Jane Chance - Lord of the Rings: The Mythology of Power

The Lord of the Rings

The Mythology of Power

The Lord of the Rings

The Mythology of Power

Revised Edition

J ANE C HANCE

T HE U NIVERSITY P RESS OF K ENTUCKY

Publication of this volume was made possible in part by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Copyright 2001 by The University Press of Kentucky

Scholarly publisher for the Commonwealth, serving Bellarmine University, Berea College, Centre College of Kentucky, Eastern Kentucky University, The Filson Historical Society, Georgetown College, Kentucky Historical Society, Kentucky State University, Morehead State University, Murray State University, Northern Kentucky University, Transylvania University, University of Kentucky, University of Louisville, and Western Kentucky University.
All rights reserved.

Editorial and Sales Offices: The University Press of Kentucky 663 South Limestone Street, Lexington, Kentucky 405084008

05 04 03 02 5 4 3 2

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Chance, Jane, 1945

The lord of the rings : the mythology of power / Jane Chance.Rev. ed.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 0-8131-9017-7 (pbk. : acid-free paper)

1. Tolkien, J. R. R. (John Ronald Reuel), 1892-1973. Lord of the rings. 2. Tolkien, J. R. R. (John Ronald Reuel), 1892-1973Political and social views. 3. Politics and literatureGreat BritainHistory20th century. 4. Literature and societyGreat BritainHistory20th century. 5. Political fiction, EnglishHistory and criticism. 6. Fantasy fiction, EnglishHistory and criticism. 7. Power (Social sciences) in literature. 8. Middle Earth (Imaginary place) 9. Myth in literature.

I. Title.

PR6039.O32 L6332 2001

823.912dc21 2001002583

This book is printed on acid-free recycled paper meeting the requirements of the American National Standard for Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials.

Manufactured in the United States of America

C ONTENTS

Chronology:
J.R.R. Tolkiens Life and Works

1. Introduction:
A Voice for the Dispossessed

2. Queer Hobbits:
The Problem of Difference in the Shire

3. The Political Hobbit:
The Fellowship of the Ring

4. Knowledge, Language, and Power:
The Two Towers

5. Power and the Community:
The Return of the King

6. Conclusion:
Heroic Narrative and the Power of Structure

An Annotated Bibliography:
Recommended Works by and about Tolkien

N OTE ON THE R EFERENCES AND A CKNOWLEDGMENTS

The edition of The Lord of the Rings used throughout is the three-volume standard second edition published in London by Allen and Unwin in 1966 and in Boston by Houghton Mifflin in 1967 (Ballantine Books reprinted a revised paper edition in 1965). References to The Lord of the Rings (henceforth LotR in my text) appear within parentheses and indicate volume and page numbers: The Fellowship of the Ring (Fellowship) being volume 1; The Two Towers (Towers), 2; and The Return of the King (Return), 3.

Quotations from the following works are reprinted by permission of Houghton Mifflin Co.: The Two Towers by J.R.R. Tolkien; text copyright 1954 by George Allen and Unwin, Ltd. The Return of the King by J.R.R. Tolkien; copyright 1955, 1965 by J.R.R. Tolkien; copyright renewed 1983 by Christopher R. Tolkien, Michael H.R. Tolkien, John F.R. Tolkien, and Priscilla M.A.R. Tolkien. The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien; copyright 1965 by J.R.R. Tolkien.

Permission to quote from The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and The Return of the King has been granted by HarperCollins.

For the first edition, I wish to thank students in my freshman English Heroic Quest class at Rice University (fall 1989) for their patience in listening to my ideas about Tolkien. The Dean of Humanities provided funds for undergraduate student Lauren Phillips to aid in collecting articles and checking documentation and also for an index. While writing his dissertation, English graduate student David D. Day collaborated with me on a review of medievalism in Tolkien studies, the fruits of which are in part reflected in the annotations to this volumes bibliography. My research assistant, English graduate student Kathye Bergen, rechecked the dates in the chronology, the citations from Tolkien, and references; Larry Kraemer read over the copyedited manuscript and page proofs. Finally, my colleague Dr. Jill (Thad) Logan graciously read the manuscript and offered helpful suggestions for revision.

For the revised edition, I would like to thank Lanita Martin, the Rice English department coordinator, for the scanning and correction of the previous edition; Theresa Munisteri, department editorial assistant, for her able reading of the text for stylistic errors; and the interim dean of humanities, Gale Stokes, and the chair of the English department, Wesley Morris, for a subsidy to cover the cost of revising the index. For his work on the index I acknowledge with thanks the help of English department graduate student Jacob Speaks. I am grateful to Noel Kinnamon for his able and efficient aid in producing this second edition. My especial thanks goes to Ted Nasmith, for permitting us to use his previously unpublished image, In the Land of the Shadow, for the cover. To all of these persons I am indebted.

C HRONOLOGY

J.R.R. Tolkiens Life and Works