Review and Thoughts on Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings: A Catholic Worldview – Elves, Hobbits, and Men

Some thoughts on a Christian story in preparation for Easter.

It is Lent for the Christian world, and the season came relatively late this year. Many people think that this is the time to give up chocolate or candy and move on, sort of like a forty-day diet, but others do their best to make the season one of true transformation. A reorientation toward what matters most to a Christian: a refocusing on God and a relationship with Him.

Given this fact, a review of an episode from Eternal Word Television Network (EWTN)’s Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings seems to fit perfectly for the season. EWTN is a Catholic television station that was started by Mother Angelica, a nun and the head of a religious order headquartered in Alabama. EWTN has grown into quite the juggernaut over the decades: it carries a variety of programs, offering a Catholic perspective on everything from news to children’s stories to – you guessed it – The Lord of the Rings.

The network filmed several hour-long segments on Tolkien’s masterwork. Starring Joseph Pearce, a noted Tolkien scholar, these episodes allowed him to speak about the Catholic aspects of the trilogy and the author’s attendant writings. In the episode titled Elves, Hobbits, and Men, Pearce appears alongside Kevin O’Brien. O’Brien portrays Professor Tolkien, reading from his letters and his works to give insight into the author’s thoughts as the show progresses. Meanwhile, Mr. Pearce opines about the trilogy, offering his perspective on how Christian theology is the foundation of The Lord of the Rings.

Elves, Hobbits, and Men considers the themes of Tolkien’s magnum opus via the three main races in the novels, then looks at those race through the characters who represent them. Pearce reflects on the creation of these races by God (Iluvitar in Elvish) in Middle-earth, how they behave, and what the actions of certain individual members demonstrate about Christian theology. Among the items which Pearce meditates upon in the video are the elves’ immortality. He specifically points out that Tolkien wrote LotR as a contemplation on two themes: immortality and death. Pearce, a convert to Catholicism, explains that immortality is not the same thing as eternal life.

Eternal life is beyond time, whereas immortality is life unending within time. So while the elves have immortality and, thus, do not die, this means they are not free to be happy or do whatever they want. It means that they are trapped within time on Middle-earth, always fighting against Morgoth (the Satan stand-in of the series) and his servant Sauron. They have great wisdom due to living so long, but they are never able to find true peace in their immortality. In fact, as Rings of Power fails to grasp and fully convey, the elves are – largely – exiles from the Undying Lands.

Unlike Middle-earth, the Undying Lands are at peace. They are also unchanging. The elves, some of whom are banned from returning to this representation of Paradise, wish to go there because these Lands are not held by Morgoth’s power. The elves have a choice: to stay and remain in the “Long Defeat,” or to go into eternity and rest. Some prefer to stay in Middle-earth but many others are tired and just want to go home. Home, where their immortality is not a burden and they do not need to keep fighting for centuries in a war that will only end when time does.

Men, however, have never laid eyes upon the Undying Lands as a group. In fact, when they tried, they were roundly punished for it. As Pearce explains, men lack immortality. They die – but this death the elves consider a gift from Iluvitar. Death takes men out of the immortal struggle against Morgoth and gives them rest – or eternal torment with their dark master, if they chose to serve Morgoth or Sauron.

Pearce also discusses which characters are “everyman” characters, which ones are Christ-like figures, and more in the video. This episode offers fans much to draw out of the trilogy that they can rely upon to further their enjoyment of the books. It also explain why any attempt to alter the books in any way to make them more “relevant” or to add some kind of activist “message” to the story more obviously breaks the resultant products than it would any other fantasy or franchise.

This is due in part, as Pearce notes, to the good professor writing The Lord of the Rings not as an allegory but as a fantastical reflection of the Gospel story. Tolkien wrote his novels to “reflect upon reality through the mirror of fantasy.” He added deep theological knowledge and symbols to his tale in order to accomplish this, which is where half the Catholic scholarship ends up going even when the writers are focused on other things. This is also why some fans read the trilogy in sync with Catholic liturgical seasons, such as Advent or Lent; they are not doing it to replace reading the Bible but to enhance their view of that Book and the theological understandings distilled from it over thousands of years.

It is this very tie to reality, to objective truth and to faith, that makes The Lord of the Rings’ “immune system” against activists trying to change it so strong. “Bad fanfic” like the Rohirrim film and RoP are unwatchable because they rip out what makes the books work in the first place. Watching Elves, Hobbits, and Men is a good reminder of what makes Lord of the Rings so very powerful as a story.

Does this mean that Lord of the Rings cannot be destroyed? Certainly not. But it does explain in part the continual failure of those trying to insert their own messages into Professor Tolkien’s fantastical epic. He made it with one definitive point in mind – that immortality is not the preferred end state of man, but eternal life is, whether man wishes it or not. Man can either choose the happy eternal life or the miserable eternity of torment….

But he will have eternal life, whichever way he chooses. Even if you are not Christian, if you enjoy The Lord of the Rings, then you might want to give Elves, Hobbits, and Men a view. It is only an hour of your time and while it is thought-provoking, it need not be overwhelming. You can pause it, replay it, or simply stop it if you decide you dislike it. There will be plenty to keep you busy and thinking in this film!

Why not give it a shot, particularly if you are following Lent this season? It’s better than giving up chocolate. That’s the popular decision. Not everyone takes something up instead. You could certainly stand out this way!