J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings - Frodo Baggins as a Christ-Figure
J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings has delighted readers since its publication owing to its author's skillful development of his fantastic realm and its inhabitants adventures therein. In fact, Tolkien is rightly regarded as the father of the modern fantasy genre, and it often seems all fantasy imitates his work in some way. However, as readers return to the work, it often becomes apparent that the work is more than a simple escapist journey into an imaginary world; the work represents the finest traditions in literature and rich grounding in Tolkien's study of language and mythology. Equally surprising, though, Tolkien himself admits that the series is a "fundamentally religious and Catholic work…"[1] To the casual reader, Middle-Earth, the setting, seems a world devoid of religious practice, Christian or otherwise. Unsurprisingly, Tolkien added that the religious aspect about which he spoke appeared "unconsciously so at first, but consciously in the revision," and that "the religious element is absorbed into the story and the symbolism."[2] Therefore, an investigation into probable sources of Christian symbolism leads to questions of characterization and its most obvious target: Frodo Baggins, a Christ-figure.
The protagonist of the story, Frodo Baggins is a Hobbit, a small humanoid creature, short in stature and big in appetite. As soon as Tolkien introduces him in the first chapter, Frodo's status as a Christ figure emerges: "Anyway: there was this Mr. Frodo left an orphan and stranded," gossip Frodo's new neighbors when his uncle Bilbo adopts the him.[3] immediately, Frodo possesses two important characteristic of any Christ ...
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...ery land of Mordor, conquering an evil which seems far greater than himself. In doing so, Frodo makes up for carelessness of the nations of Middle-Earth who in their sloth allowed the evil to rise up, despite forewarning of the danger. In all these things, there exist clear similarities with Christ who undertakes a similar goal, vanquishing the evil of sin from the world with total selflessness, compassion, and determination. In the end, Frodo admits admirably, "I tried to save the Shire, and it has been saved…."[6]
[1] Tolkien, J.R.R.. "To Robert Murray, S.J." 2 December 1953. The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien. Ed. Humphrey Carpenter and Christopher Tolkien (Houghton Mifflin Company: Boston, 1981) 172.
[2] Ibid.
[3] Tolkien, J.R.R.. The Lord of the Rings (Houghton Mifflin Company: Boston, 1954) 31.
[4] Ibid, 217.
[5] Ibid, 309.
[6] Ibid, 309.
It will be the contention of this paper that much of Tolkien's unique vision was directly shaped by recurring images in the Catholic culture which shaped JRRT, and which are not shared by non-Catholics generally. The expression of these images in Lord of the Rings will then concern us.
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Although JRR Tolkien is notorious for his numerous, and often seemingly irrelevant, minor characters - the necessity of an index of names in The Return of the King proves this without a doubt - one of the most crucial and fascinating characters of The Lord of the Rings physically appears in barely more than one-sixth of the novel. The character Sméagol, often referred to by his alter ego Gollum, on a basic level serves only to guide Frodo and Sam to Mordor, as well as to destroy the Ring when Frodo cannot. However, in the course of doing so, we are revealed, hint by hint, of the enigmatic and contradictory character who "hates the Ring and loves the Ring - just as he hates and loves himself" (Sibley 170). In The Lord of the Rings, JRR Tolkien uses the character Sméagol, forged from a collection of historical and historically mythological tales, as a foil for the central hero Frodo Baggins as well as the Christian example of hope, despite the powerful corruption of evil.
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Krivak, Andrew. "Author of 'The Rings': Tolkien's Catholic Journey." Commonweal 130.22 (19 Dec. 2003): 10-13. Rpt. in Children's Literature Review. Ed. Dana Ferguson. Vol. 152. Detroit: Gale, 2010. Literature Resources from Gale. Web. 14 Jan. 2014.
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Frodo Baggins, the main character in the movie faces many compelling circumstances in his quest and is challenged to sacrifice much of himself. The first challenge Frodo has to face when Gandalf as...
J.R.R Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings is a peerless fantasy of epic proportions. While eschewing allegory in favor of an historical perspective, Tolkien has imprinted the work with many of his own closely held Catholic beliefs. In a lecture concerning Tolkien’s writing given to students at Villanova University, Dr. Tomas W. Smith put it this way
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...t religious undertone, like in the themes of redemption and forgiveness. Those that follow the example of Jesus by acting as a servant or sacrificing their own life, are the heroes of Tolkien’s epic.
Wood, Ralph C. "Traveling the one road: The Lord of the Rings." The Century Feb. 97: 208(4).