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3.5/5
Non-Fiction
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Fantasy. Magic. Power. War. Friendship. The Hero's Journey.
Rating: 5/5
Pages: 498
Started: 12 July 2023
Finished: 18 July 2023
Summary:
Sauron's forces have gathered in the east, his power casting a great darkness over all of Middle Earth. Advised by Gandalf, backed by the elves and the Rohirrim, and aided by Aragorn, the Men of Minas Tirith must meet the darkness in battle. But despite the valor and prowess of Minas Tirith and all its allies, there is no defeating Sauron's all-consuming power. And so the hope of Men lies in two hobbits and their quest.
Frodo and Sam are tired. Demoralized, exhausted, alone and afraid. The burden of the Ring is too much to bear. But they know the importance of their mission--they are fighting for the Shire, for all the good things in the world, so they push on, aiming always for Mount Doom where the One Ring can be cast into the fire, destroying Sauron's evil once and for all.
Thoughts:
It took me a while to get into this re-read, but once I had the time to sit, undistracted, for a while with it, I was entirely engrossed. The language's slight archaic stiltedness becomes unnoticeable after a bit though, and the incredible scope of land and story and character becomes fully visible. This truly is an incredible book. The world-building is so in-depth and rich and complete that every word feels real, especially with the way the annotations refer to the work as if it were truly written by Frodo himself. I already want to re-start the series from the beginning, and only my clearly ordered TBR is keeping me from doing exactly that. I think I told someone recently that the movies are more worthwhile than the books in terms of effort to reward, but my answer is most definitely changed now. The movies are incredible, don't get me wrong. But the books have a layer of richness and peacefulness to them, and they tell the story at a pacing that feels almost more manageable somehow. More focus on walking and story-telling, with battles that are only a few pages. The book feels lovely to immerse in; it feels like magic. I am utterly re-enamoured and will be re-reading the whole trilogy as soon as I get the chance.
Since I only re-read this book, rather than the whole series, I don't have a ton of commentary about overarching plot or world-building at this point. But there were a few themes that I noticed and wanted to explore a bit more:
Gender: LOTR is a male-dominated and patriarchal story. There are three female characters with small parts and gentle endings. But gender is still a theme that is explored in-depth in the books in relation to the stereotypical patriarchal division of male and female. As Andy and I discussed, while talking about The Mists of Avalon, war is a masculine construct, while healing and growth can be attributed to the female. Using this lens, we can first examine Èowyn. She is a noble, feminine and beautiful, and all of her actions are results of her relationships with men. First she stands by Theodin King, her uncle, in his sickness and then his health, staying strong and pure for him. Then she becomes enamored with Aragorn, and wishes to join him in the fight. When rebuffed, she then wishes to fight and die, so she dons a masculine guise and goes to war. The arguably single feminist moment in the story is when she kills the Nazgul while saying, "I am no man!" Here her lack of masculinity on the battlefield is a boon. But after that, she becomes ill, goes to heal, and falls in love. Once peace has returned, she is freed to once more slip back into the expected femininity. Arwen and Galadriel have relatively similar roles, having some valor and goodness that helps to defeat Sauron's evil, but an ultimate end in either marriage (Arwen) or a gentle and noble passing to other lands (Galadriel). This apparent war-time liberty and post-war return to femininity was undoubtably influenced by the events of WWII and the influence it had on gender roles.
More interesting than Tolkien's vaguely misogynistic adherence to patriarchal structures, though, are the male characters and their actions of war, love, and peace. The greatest way in which Tolkien cast off patriarchal expectations was in his male characters' open and unbridled love for each other. When separated, Merry and Pippin mention several times how much they miss each other. Legolas and Gimli follow Aragorn into the Paths of the Dead out of their love for him. Sam professes his love for Frodo several times, and proves it a thousand times over in his care for his master. Though there is possibly some evidence for romantic relationships between some of the characters, I think the book is simply full of shining examples of the power and depth of platonic love, and it makes me really happy.
The Hero's Journey is one of the things that is far better done in the books than in the movies, mostly because of the chaos in the Shire upon the Hobbits' return. Certainly, the four Hobbits leave home, are mentored, face new enemies, etc. But in the movies only Frodo remains incompatible to the Shire's gentleness. In the book, Merry and Pippin, not just braver but also physically taller, show their new bravery in casting out Saruman and his evil from their home. On top of that, Sam is more confident in his love for healing and growth, and it is mentioned that he will soon become Mayor. As for Frodo, as much as I hate his leaving his friends, it does make sense that he cannot fit into the Shire's peace anymore. The last line of the book--Sam telling Rosie "I'm back!"--brings the Hero's journey to a full close, and actually I would argue gives evidence for Sam being the hero more than Frodo. But that is analysis for another time.
I enjoyed reading this book so very much. It feels consuming and joyful and safe. This series is truly another home for me, and I cannot wait for my next chance to re-read it.