TOLKIEN‟S THE SILMARILLION: A REEXAMINATION OF PROVIDENCE by David C. Powell A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of The Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts Florida Atlantic University Boca Raton, Florida August 2009 Copyright by David C. Powell ii ABSTRACT Author: David C. Powell Title: Tolkien‟s The Silmarillion: A Reexamination of Providence Institution: Florida Atlantic University Thesis Advisor: Dr. Thomas Martin Degree Master of Arts Year 2009 Christian providence in the primary (real) world operates as the model for the spiritual movement of Eru/Illuvatar in Tolkien‟s secondary (imaginative) world. Paralleling the Christian God, Illuvatar maintains a relationship with his creation through a three-fold activity: preservation, concurrence, and government. Preservation affirms Eru‟s sovereignty as Creator, and concurrence guarantees creaturely freedom, while paradoxically, government controls, guides, and determines those wills in Time. The union of these three activities comprises the providential relationship of Illuvatar in Tolkien‟s imaginary world. The following thesis endeavors to carry the argument for providence into The Silmarillion with a declarative and analytical detail that distinguishes Illuvatar‟s providence from other temporal manifestations. Finally, the analysis reveals not only the author‟s authentic orthodox perspective, but Illuvatar‟s role in the imaginative world emerges as a reflection of Tolkien‟s authorial role in the real world. iv TOLKIEN‟S THE SILMARILLION: A REEXAMINATION OF PROVIDENCE ABBREVIATIONS . .vi INTRODUCTION . 1 CHAPTER ONE: PRESERVATION . 7 CHAPTER TWO: CONCURRENCE . 17 CHAPTER THREE: GOVERNMENT . 50 WORKS CITED . 66 NOTES . .71 v ABBREVIATIONS Aspects “Aspects of the Fall in The Silmarillion.” Eric Schweicher. Mythlore 80, 167-71, 1996. Anthro “The Anthropology of Arda: Creation, Theology, and the Race of Men.” Jonathan Evans. Tolkien the Medievalist. Jane Chance ed. New York: Routledge, 2003. Author J. R. R. Tolkien: Author of the Century. Tom Shippey. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2001. Battle The Battle for Middle-earth: Tolkien’s Divine Design in The Lord of the Rings. Fleming Rutledge. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 2004. Boeth “Providence, Fate, and Chance: Boethian Philosophy in The Lord of the Rings.” Kathleen E. Dubs. Twentieth Century Literature 27, No. 1, Spring, 1981. Catech “Providence and Secondary Causes” in Catechism of the Catholic Church (1997) Power “Power and Meaning in The Lord of the Rings.” Patricia M. Spacks. Tolkien and the Critics: Essays on J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings. Neil D. Isaacs and Rose A. Zimbardo, eds. London: University of Notre Dame, 1968. D J. R. R. Tolkien: Six Decades of Criticism. Judith A. Johnson. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1986. Epic Following Gandalf: Epic Battles and Moral Victories in The Lord of the Rings. Matthew Dickerson. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Brazos Press, 2003. Fire Secret Fire. Stratford Caldecott. London: Darton-Longman-Todd, 2003. vi Five Modern Fantasy: Five Studies. Colin N. Manlove. London: Cambridge University Press, 1975. Gospel The Gospel According to Tolkien. Ralph C. Wood. Louisville, London: Westminster John Knox Press, 2003. Guide A Reader’s Guide to The Silmarillion. Paul Kocher. London: Thames and Hudson, 1980. Phil “Providence and the Dramatic Unity of The Lord of the Rings” in The Lord of the Rings and Philosophy. Gregory Bassham and Eric Bronson eds. Chicago, Illinois: Open Court, 2003. Phys Physics in The Basic Works of Aristotle. Aristotle. Richard McKeon ed. New York: Random House, 2001. IM Interrupted Music: The Making of Tolkien’s Mythology. Verlyn Flieger. Kent State University Press, 2005. Imag. “Tolkien‟s Middle-earth and the Catholic Imagination.” Christopher Garbowski. Mallorn, Volume 41, 9-11, 2003. King King Alfred’s Old English Version of Boethius. W. J. Sedgefield ed. Great Britain: Oxford Clarendon Press, 1899. L The Letters of J. R. R. Tolkien. Humphrey Carpenter, ed. with Christopher Tolkien. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1995. TL Tolkien’s Legendarium: Essays on The History of Middle-earth. Verlyn Flieger and Carl F. Hostetter eds. Westport, Conn. Greenwood Press, 2000. LotR The Lord of the Rings. J. R. R. Tolkien. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2001. Man Tolkien: Man and Myth. Joseph Pearce. San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1998. vii MR Morgoth’s Ring: The Later Silmarillion Part One. Vol. X of The History of Middle-earth. Christopher Tolkien ed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1993. Myth J. R. R. Tolkien’s Sanctifying Myth: Understanding Middle-earth. Bradley Birzer. Wilmington, Delaware: ISI Books, 2002. Nets “Weaving Nets of Gloom: „Darkness Profound‟ in Tolkien and Milton.” Debbie Sly. J. R. R. Tolkien and His Literary Resonances: Views of Middle-earth. George Clark and Daniel Timmons eds. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 2000. PL “Paradise Lost” in The Complete Poetry of John Milton. John T. Shawcross, ed. New York: Anchor-Doubleday, 1963. Power “Power and Meaning in The Lord of the Rings” Patricia M. Spacks. Tolkien and the Critics: Essays on J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings. Neil D. Isaacs and Rose A. Zimbardo eds. London: University of Notre Dame, 1968. QT A Question of Time. Verlyn Flieger. Kent State University Press, 1997. RD Reformed Dogmatics: Set Out and Illustrated from the Sources. Heinrich Heppe. G. T. trans. Thomson and Ernst Bizer ed. London: George Allen & Unwin, 1950. Road The Road to Middle-earth. Tom Shippey. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2003. S The Silmarillion. 2nd ed. J. R. R. Tolkien. New York: Random House, 1977. SL Splintered Light: Logos and Language in Tolkien’s World. Verlyn Flieger. Kent State University Press, 2002. SP The Spirit of Medieval Philosophy. Etienne Gilson. A. H. C. Downes trans. New York: Charles Scribner‟s Sons, 1940. viii Spirit “The Vision of Cosmic Order in the Oxford Mythmakers” in Imagination and the Spirit. Marjorie E. Wright. Charles Huttar ed. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1971. Time An Experiment with Time. 2nd ed. J. W. Dunne. London: A & C Black, 1927. TS Tolkien and the Silmarils. Randel Helms. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1981. TW Tolkien’s World. Randel Helms. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1975. UT Unfinished Tales of Numenor and Middle-earth. Christopher Tolkien ed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1980. Wyrd “Wyrd and Will; Fate, Fatalism, and Free Will in the Northern Elegy and J. R. R. Tolkien.” Mythlore. Steven M. Deyo. 15, 59-62, 1988 ix INTRODUCTION The Silmarillion (S), far less familiar than the The Lord of the Rings (LotR), provides the mythic history for Tolkien‟s world, serving as the backdrop for all of the author‟s Middle-earth literature. This long narrative work begins with Illuvatar/Eru‟s creation Music of the Ainur and ends with the departure of the Ring Bearers at the close of the Third Age, within which the LotR takes place. The work consists of a variety of poetry, annals, and oral histories, moving from sweeping epic scenes of creation in the Ainulindalë to more intimate tales of love and sacrifice like that of Beren and Luthien. Indeed, Christopher Tolkien remarks that his father intended the work to represent a compendium of oral and literary traditions within Middle-earth. Though especially loved by its author, The Silmarillion was posthumously published in 1977. Occupying over fifty years of the author‟s life, the complexity of the work presented a number of problems; hence, Christopher Tolkien remarks that “a complete consistency is not to be looked for” (S viii). Working to construct an internally-sound story, he notes inconsistencies in the narrative speed and differences in details from one section to the next. Moreover, he notices “some lack of cohesion” in many aspects including tone and tense within the legends. The vast wealth of place-names and characters alone often adds to the reader‟s confusion, but a composition of this length naturally reflects many changes in Tolkien‟s life. Within the scope of the narrative, Christopher remarks that his father‟s most beloved work reflects a growing preoccupation with philosophical and theological elements later in life.1 1 Tolkien‟s religious interests are familiar to many, and they are intimated in his first successful fantasy work. In The Hobbit, Gandalf asks Bilbo: “Surely you don‟t disbelieve the prophesies, because you had a hand in bringing them about? You don‟t really suppose, do you, that all your adventures and escapes were managed by mere luck, just for your sole benefit?” (286). Gandalf‟s friendly admonition to Bilbo indicates another force at work. The wizard‟s conspicuous use of “prophesies” clearly suggests some manner of predetermining power in play. Moreover, while Gandalf disparages the notion of “mere luck,” he acknowledges the series of events surrounding Bilbo‟s adventures were actually “managed” by something. As a result, many have examined and expounded on the active divinity throughout his later works. Tolkien‟s thoughts reveal the significance of the religious element within the myth. In a letter to Father Murray, a close friend of the Tolkien family and grandson of Sir James Murray, Tolkien writes that “The Lord of the Rings is of course a fundamentally religious and Catholic work; unconsciously so at first, but consciously in the revision” (L 142).2 Yet, part of the appeal of Tolkien‟s writing comes from the fact that he expressly removes indicators and references to institutional religion so the work remains theologically orthodox; hence, Tolkien remarks: “That is why I have not put in, or have cut out, practically all references to anything like „religion,‟ to cults or practices, in the imaginary world. For the religious element is absorbed in the story and the symbolism” (L 142). Tolkien proceeds to complement the Incarnation myth he believed in by locating his own fantasy in a mythic time prior to the Christian one; therefore, Tolkien‟s story becomes an extension of the true myth in Scripture.3 That Tolkien‟s Middle-earth works are predominately Catholic in nature comes as no surprise to most; 2 however, the question of providential authority and free will continues to stir discussion in contemporary criticism.