Well, almost. I asked Dr. Mason to sign it tonight, and he said he’d look over it and pass it on to the other two signatures I still need– and that I didn’t have to worry about losing my funding, ’cause they’ll consider it in. I may have to make a few small proofreading-type changes, but otherwise I’m sure I’m good.
And I’m 48 hours early! Go me!
So, for those of you who are even remotely interested, here it is in all its nearly-final glory:
Candidate: Emily Bytheway Date: October 12, 2005
Title: Tolkien???s View of Man and the Divine: Master and Servant in The Lord of the Rings
Proposed Chapter Titles:
I. Introduction: J.R.R. Tolkien???s The Lord of the Rings: The Critical Heritage
II. Yes, My Lord: Historical, Literary and Religious Precedent
III. Fealty, Free Will, Faith, and Grace: The Minor Characters
IV. Frodo, Sam, and Gollum: The Synergy of Themes
Proposal
The focus of my master???s thesis is the Christian themes embodied in J.R.R. Tolkien???s The Lord of the Rings, specifically in the portrayal of the relationship between master and servant, lord and liegeman. Over the course of the novel, we see master and servant interact through many different characters: ??omer, ??owyn, and Merry???s relationships with Th??oden; Faramir, Beregond and Pippin???s relationships with Denethor, Faramir, and Boromir???s relationships with Aragorn, and Sam and Gollum???s relationships with Frodo.
In my thesis I will analyze these different interactions in terms of historical, literary, and religious precedent. I will demonstrate that through Tolkien???s depiction of the various master/servant relationships in The Lord of the Rings, we can see Tolkien???s view of the different aspects of man???s relationship with God. Those manifold potential relationships coalesce in The Lord of the Rings to four actual interactions between the human and divine: total fealty, free will, loss of faith/betrayal, and grace.
Justification
Much of the earlier criticism published on The Lord of the Rings was not particularly scholarly. Many critics refused to consider the works as literature at all, and a great deal of the secondary literature on The Lord of the Rings consisted of a dialogue between those who believe it is serious literature and those who do not. It is only in recent years that the former view has begun to achieve any support in general academia, and The Lord of the Rings acknowledged as more than a simple fairy-tale, written to amuse reclusive teenagers.
The more recent publications reflect a variety of theoretical approaches. Among the philological, linguistic, genre-based, cultural (especially pop-cultural), and film studies there are also those which take a moral approach. This is unsurprising. Since Tolkien stated in a letter that “The Lord of the Rings is a fundamentally religious and Catholic work; unconsciously so at first, but consciously in the revision??? (Letters 172), critics have grappled with proving or disproving the notion. Tolkien had definite views on the power of fantasy literature to lead to Christian faith: ???The peculiar quality of the ???joy??? in successful Fantasy can thus be explained as a sudden glimpse of the underlying reality or truth. It is not only a ???consolation??? for the sorrow of this world, but a satisfaction, and an answer to that question, ???Is it true???? . . . In the ???eucatastrophe??? we see in a brief vision that the answer may be greater???it may be a far-off gleam or echo of evangelium in the real world??? (???On Fairy Stories??? 88). Given this claim of Tolkien???s, this approach to his greatest work is not only understandable, but necessary.
What is lacking in these morality-based studies, by and large, is a more carefully analytical approach to the subject. Rather than reading The Lord of the Rings as a work embodying Christian themes, the authors of these works tend to view it as a how-to manual for life. I feel that this is an oversimplification of what Tolkien was trying to accomplish. In writing The Lord of the Rings, Tolkien was not attempting to create an instruction manual on how to be a good Christian; he was expressing his own personal views on life and man???s relationship with the divine, offering his readers a chance to share in those views.
Even those works which take a more theoretical approach tend to overlook what seems to me to be a major aspect of the Christianity of The Lord of the Rings: the relationship between master and servant. This metaphor is one which is employed extensively throughout the Bible. Christ himself is most often referred to as Master or Lord. This relationship is also depicted extensively throughout The Lord of the Rings. While the interactions between master and servant have been treated in various studies, they are usually discussed in relation to another matter, such as free will or friendship. The concept of fealty as a Christian virtue has been virtually ignored. This thesis will be an attempt to fill that gap.
Plan of Development
I. Introduction: J.R.R. Tolkien???s The Lord of the Rings: The Critical Heritage
In the introduction, I will briefly review the history of the critical response to The Lord of the Rings, from the initial attacks and defenses to the proliferation of Tolkien studies in recent years. Particular attention will be paid to the criticism which explores the Christian aspects of the novel. I will demonstrate that while certain aspects of the novel have been well explored, the master/servant relationship has been largely ignored.
II. Yes, My Lord: Historical, Literary and Religious Precedent
In this chapter I will explore the notion of fealty as it existed in the actual history of Britain. I will also investigate the depiction of the relationship between lord and liegeman in previous literature, especially that with which Tolkien was most familiar: Beowulf, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, and other medieval literature. However, the bulk of the chapter will focus on the Biblical references to the relationship between God and man being like that of a master and servant. Special attention will be paid to the Catholic view of this relationship.
III. Fealty, Free Will, Faith, and Grace: The Minor Characters
Most of the depictions of the master/servant dichotomy involve ???minor??? characters and are relatively straight-forward. Each of the relationships???Boromir and Aragorn, Pippin and Denethor, etc.???depicts a single aspect of the relationship between the human and the divine. In this chapter I will discuss how those characters who show total fealty are not always universally approved, especially when that loyalty endangers the greater good. Neither selfish disobedience nor blind obedience are prized by Tolkien. Instead he values the use of reason and the exercise of free will in service to a master, whether good or bad. Those who show an outright lack of faith in those to whom they should give their devotion meet sticky ends, while those who demonstrate loyalty while still disobeying orders are given a measure of grace.
IV. Frodo, Sam, and Gollum: The Synergy of Themes
While individual aspects of the God/man relationship are demonstrated in individual relationships among the minor characters, the interactions among Frodo, Sam, and Gollum combine all of these aspects into one complex relationship. While Sam shows total devotion to Frodo, he also uses his own reason to make crucial decisions that ultimately affect the outcome of the quest. Gollum, on the other hand, demonstrates a lack of understanding and faith in Frodo???s actions toward him, which ultimately leads to betrayal. However, that betrayal proves essential in the fulfillment of the quest, as Gollum acts as an instrument of grace.
There was also a preliminary bibliography, but that won’t be all that interesting to you, plus I don’t want to bother formatting it correctly. 