Who is Tom Bombadil?: Interpreting the Light in Frodo Baggins and Tom Bombadil\u27s Role in the Healing of Traumatic Memory in J.R.R. Tolkien\u27s _Lord of the Rings_

In Rivendell, after Frodo has been attacked by Ringwraiths and is healing from the removal of the splinter from a Morgul-blade that had been making its way toward his heart, Gandalf regards Frodo and contemplates a “clear light” that is visible through Frodo to “eyes to see that can.” Samwise Gamgee later sees this light in Frodo when Frodo is resting in Ithilien. The first half of this essay considers questions about this light: how does Frodo become transparent, and why, and what is the nature of the light that fills him? As recourse to Tolkien’s letters shows, the light is related to the virtues of Frodo’s character: love, self-sacrifice, humility, perseverance. The light in Frodo also is related to the light in the Phial of Galadrial, which comes from the Earendil’s Silmaril set in the heavens above Middle-earth, which is called the Morning Star. Because “Morning Star” is a name for Jesus in the New Testament, the light within Frodo may be interpreted, symbolically, as the Christ-light. The second half of this essay considers how this light was ignited in Frodo, specifically by asking: who is Tom Bombadil, and what does he have to do with the light inside of Frodo? The essay explores multiple explanations for the long-standing, critically-debated mystery of Tom Bombadil’s identity, ultimately showing that he must be interpreted at multiple levels of meaning simultaneously. Intriguingly, Tom Bombadil has parallels to the first Adam and the second Adam, Jesus, especially in his role as “Eldest” (or ab origine) and in his ability to bring light to Frodo in the grave of the barrow-wight, save him from death by his song, and heal him from spiritual “drowning” – a word that Tom uses to describe Frodo’s terrifying experience in the barrow and which relates to Frodo’s original childhood wound: the primal loss of his parents, who drowned in a tragic accident. When Frodo receives healing from this trauma, he is strengthened to endure what he later experiences on his quest to destroy the Ring

Why is Bilbo Baggins Invisible?: The Hidden War in The Hobbit

Why is Bilbo Baggins invisible? This study suggests that Tolkien’s knowledge of philology, theology, philosophy, literature, history, and his own life experience all contribute to the development of the symbolic, moral, and psychological significance of invisibility in The Hobbit. On one level, Tolkien’s theology is informed by his philology, so that being invisible (or “not able to be seen”) becomes a way of symbolically representing the Augustinian concept of evil as the absence of good in the world. On another level, Tolkien’s use of invisibility in The Hobbit demonstrates his knowledge of the philosophic and literary tradition associated with the story of the ring of Gyges in Plato’s Republic, a story that suggests that when people’s actions are not visible and open to the moral scrutiny of others, people may become self-serving and cease to be virtuous. Finally, in his historic role as a signals officer in World War I, Tolkien was often, in effect, invisible to those he was serving and seeking to save on the battlefield. Like Bilbo when he was invisible, he could be heard, but not seen. So invisibility in The Hobbit may correspond to the psychologically traumatizing experience of being in combat. At each of these three levels, invisibility in The Hobbit relates to a hidden war: the conflict between good and evil in the macrocosm of the universe, the resistance to temptation in the microcosm of the heart, and, in a sense, to World War I itself. Readers who understand the deeper symbolic, moral, and psychological significance of invisibility in The Hobbit will no longer see it as a mere magic trick to move the plot forward, but will instead appreciate the deeper meaning of the motif

Tolkien, Eucatastrophe, and the Re-Creation of Medieval Legend

Using comparative literary analysis, this essay examines three case studies from J.R.R. Tolkien’s oeuvre, in which Tolkien practiced eucatastrophic rewriting: his folk-tale, “Sellic Spell,” in which he re-creates the Old English poem Beowulf; his poem, “Princess Mee,” in which he re-envisions aspects of the myth of Narcissus and the Middle English dream vision poem, Pearl; and the character of Éowyn from The Lord of the Rings, in which he re-imagines the fate of Brynhild, a shield-maiden and valkyrie from Norse legend. In each case, Tolkien rewrites the original so that sorrow is transformed into happiness in Tolkien’s new versions. As part of the analysis of these transformations, this essay also considers a possible personal motivation as well as a larger purpose behind Tolkien’s artistic choices: his relationship to his beloved wife, Edith, and a desire to convey to others the hope he found in his own Christian faith

Beauty and the Beast: The Value of Teaching Fairy Tales to University Students in the 21st Century

In this essay, I suggest that fairy tales have particular value for students studying at the university level. Assigning fairy tales allows students to read familiar stories from their childhood and reconsider them from critical perspectives. When teaching a college course on fairy tales, my students and I utilize three essential frameworks for understanding fairy tales, focusing on the psycho-social development and sexual maturation of the human person, feminist critique and the need for gender equality in a patriarchal world, and audience reception and reader responses leading to emotional progress and even spiritual enlightenment. Students primarily familiar with Disney film versions of fairy tales enlarge their understanding of multiple versions of tales, both early modern and contemporary. They become familiar with classic fairy tale writers and collectors, such as Charles Perrault, Madame d’Aulnoy, the Brothers Grimm, Hans Christian Anderson, Oscar Wilde, Andrew Lang, J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Anne Sexton, Angela Carter, and J.K. Rowling as well as fairy tale scholars like Bruno Bettelheim, Maria Tartar, and Jack Zipes. Their study not only results in a firm grasp of the key aspects of story in general, but in the ability to see connections between the real-world problems of the 21st century – such as poverty, starvation, disease, inequality, child abuse, human trafficking, and abuses of political power, among others – and lessons learned from fairy tales. This essay analyzes “Beauty and the Beast” as a key example of the genre and identifies pedagogical strategies for teaching it

Sam\u27s Song in the Tower: The Significance of \u27Merry Finches\u27 in J.R.R. Tolkien\u27s _Lord of the Rings_

In The Lord of the Rings, Samwise Gamgee climbs the Tower of Cirith Ungol to try to rescue his master and friend, Frodo Baggins, who has been taken captive by Orcs. When Sam is near despair because he cannot find Frodo, Sam sings a song that makes reference to “merry finches.” What is the significance of this phrase in his lyrics? To answer this question, my essay first explores J.R.R. Tolkien’s ornithological knowledge, especially of finches in England, which is readily demonstrated from a letter he wrote to his son, Christopher Tolkien (July 7, 1944), about his observations of bullfinches in the family garden at 20 Northmoor Road in Oxford and his comparison of them to goldfinches. Next, this essay explores Tolkien’s tendency to connect his naturalist observations to biblical, classical, and medieval myth, legend, and literature. Attention is paid to the legend that associates the goldfinch with Christ’s Passion and, in the process, a thematic parallel is found between the goldfinch’s attempt to alleviate Christ’s suffering and Sam’s attempt to alleviate Frodo’s suffering in the Tower. This study concludes with reflection on Tolkien’s concept of “eucatastrophe,” from his essay “On Fairy-stories,” and the manner in which Tolkien uses the reference to “merry finches” in Sam’s song to foreshadow a sudden turn toward joy

POTENTIAL USE OF PROTEASE ENZYMES IN LIQUID DIETS FOR PIGS

A programme of study was undertaken to assess the effect of pretreating raw soya bean and processed full fat soyabean meals with protease enzymes prior to use in liquid feed for grower and finisher pigs. A series of laboratory studies was undertaken to examine the efficacy of three microbial proteases (P2, P3 and P4) in partially hydrolysing soya protein and in reducing the levels of trypsin inhibitors in raw soyabean. Pretreatment consisted of steeping ground soyabean for 24 h at 20° C in the absence (control) or presence of 20 000 units gˉ¹ N of P2, P3 or P4. Pretreating raw soyabean (RSB) with P2, P3 and P4 significantly (P < 0.05) reduced trypsin inhibitor levels from 28.53 to 19.98, 17.17 and 18.35 (s.e.m.1.14) mg trypsin inhibited gˉ¹ soya respectively. Pretreating RSB, micronized (MIC) or autoclaved (AUT) soyabean meal with P2, P3 or P4 resulted in increases in soluble a.-amino nitrogen of 5.22, 7.08, and 6.58 (RSB), 5.11, 5.57 and 4.32 (MIC) and 3.56, 7.03 and 6.18 (s.e.d. 0.06) mg gˉ¹ soya respectively and in vitro digestibility of nitrogen of 7.6 %, 9.9 %and 6.4 % (RSB), 4.9 %, 8.3 % and 2.8 % (MIC) and 11 %, 8 % and 12.2 % (AUT) respectively compared with the appropriate controls. Feeding trials were conducted in which pretreated soya was added to a basal cereal diet. Pretreatment of RSB with P4 resulted in a significant (P < 0.05) increase in ADG of 0.08 kg pigˉ¹ dˉ¹ (s.e.d. 0.04) in grower pigs (33.5 ± 4 kg) over the 6 week duration of the trial but had no significant effect on FCR. Pretreatment of AUT with P4 did not significantly improve performance. In a feeding trial with grower/finisher pigs pretreatment of RSB with P3 resulted in significant (P < 0.05) improvements of 0.10 (s.e.d. 0.04) kg pigˉ¹ dˉ¹ in ADG and 0.476 (s.e.d. 0.19) in FCR. Pretreatment of MIC with P3 resulted in a significant reduction (P < 0.05) of 4 d (s.e.d. 1. 7) in the time taken for pigs to attain slaughter weight

Who is Tom Bombadil?: Interpreting the Light in Frodo Baggins and Tom Bombadil\u27s Role in the Healing of Traumatic Memory in J.R.R. Tolkien\u27s _Lord of the Rings_

In Rivendell, after Frodo has been attacked by Ringwraiths and is healing from the removal of the splinter from a Morgul-blade that had been making its way toward his heart, Gandalf regards Frodo and contemplates a “clear light” that is visible through Frodo to “eyes to see that can.” Samwise Gamgee later sees this light in Frodo when Frodo is resting in Ithilien. The first half of this essay considers questions about this light: how does Frodo become transparent, and why, and what is the nature of the light that fills him? As recourse to Tolkien’s letters shows, the light is related to the virtues of Frodo’s character: love, self-sacrifice, humility, perseverance. The light in Frodo also is related to the light in the Phial of Galadrial, which comes from the Earendil’s Silmaril set in the heavens above Middle-earth, which is called the Morning Star. Because “Morning Star” is a name for Jesus in the New Testament, the light within Frodo may be interpreted, symbolically, as the Christ-light. The second half of this essay considers how this light was ignited in Frodo, specifically by asking: who is Tom Bombadil, and what does he have to do with the light inside of Frodo? The essay explores multiple explanations for the long-standing, critically-debated mystery of Tom Bombadil’s identity, ultimately showing that he must be interpreted at multiple levels of meaning simultaneously. Intriguingly, Tom Bombadil has parallels to the first Adam and the second Adam, Jesus, especially in his role as “Eldest” (or ab origine) and in his ability to bring light to Frodo in the grave of the barrow-wight, save him from death by his song, and heal him from spiritual “drowning” – a word that Tom uses to describe Frodo’s terrifying experience in the barrow and which relates to Frodo’s original childhood wound: the primal loss of his parents, who drowned in a tragic accident. When Frodo receives healing from this trauma, he is strengthened to endure what he later experiences on his quest to destroy the Ring

The Dream Vision from the \u3cem\u3eSong of Songs\u3c/em\u3e by Jerome

Translated from the Latin by Jane Beal

Saint Galadriel?: J.R.R. Tolkien as the Hagiographer of Middle-earth

Abstract: Galadriel is perceived in different, sometimes contradictory ways both within the world of Middle-earth and the world of Tolkien scholarship. In some ways, she is a liminal figure, on the threshold between Middle-earth and Valinor, and between secular and sacred influences from the primary world Tolkien actually lived in. One neglected context that may help readers to understand Tolkien’s characterization of Galadriel is the medieval cult of the saints. The cult of the saints provides specific practices and beliefs that shaped how Tolkien consciously characterized Galadriel as saint-like, especially in terms of her beauty, holiness, and power. Her saintliness has Marian qualities, in that female saints were expected to be like the Virgin Mary, but Galadriel is distinctly different from the Virgin Mary in key ways. So she may not necessarily be a figure of “our Lady” in Middle-earth – at least, not in terms of Tolkien’s conscious, authorial intention. However, in his letters, Tolkien acknowledges the possibility of the formation of an unconsciousconnection between Galadriel and Mary. The late shift in Tolkien’s thinking between characterizing Galadriel as a saint, who “fell” at the kinslaying of the Teleri at Alqualondë because of her “pride” but was redeemed through her penitence and resistance to the temptation of the Ring, to one who is “unstained” and “committed no evil deeds” (Letter 353 To Lord Halsbury) may have been motivated by the perceptions of influential readers of The Lord of the Rings, like Tolkien’s proofreader, Father Robert Murray, S.J.. As this study suggests, Tolkien is not only the sub-creator of Middle-earth, but also the hagiographer of Middle-earth: the man who finally idealizes the Marian qualities of Galadriel in order to inspire us all