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A research paper exploring the relationship between J.R.R. Tolkien's love for nature and his anti-industrialist, anti-colonialist views through the lens of ecological imperialism. The paper delves into Tolkien's ecocriticism, his portrayal of nature in The Lord of the Rings, and the influence of Romanticism and Richard Wagner on his writing. The analysis also discusses the impact of war and industry on nature, as experienced by Tolkien himself.
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Filip Svensson
Contents Lord of rings, lover of trees.................................................................. 3 - 5 Introduction Breaking down the trilogy.................................................................... 5 - 6 Ecocriticism and materialism Saruman and Sauron, nature’s nemeses............................................. 7 - 14 Buell’s demand on the free peoples of Middle-earth ......................... 14 - 17 The character of nature........................................................................ 17 - 21 The Romantics and Richard Wagner ................................................. 21 - 28 Epilogue ................................................................................................. 29 - 30 Conclusion Bibliography .......................................................................................... 31 - 33
with Tolkien’s anti-industralist beliefs Romantics criticize industrial progress and poet William Blake for example “deliberately developed imagery of […] industrialism, and science” (O’Neill 39). Tolkien certainly follows in this literary tradition with his meticulous portayals of the nature of Middle-earth and the impact of the tyrannizing forces of Sauron and Saruman. The Lord of the Rings was originally published in the mid-1950’s and since its release a plethora of analyses have been done on this particular trilogy already, some of which scrutinizing Tolkien’s environmental concerns and how he utilized his literature to present them. Accordingly, it is argued by many that the trilogy to a large extent is a response to the progress of modernity and this paper continues that discussion but provides a more in-depth analysis from a new perspective, namely the combination of ecological imperialism and Romanticism. As Tolkien advocated diminished industrialism and denounced state power, key elements in the imperial part of ecological imperialism (Curry 25), it is important to look at how imperialism rarely is accomplished without warfare and how war effects nature. In WWI, Tolkien was a soldier in the British army and he learned that war was something he detested. He complained: “These grey days wasted in wearily going over, over and over again, the dreary topics, the dull backwaters of the art of killing, are not enjoyable” (Carpenter 78). Subsequently, in the war, Tolkien experienced the impact war and industry had on nature first hand. Humphrey Carpenter describes: “Grass and corn had vanished into a sea of mud. Trees, stripped of leaf and branch, stood as mere mutilated and blackened trunks” (84). Clearly, Tolkien saw the problem with industrial warfare due to imperialism and how it ruins nature. Therefore, it is not hard to picture why Tolkien wished to write of a world with never- ending forests and marvellous landscapes. In his youth, Tolkien grew to love trees. He drew trees, climbed them and oddly also talked to them. In a quotation from Carpenter’s biography
on him, Tolkien remembers a tree he used to climb: “One day they cut it down. They didn’t do anything with it: the log just lay there. I never forgot that” (22). At an older age he confessed: “I am […] much in love with plants and above all trees, and always have been; and I find human maltreatment of them as hard to bear as some find ill-treatment of animals” (Dickerson/Evans 130). Evidently, Tolkien found a strong relationship with nature and that closeness is undeniably mirrored throughout the novels in his adherence to the Romantic heritage in writing about the scenery and surroundings, which is why that aspect of The Lord of the Rings will be closely examined in this paper. As Romantics, and especially Blake, often commented on the issues of industrial progress Tolkien’s link to both ecological imperialism and Romanticism appears even more interesting to analyze. In conclusion, the argument made in this essay is that representations of ecological imperialism can be found in the trilogy The Lord of the Rings by comparing it to historical examples. Also, the importance of the Romantic vein in Tolkien to the descriptions of Middle-earth’s natural life and its struggle with industrial progress due to imperialism will be thoroughly discussed. Thus, the aim of the essay is to analyze the trilogy from an ecocritical perspective regarding the possible historical and aesthetic symbols of Tolken’s worries when it comes to the effect which imperial power and modernity have on the environment. This paper will hence provide an analysis of The Lord of the Rings made from a historical and literary point of view through ecological imperialism and Romanticism. Breaking down the trilogy Ecocriticism and materialism To begin with, in the introduction the given aim was to scrutinize whether these three books can be perceived from an ecocritical standpoint, so this chapter will first dig deeper into what
Sauron and Saruman, nature’s nemeses In Green Imperialism , Richard H. Grove discusses the impact the empires of Europe had on ecology around the globe. Since ecological imperialism in The Lord of the Rings is in focus, in this first chapter a comparison will be made between the actual damage the British Empire caused to its colonies, mostly to the island of St Helena, and the damage the empires of Sauron and Saruman inflict on the natural life of Middle-earth in Tolkien’s trilogy. Arguably, the most prominent sign of the struggle between nature and imposing industrial power in the novels is the rise of the ents against Saruman and his army because here one witnesses nature literally fighting back. This quote from Treebeard sums up the conflict quite well: “I am not altogether on anybody’s side , because nobody is altogether on my side , if you understand me: nobody cares for the woods as I care for them” (Tolkien 615). Grove describes Britain’s need for timber due to warfare as the main reason behind deforestation on the colonial islands (56), and in the same fashion Saruman orders his orchs to cut down trees so that his industry can flourish. In The Two Towers Treebeard thoroughly recounts the ill deeds Saruman is responsible for and concludes that “he is plotting to become a power. He has a mind of metal and wheels; and he does not care for growing things” (616). Furthermore, he shows how badly Saruman’s greed has impacted the forest of Fangorn: He and his foul folk are making havoc now. Down on the borders they are felling trees – good trees. Some of the trees they just cut down down and leave to rot – orc-mischief that; but most are hewn up and carried off to feed the fires of Orthanc. There is always a smoke rising from Isengard these days. Curse him, root and branch! Many of those trees were my friends, creatures I had known from nut and acorn; many had voices of their own that are lost for ever now. And there are wastes of stump and bramble where once there were singing groves. I have been idle. I have let things slip. It must stop! (617)
Apparently, the industry of Saruman, just like the timber hungry British Empire, has let its quest for power, regardless of the consequences, develop into a huge problem for the survival of natural life. Treebeard has finally understood that he must react, taking the rest of the ents along to combat Saruman and destroy Isengard (the wizard’s fortress). In the same way as the Romantics foresaw industrialism’s ruinous effect on nature, Treebeard has here indeed realized just how hard it has hit his home Fangorn and finds that if action is not taken, it might just be the end of the talking trees. Concerning Isengard and the actual fight there, it is appropriate to scrutinize what Saruman did to the environment of his own home to instigate the conflict. Gandalf tells Elrond’s council that “whereas it had once been green and fair, it now was filled with pits and forges” and “over all his works a dark smoke hung and wrapped itself about the sides of Orthanc” (339). Continuing, after the siege of Helm’s Deep the main characters return to Isengard to witness what the ents have accomplished and discover the demise of The Vale of Isengard. “Once it had been fair and green […] It was not so now” (722). The riders also notice that “no trees grew there; but among the rank grasses could still be seen the burned and axe-hewn stumps of ancient groves”, “smokes and steams drifted in sullen clouds” and on the newly paved street ”no blade of grass was seen in any joint” (722). For three whole pages Tolkien focuses on Saruman’s terrible destruction of the once beautiful valley of Isengard in order to build an industrial town where he had “treasures, store-houses, armouries, smithies, and great furnaces. Iron wheels revolved there endlessly, and hammers thudded” (723,724). Saruman’s industrialization of the once green Isengard symbolizes that his modern mind of metal and wheels has turned a picturesque area into a factory for industry and war, an issue Tolkien thoroughly contemplated (Arvidsson 146,147). After the war of the ring is won, the fellowship return to Isengard to observe the work of the ents: “All the stone-circle had been thrown down and removed, and the land within was
they want to make the Shire into a desert, they’re going the right way about it” (990). The reckless implementation of machines has not only impacted the Shire aesthetically but also practically in the defiling of the water in the area. Ruined water in Middle-earth will be discussed again shortly. Eventually, when the hour has finally come to deal with Saruman for the last time the Hobbits undergo “one of the saddest hours of their lives”. On their way to Bag End they acknowledge that “all along the Bywater Road every tree had been felled […] All the chestnuts were gone. The banks and hedgerows were broken. Great waggons were standing in disorder in a field beaten barren of grass. Bagshot Row was a yawning sand and gravel quarry” (993). The destruction of the natural life in the Shire is a means of showing that, even though it seems absolutely incredible, if the environmental issue is not dealt with it will backlash and affect every corner of the world. In their wildest imaginations the hobbits could not perceive the thought that anything could happen to the tiny, insignificant country of the Shire but Tolkien wants to illustrate how false a belief that is. In the end however, when Saruman is dead, the beauty of the Shire is eventually restored thanks to the miracle powder Sam receives from Galadriel which makes everything grow at an unimaginable pace. Tolkien lets the restored health of the nature of the Shire represent the restored health of the entire people and this is expressed in how “all the children born or begotten in that year, and there were many, were fair to see and strong, and most of them had a rich golden hair that had before been rare among hobbits” (1000). Here, the connection between nature and the peoples of Middle-earth is emphasized in the way the prosperity of nature mirror the prosperity of the people. However, Saruman, “the tree-killer” and “tree-slayer” (Tolkien 740,957), is not the only enemy that the nature of Middle-earth must deal with. Sauron and his forces are the main villains in The Lord of the Rings and they do more damage to trees and water than anyone
else. Looking at the historical context, Grove states that the repercussions of war on nature can be traced back to the 15th century when the need of timber to the battle ships left a devastating mark on the environment (27). In the early 18th century the condition of the forests on the colony of St Helena was almost irreparable and the British’ previous misuse of the island’s resources had led to drought (Grove 114). In comparison, the nature of Mordor seems to be eternally sterile, something which is described in detail during Sam and Frodo’s journey through the wretched land. While traversing the rocky lands of Mordor they experience how few plants grow there but through the narrator one finds out that “once in milder days there must have been a fair thicket in the ravine” (790). Here Tolkien discusses the changing climate and how deforestation effects the ecology just as Grove shows how deforestation can cause drought which eventually leads to a ruined soil leaving it sterile, unable to make anything grow. To avoid drought there is an obvious need for water and accordingly Grove writes that “deforestation caused major water-supply problems” (30). In 17th century France for example the reckless felling of trees had caused a perdicament so difficult the problem had “become so universal and rooted that a remedy seemed impossible” (Grove 59). In the same way, Tolkien repeatedly brings up the state of the water in Mordor and how it has been affected by the rule of Sauron and his destructive ways. When Sam and Frodo for the first time see Minas Morgul, the dark fortress of the Witch King, they discover that “the water flowing beneath was silent, and it steamed, but the vapour that rose from it, curling and twisting about the bridge, was deadly cold” (921). The defiled water has already been brought up but another indication on how badly the land of Mordor has been treated during Sauron’s reign lies in that the vapours rising from the water are deadly. According to Grove, St Helena also suffered and deforestation had “altered the taste and colour of the water there” (121). The similar water issues definitely seem to connect Tolkien to ecological imperialism in this aspect.
informed of the transformation Middle-earth has gone through and how vital it is to stop the decay of the woods, animal life, water and the air. The first sign of war and deteriorated nature can be detected when the fellowship travel by boat on the river of Anduin, lay eyes on the slopes they pass and notice how the slopes look “as if fire had passed over them, leaving no living blade of green”. “What pestilence or war or evil deed of the Enemy had so blasted all that region even Aragorn could not tell” (495,496). Furthermore, In The Two Towers Treebeard discloses to Merry and Pippin the story of the entwives. The young hobbits are told that when the ents searched for the entwives, instead of the entwives’ gardens, they “found a desert; it was all burned and uprooted, for war had passed over it” (620). These episodes are just fragments of all the destruction the orchs cause to the woods. Treebeard, the shepherd of the trees, describes another incident with the orchs as their cutting down trees “without even the bad excuse of feeding the fires” (633). Treebeard’s reflections mirror what Tolkien said about the meaningless felling of trees he experienced as a young boy. The Return of the King unveils whom that king really is, but not until the orchs have been defeated outside Minas Tirith. When at war, Sauron’s orchs grasp every chance they get to ruin nature and at the commencement of the siege of the White City “watchmen on the walls heard the rumour of the enemy that roamed outside, burning field and tree” (803). Even Legolas regrets the impact the army of the free people had, “rampling unheeded the grass and the flowers”, while hunting their enemies (857). Hence, even though war is sometimes necessary to deter evil, the novels seem to lament all parts of war and what it brings. The descriptions of the industrial war of the ring appear to suggest how experiences of ruined meadows, burnt trees and fallen comrades in the war, along with his childhood memories of cut down trees, were incentives for Tolkien to portray the machines as potential exterminators of natural life.
Finally, Grove does not devote his work simply to the destruction by the colonialists but also to the conservationism in the ex-colonies that followed it. In The Lord of the Rings the idea of sustainability is introduced twice by Gandalf, first in Elrond’s council in Rivendell and secondly in the council held after the fight outside Minas Tirith, before taking the final battle to Mordor. When the issue of annihilating the ring is discussed in Rivendell, Gandalf insists that “it is not our part here to take thought only for a season, or for a few lives of Men, or for a passing age of the world. We should seek a final end of this menace, even if we do not hope to make one” (347). At the latter council he develops this thought further: “Other evil there are that may come; For Sauron is himself but a servant or emissary. Yet it is not our part to master all the tides of the world, but to do what is in us for the succour of those years wherein we are set, uprooting the evil in the fields that we know, so that those who live after may have clean earth to till” (861). Clearly, these quotes contain conservationist messages and suggest that a more farsighted approach should be applied to how nature is to be treated. The imperialists regarded only what occured in their own time and these quotes express the opposite side to that egotist, materialist view. Buell’s demand on the free peoples of Middle-earth Returning to Buell’s demand on environmental literature, concerning the connection between humans and nature and portraying nature as a character, the issue is if The Lord of the Rings shares the traits of the Romantic era in terms of the aesthetic quality of natural depiction and industrial scepticism. Consequently, regarding this connection, one has to analyze the inhabitants of Middle-earth. Naturally, it seems appropriate to begin with the elves who actually live in forests and in humongous trees. They seem to be in absolute unison with the natural world. While riding through the Huorn woods after the battle at Helm’s Deep for
and imagines what it once was in all its pride and glory. Then he encounters the tree and witnesses that “the falling drops dripped sadly from its barren and broken branches back into the clear water” (736), and the dead tree clearly symbolizes the approaching death of the Gondorian culture. In the final chapters of the entire series, when, against all odds, peace and health have been restored after the destruction of the ring and a new king is ready to seize the throne a sapling from the White Tree is found and planted. Obviously, this is a sign that the human race in The Lord of the Rings is tied to nature in this aspect. However, Tolkien is also keen on implying the insignificance of man in comparison to the vast life of nature. This is apparent in The Two Towers when Gandalf reminds King Theoden of the minute role of importance he plays to the ancient ents: “to them you are but the passing tale; all the years from Eorl the Young to Theoden the Old are but a small matter” (717). By looking at the link between the White Tree and Gondor’s power combined with Tolkien’s attempt to put humans in perspective to nature’s grandeur it is easy to conclude that natural life and human life are quite clearly supposed to be connected at their very root. Last, and undoubtedly least when it comes to size, the hobbits (or halflings) will now be the focal point since they are one of the free peoples and they are, eventually, the ones that are the deciding factor for the outcome of the war. Evidently, all the free peoples of Middle-earth are closely linked to the natural world and that most certainly includes the hobbits as well. On the very first page of the trilogy, in the chapter Concerning hobbits , the reader finds that hobbits “love […] good-tilled earth”, prefer the “well-farmed countryside” and neither “understand or like machines” (1). Their link to nature is further enhanced as Tolkien describes their ability to blend in with nature when sensing danger, an ability they possess because of “a close friendship with the earth” (2). Hence, there seems to be a mutual bond of respect between hobbits and nature. There is a clear reason why Tolkien would choose “friendship” as the word of describing the relationship between hobbits and nature which is to
emphasize how nature should be respected and what the result of breaking that bond is will be adressed later on. According to a radio interview with the BBC, Tolkien referred to the Shire as an image of the English Midlands, a countryside he grew to love as a young boy (Dickerson/Evans 13). Dickerson and Evans believe that the characteristics of rural England and its ecology to a large extent is represented in the landscapes of the Shire (155). Thus, the lives of the hobbits in The Lord of the Rings are possible representatives of an ideal Tolkien believed man should strive to live up to and although hobbits are lazy and fat they mirror Tolkien’s anti-industrial beliefs (Tolkien 1). They are non-materialistic, anti-modernist, agricultural and very naturalistic in their “return to nature” approach, and of course they “have great appreciation for trees” (Dickerson/Evans 98). Accordingly, they appear to embody what Tolkien felt was wrong with the modern technological era following the world wars. Bill McKibben shared Tolkien’s concern in The End of Nature from 1989 and suggested that science and a modern technological order will be the end of nature (Huggan/Tiffin 204,205). In contrast, however ineffective, hobbits symbolize the opposite of technological progress. To conclude, Tolkien has undoubtedly characterized the free peoples of Middle-earth in a way which links them to the natural life of The Lord of the Rings , illustrating how he probably wished for man to act when it comes to respecting it. The character of nature Moving on, one does not have to look far when attempting to find signs of the nature in The Lord of the Rings being more than what Buell referred to as “a framing device”. For the sake of this analysis more than a framing device means that the natural world is basically one of the novels’ characters. For example, the Old Forest featured in The Fellowship of the Ring is
Incidentally, the hobbits as tree cutters here clashes with their embodying Tolkien’s views. It will be argued here however that Tolkien is illustrating how it is possible to reconcile with nature and although the hobbits where once reckless and inexperienced they are still a friendly, nature loving people as they “love peace and quiet” (Tolkien 1). In addition, as one peruses the history of the hobbits, Tolkien concludes that “at no time had Hobbits of any kind been warlike, and had never fought among themselves” (7), since they had always believed that “peace and plenty were the rule in Middle-earth and the right of all sensible folk” (7). It seems as if the incident with the Old Forest was an unfortunate mistake and from Merry’s descriptions it would appear that they have certainly learned to be more respectful of the forest. After the hobbits finally arrive in Rivendell and Elrond’s council decide what has to be done with the One Ring, The Fellowship of the Ring takes the nine travellers on an epic journey through various types of natural habitats, and after failing one of their planned routes they take on the mountain of Caradhras. Immediately, one is given the feeling that the mountain has a mind of its own. The companions find themselves in a snowstorm but the reader is not supposed to believe that this is a regular snowstorm. As Gimli the dwarf puts it: “Caradhras has not forgiven us. He has more snow yet to fling at us, if we go on” (379). Apparently, the snow stopping the fellowship is brought down by the will of the disturbed mountain, referred to as a “he”. When they are finally forced to escape the mountain path and pull back to lower ground the road is shut behind them. “And indeed with that last stroke the malice of the mountain seemed to be expended, as if Caradhras was satisfied that the invaders had been beaten off and would not dare to return” (382). The key word is probably “invaders” in this quote. Perhaps Tolkien was implying that they were disturbing the peace of the mountain since his world was not just the flora and the fauna but to him mountains and rivers and winds were alive as well (Dickerson/Evans 8).
Unmistakably, the wind plays its most important part in The Return of the King when Sauron invades the free lands of Middle-earth and covers them in a cloud of black smoke. This smoke seemingly represents industrialism and Curry views Sauron and Mordor as the only entity in Middle-earth “which is industrial, imperialistic, and possessed of an all powerful state” (32), all the qualities Tolkien abhorred in one single villain. Additionally, Mordor is described as an “utterly authoritarian state, with a slave-based economy and […] intensive industrialism” with the “technological and instrumental power embodied in Sauron”, its emperor (24,52). Tolkien’s representation of the battle of modernity and industrialism gradually conquering nature finds its root in the war of the ring, visualized in the invading force of Mordor assaulting the allied resistance of the free people of Middle-earth. The impact of industrialism is foreshadowed already in The Fellowship of the Ring when Sam stares into the elf-queen Galadriel’s mirror: “Like a dream the vision shifted and went back, and he saw the trees again. But this time […] they were not waving in the wind, they were falling, crashing to the ground” (471). The vision of the devilry of industrialization continues: “Lots of folk were busy at work. There was a tall red chimney nearby. Black smoke seemed to cloud the surface of the Mirror” (472). This, of course, is not very “hobbit-like” with hobbits being “busy at work” and the message seems clear; industry will change the world Sam lives in, even one as peaceful and picturesque as the world of the Shire. Returning to the wind, while riding under the veil of Sauron’s black smoke and approaching the great battle outside of Minas Tirith the army of the Rohirrim is helped by a tribe of wood-men (another type of people highly in touch with nature simply referred to as the Wild Men). Before retiring back into the woods and leaving the army the headman of these wood-men, Ghan-buri-Ghan exclaims: “Wind is changing!” (817). This changing of the wind could be insignificant in any other story, but in The Lord of the Rings it is foreshadowing the turning of the tide and the eventual victory for the allied free peoples of
