A mouthful to be sure, Deconstructing Tolkien: A Fundamental Analysis of the Lord of the Rings (DT) is not quite what you would expect from the very fanciful scholarly title that adorns this book. DT is really a fan treatise on J.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings series (LOTR). DT uses a clever mix of essays and classic fantasy/sci-fi stories to show Tolkien’s genius, inspirations, and influence.
McFadden's choice of layout for this book using essays and short fiction is innovative and works quite well for the purposes of providing a rich understanding of the Tolkien phenomena. Blending essay with notable fiction, McFadden provides thought provoking evidence on Tolkien’s inspirations, especially from his contemporaries and friend C.S. Lewis, and the influence of writers like H.G. Wells. Even more impressive was the inclusion of stories by a self-proclaimed protégé of the Tolkien school of style, Jane Yolen. This inclusion solidified McFadden’s arguments on how pervasive LOTR has been, and in light of the films, will continue to be for many generations.
However, DT failed to provide and real insightful commentary on the cultural aspects Tolkien merged to create LOTR . McFadden too often oversimplified Tolkien’s spirituality and over emphasizes Christianity’s role in molding of the LOTR world.
A perfect example is found in Chapter 14 of DT: Allegory or Not to Allegory; McFadden likens the main characters of the narrative Gandalf, Aragorn, and Frodo all to Jesus, because of their heroic and selfless acts, a notion that is a complete misinterpretation of the series. First and foremost, it must be said that the LOTR world is not a Christian one, but heavily based on the non-Christian cultures of the Celts and Norse that inhabitant the British Isles (i.e. the words inscribed on the RING were in runes; the Viking/Nordic writing system). These cultures subsequently influenced many of the traditions of Christianity today. Tolkien’s academic background in history and linguistics are clearly derived from these cultures; in fact the Elfin tongue was heavily influenced by the Welsh language.
In Chapter 5: Sex, Drugs and Social Stagnation, McFadden argues that Middle Earth has never really evolved beyond the Dark Ages and was technologically and socially inept. Again, this is another clear misinterpretation. It is a known fact Tolkien created the LOTR to supplement Western European history. When Christianity arrived in Europe and absorbed the indigenous cultures (most times forcefully) much of the spiritual and mystical folklore so common to the remainder of the planet was lost. So Tolkien created his own gods and creatures as a substitute; making LOTR a crossroads of history-the point where the spiritual realm was declining and humanity was rising.
Nevertheless, in the end McFadden does provide insightful opinions on the LOTR books including a chapter on both Gandalf and Gollum and the films; for instance how Liv Tyler’s role in the movie was reduced because of her poor acting, (which I did not get, but I will be sure to watch carefully as the next time I watch the films). McFadden even delves into how LOTR is actually science fiction. Also, well worth the cost of the book alone are all the great short stories by some of the English languages’ greatest storytellers. Deconstructing Tolkien is an interesting and if anything controversial dissertation sure to spark many debates among the Tolkienistas of the world.
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