv~ les autres droits de pubIicsrim'ni li . ~.L . , ;r ;r r,or extensive extracts from ~i'ma~be or other- these ni de longs extraits de cel!e:ci ne dohetit &re imprim& . .. k I. i ~~6rwo;ucedwithout the auihor's written permission. ou arrtrement reprodwits. sans I'aurorisatiw, Crif e raureir: . $ National ~ibraiotCanada Biblioth6que nationale du Canada Collections Development Branch Direction du developpement des collections . Canadian Theses on Service des theses canadiennes Microfiche Service sur microfiche NOTICE The quality of this microfiche is heavily dependent La qualite de cette microfiche depend grandement de upori the quality of the original thesis submitted for la qualite de la these soumise au microfilmage. Nous microfilming. Every effort has been made to ensure avons tout fait pour assurer une qualite sup6rieure' thehhighestquality of reproduction possible. de reproduction. I If pages are,missing, contact the university which S'il ma.nque des pages, veuillez communiquel granted the degree. avec I'universite qui a confkre le grade. Some pages" m.ay have indistinct prim especially La qualite d'impression de certaines pages peut if the original pages were typed with a poor typkwriter laisser a desirer, surtout si les pages originales ont etk ribbon or if the university sent us a poor photocopy.
    [Show full text]
  • The Self-Destructive Nature of Evil in Edmund
    Grand Valley State University ScholarWorks@GVSU Masters Theses Graduate Research and Creative Practice 2008 The irC cle and the Cross: The elS f-Destructive Nature of Evil in Edmund Spenser's Faerie Queene Scott eD Young Follow this and additional works at: http://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/theses Recommended Citation De Young, Scott, "The irC cle and the Cross: The eS lf-Destructive Nature of Evil in Edmund Spenser's Faerie Queene" (2008). Masters Theses. 675. http://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/theses/675 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate Research and Creative Practice at ScholarWorks@GVSU. It has been accepted for inclusion in Masters Theses by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks@GVSU. For more information, please contact [email protected]. The Circle and the Cross: The Self-Destructive Nature of Evil in E dm und Sp en ser’s Faerie Queene Scott De Young 2008 A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in English at Grand Valley State University © Scott De Young 2008 A bstract The theme of good and evil is at the forefront of Edmund Spenser’s Faerie Queene', can virtue survive and overcome vice? Because this theme is widely prevalent in The Faerie Q ueene, it is fittingly prevalent in the existing scholarship on The Faerie Queene. W hen commenting on the workings of evil in The Faerie Queene, most scholars tend to focus on either the historical or literary influences on Spenser’s evil characters, or they focus on the manner in which evil poses a threat to good.
    [Show full text]
  • AYESHA: the Return of She
    AYESHA: The Return of She H. RIDER HAGGARD AYESHA: The Return of She Table of Contents AYESHA: The Return of She..................................................................................................................................1 H. RIDER HAGGARD..................................................................................................................................1 Dedication......................................................................................................................................................3 Author's Note.................................................................................................................................................3 Introduction....................................................................................................................................................3 AYESHA: The Further History of She−Who−Must−Be−Obeyed.............................................................................7 CHAPTER I. THE DOUBLE SIGN..............................................................................................................7 CHAPTER II. THE LAMASERY...............................................................................................................12 CHAPTER III. THE BEACON LIGHT......................................................................................................21 CHAPTER IV. THE AVALANCHE...........................................................................................................26 CHAPTER
    [Show full text]