ISI WEB EDITOR'S NOTE: This is Part III in a three-part series by Bradley J. Birzer, author of ISI Books' J.R.R. Tolkien's Sanctifying Myth: Understanding Middle-Earth. Part I can be read here and Part II can be read here.

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Part III: Tolkien and the Economy of Grace

     While one can certainly find an adamant defense of pre-modern Western civilization within The Lord of the Rings, Tolkien also offers a means by which to reclaim society in the name of Christendom. The answer is frustratingly simple. One must drain away one's will, allowing Grace to fill the void and make one whole. Born in a certain time and a certain place, each person—animated, called, and judged by Grace—is allotted a set amount of time on this Earth. A participant in God's Story (or God's Spell, Gospel), each person has a role to play. Some persons have multiple roles, some few roles, some great roles, some lesser roles.

“Some persons have multiple roles, some few roles, some great roles, some lesser roles.”

Yet, each has his place, his importance, his uniqueness, and his dignity in the Economy of Grace. The light of the Incarnate Logos "enlightens every man."¹⁴ One must order one's self, then, according to His Will. Through tradition, scripture, what is written on one's heart, the Magisterium, and the Natural Law, one knows what is right and what is wrong. Nature makes nothing in vain, Aristotle told us. But, wrote St. Thomas Aquinas, finishing the thought, only Grace perfects nature. Hugh of St. Victor described the Church militant in terms which bear on Tolkien's work:

For the Incarnate Word is our King, who came into this world to war with the devil; and all the saints who were before His coming are soldiers as it were, going before their King, and those who have come after and will come, even to the end of the world, are soldiers following their King. And the King himself is in the midst of His army and proceeds protected and surrounded on all sides by His columns. And although in a multitude as vast as this the kind of arms different in the sacraments and the observance of the peoples preceding and following, yet all are really serving the one king and following the one banner; all are pursuing the one enemy and are being crowned by the one victory.¹⁵

     Each of the members of the Fellowship ultimately fulfills his purpose. Gandalf, known as Olorin in the True West, had been the least of the Istari sent to Middle-Earth to aid Men and Elves in their war against Sauron.

“Each of the members of the Fellowship ultimately fulfills his purpose.”

Though the least powerful, he was the wisest, and he spent many of his days walking among the Elves "unseen, or in a form as one of them, and they did not know whence came the fair visions or the promptings of wisdom that he put into their hearts." The Silmarillion records that "those who listened to him awoke from despair and put away the imaginations of darkness."¹⁶ So as not to become too taken with any one people or place, which might lead to temptations to power, Gandalf became the "Grey Pilgrim" and wandered from place to place. Even at his imminent death at the Bridge of Khazad-dum, Gandalf states his place in Creation as he faced the Balrog: "You cannot pass [for] I am a servant of the Secret Fire, wielder of the flame of Anor. You cannot pass." The Secret Fire, Tolkien told Clyde Kilby, was the Holy Spirit.¹⁷ So empowered, Gandalf plunges to his death, but not without taking the Balrog to his doom.

     The men of the Fellowship humble themselves as well. When Aragorn first appears in the story, he does so as Strider, the mysterious Ranger who remains untrusted by those he protects. Yet he quickly reveals himself to be the true king of Middle-Earth, a descendent of the Númenóreans and the Elves. He reveals this through his physical and mental prowess, his never-ending willingness to sacrifice himself for the greater good, his power as a healer, and especially, in his wrestling with Sauron through the Palantir. Even Boromir, who betrays the group because of his pride, finds redemption in self-sacrifice as he attempts to protect Merry and Pippin from the Uruk-hai. "I tried to take the Ring from Frodo," Boromir confesses, his body riddled with Orc arrows "I am sorry. I have paid. . . . I have failed." In response, Aragorn takes Boromir's hand and assures him, "You have conquered. Few have gained such a victory. Be at peace!"¹⁸ As Boromir's pilgrimage ends, he smiles.

     Legolas the Elf and Gimli the Dwarf play vital roles in the Fellowship as well. Not only do they offer the skills of bow and axe, wit and wisdom, as they endlessly cleave the heads of the enemy soldiers, but more importantly, they also begin the healing process between their two races. Since the awakening of the Dwarves, the two races had been mutually antagonistic to one another. Now, in the Third Age, with a common enemy, they must put their differences aside to defeat the common foe. In the process, they become fast and life-long friends. This is an especially important lesson in our period of divided Christendom.

     The Hobbits play the most interesting role in the Fellowship, for they are the least of all creatures in Middle-Earth. That is, they wield hardly any form of political power. An agrarian people, they shun adventure.¹⁹

“The Hobbits play the most interesting role in the Fellowship, for they are the least of all creatures in Middle-Earth.”

There are exceptions, though, in the history of the Hobbits. The most important, prior to the days of Bilbo and Frodo, was their ancestor, Bull Roarer Took, who loved to knock heads off of invading Goblins. Indeed, when Gandalf sought a thief for Thorin's expedition, he said, "I want a dash of the Took (but not too much, master Peregrin), I want a good foundation of the stolider sort, a Baggins perhaps."²⁰ In the novels, Pippen Took and Merry Brandybuck become famous warriors and aids to kings and stewards.

     Frodo establishes himself as a suffering servant at the end of the Council of Elrond. "I will take the Ring," Frodo said, "Though I do not know the way."²¹

“While Frodo offers a means by which to act in a Christ-like fashion, he also offers an example of what not to do.”

He trudges through the various terrains of Middle-Earth, is betrayed by Gollum, suffers near-fatal wounds from Ungoliant's spawn, Shelob, and the indignities of the Orcs who hold him prisoner. Yet he makes it to the precipice of the Cracks of Doom before succumbing to the weight of the Ring. While Frodo offers a means by which to act in a Christ-like fashion, he also offers an example of what not to do. The claiming of the Ring had been only a minor sin, though, as Ilúvatar had not given Frodo the Grace to overcome the temptation. Frodo's only serious failure came after he claimed the Ring as his own. When Gollum dances for joy into the Cracks of Doom, carrying the Ring with him, Frodo feels stunned that he has remained alive. Frodo desired martyrdom, and yet, Ilúvatar's task for him was over; he was to live. Martyrdom, Tolkien tells us, cannot be claimed by the will; it can only be accepted through an act of Grace. The "Divine economy [is] limited to what is sufficient for the accomplishment of the task appointed to one instrument in a pattern of circumstances and other instruments."²² To claim more would be to claim the sole right of the Christ, the savior of mankind. "In its highest exercise," Tolkien explained, mercy "belongs to God" and to God alone.²³

     Sam, the real hero of The Lord of the Rings, begins the trilogy appearing merely to be a simpleton. Yet graces flow to Sam as he proves to have one virtue in spades: the virtue of loyalty. He is Wiglaf to Beowulf, Sir Gawain to King Arthur, St. John to Jesus. Though Sam would much prefer living the good life as all Hobbits desire—a good beer, a good smoke, a well-tended garden, the company of friends and family, and the fathering of a large family—he knows that only if Frodo's task is accomplished will the Hobbits of the Shire live in peace. Like a good citizen-republican, Sam puts down his plow, picks up his sword, fights the good fight, and returns to hearth and home. Ultimately for Tolkien, the truest heroism, then, stems from "obedience and love, not of pride or willfulness."²⁴ This remains true in ordinary as well as in extraordinary life.

     And Sam is well rewarded: with the good life, life as it is meant to be. In fact, God has blessed him and Rosie with many children. Most likely, a number of children have yet to arrive. "Regular ragtag and bobtail," Sam says of his children, "old Saruman would have called it."²⁵

“Like a good citizen-republican, Sam puts down his plow, picks up his sword, fights the good fight, and returns to hearth and home.”

Evil sees children merely as obstacles. Sam wisely knows they are essential for the good life. Sam also notes that while Frodo received proper acclaim for his deeds, it is he who has "had lots of treasures."²⁶ When King Aragorn writes Sam a letter, almost twenty years after the destruction of the Ring, he translates Sam's name in Elvish not properly as "Half-wise," but instead as "Plain-wise" or "Full-wise," reflecting Sam's significant growth during and after the quest to destroy the Ring. As Aragorn's letter reveals, Sam has grown from the silly Hobbit arguing with Ted Sandyman in the pub to a wise and virtuous statesman. Perhaps most important, his many children treat him with immense love, and with respect for his authority as father. When Sam speaks, Tolkien wrote, his children respond to him "as hobbit-children of other times had watched the wizard Gandalf."²⁷ Indeed, the adult Samwise carries the authority of an incarnate angel.

     Tolkien, then, teaches us that each one of us, as Imago Dei, can redeem the world. Each act of love is a revolutionary act in a cynical world of machines and ideologies. Each person is "an allegory," Tolkien conceded to his former student, the famed poet W.H. Auden, "each embodying in a particular tale and clothed in the garments of time and place, universal truth and everlasting life."²⁸

     So, what will the place of Jackson's version of the myth of Middle-Earth be in popular culture? It is hard to determine.

“[Jackson's trilogy] is well-acted, well-imagined, and well-directed, even with all of its flaws.”

Twenty-five years later, Ralph Bakshi's incomplete, animated version of The Lord of the Rings is an embarrassment. Most likely, no one will claim that of Jackson's version in 2029. It is well-acted, well-imagined, and well-directed, even with all of its flaws. Still, as Joseph Pearce has recently argued, Jackson's version is so technologically driven that the movie and its many effects will seem outdated rather quickly. Pearce is mostly likely right in his judgment.

     In sum, however, I think these films will always have an important place in popular culture as well as in Tolkienian and mythological circles. While Jackson committed some terrible errors in what seem like arrogant changes from the novel, he did produce three brilliant movies (if we take them just as movies),

“Jackson used modern technology to uphold Western civilization.”

each a defense not only of Western civilization and its many virtues, but also of the significance and dignity of each human person. After a century of absolute governmental and technological horrors, bloody ideologues and dictators, and the desecration and dismembering of the human person, we should applaud Jackson for once again making heroism exciting and attractive. Jackson used modern technology to uphold Western civilization. In other words, no matter what the accidents appear to be, the essence is good.

Part I can be read here and Part II here. You are also invited to read the foreword by Joseph Pearce and the introduction from J.R.R. Tolkien's Sanctifying Myth: Understanding Middle-Earth by Dr. Birzer.

The following links are provided for additional reading on this topic and its author. The appearance of non-ISI links does not respresent endorsement of content by the Intercollegiate Studies Institute.

Tolkien, Wagner, Nationalism, and Modernity (PDF)
Bradley J. Birzer
Given at the Seattle Opera House in Seattle, Washington, August 3, 2001

The Legacy of 20th Century Ideologues (REALPLAYER Audio)
Bradley J. Birzer

The Christian Gifts of J.R.R. Tolkien from The New Oxford Review
Bradley J. Birzer

Why The Lord of the Rings Is Dangerous from www.christianitytoday.com
Bradley J. Birzer

The Women of Middle-Earth from www.catholicexchange.com
Christine O'Donnell

The Man and the Myth from National Review Online
Joseph Pearce