2023-12-31 10:00:32
In 1953, the writer JRR Tolkien (1892-1973) prepared to publish The Lord of the Rings. This fantastic saga, to which he devoted more than ten years of work, features elves, knights and small characters called “Hobbits”, but also evil forces of all kinds, from black horsemen to hideous orcs, through an evil sorcerer and, of course, Sauron, the fearsome enemy of the various peoples of Middle-earth. Before its publication, the manuscript circulates among relatives and friends, who comment on it in return. Among them, the English Jesuit Robert Murray (1925-2018) notably detects a biblical influence.
JRR Tolkien in 1967 and English edition of “The Lord of the Rings”. AP
« The Lord of the Rings is of course a fundamentally religious and Catholic workTolkien then replied in a letter. Unconsciously at first, then consciously when I reworked it. » Following the success of this world-work, published between 1954 and 1955, this little sentence was widely cited in Christian magazines and by Catholic exegetes, making its author a discreet apologist for the Church. Even today, when 2023 marked the 50th anniversary of Tolkien’s death, new publications abound in this direction.
« The Lord of the Rings, and by extension Tolkien’s mythology, is a catechetical worksays the Spanish essayist Diego Blanco Albarova in a book published this summer (An unexpected path. The sum on TolkienCerf, 376 pages, 20 euros). It contains in its pages the explicit announcement of the Gospel and the consequence of the acceptance of this announcement in the lives of people, that is to say the life of faith in community. » The Spanish author even deplores the fact that Catholicism is often considered “an anecdotal element” from the saga.
Tolkien wanted a mythology for England
However, this interpretation is far from unanimous and several specialists dispute that Tolkien’s faith – well established with regard to his private life – has such a strong vocation in the novels. “On the contrary, he strove to write a history that was neither apologetic nor proselytizing.insists Leo Carruthers, professor emeritus of literature and author of Tolkien and religion. Like an invisible lamp (PUPS, 2016). It is certainly a deeply spiritual story and compatible with Catholicism, but it cannot be reduced to that. »
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Many interpreters forget the rest of Tolkien’s correspondence with Father Robert Murray: “I have not included, or removed, virtually any reference to anything approaching ‘religion’, cults or practices, in the fantasy world. The religious element is thus absorbed into the history and symbolism. » In other words, when he reworked his manuscript, Tolkien, realizing the overly religious tone of his story, endeavored to erase certain aspects.
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