What Tolkien Got in the Christian Allegory Department that C.S. Lewis Completely Missed
We all know about C.S. Lewis and his Christian allegories. Many people, but not quite as many people, know that Tolkien included them as well, even if not quite as overt. Generally, Lewis was spot-on with his allegories and references and analogies. But there is one allegory that Lewis missed. And that, in my view, is the allegory of Satan.
In The Chronicles of Narnia, there are many allegories for Satan. The White Witch. The Emerald Witch. Tash. But they all have something in common. All of the Satan allegories have no motivation. They are simply evil, and that's all you ever need know. Why are they evil? It doesn't matter. They just are. And they aren't even of Narnia. They come from somewhere else. The White Witch comes from Charn (as far from being Narnia as Earth is). The Emerald Witch's origins are disputed. Tash comes from who knows where--the depths of Hell probably.
However, Tolkien also had a few Satan allegories. Of course, there's Sauron and all that, but the most complicated one--and the best one--is Gollum.
There are many things that I didn't like about Peter Jackson's rendition of Lord of the Rings. Not as many as I don't like about his rendition of The Hobbit mind you. Mostly because the things I didn't like about Lord of the Rings, he took and went to town with on The Hobbit. Anyways, my dislike for Peter Jackson is for another day. Today, we're talking about what he did right--and Gollum was one of those things.
A lot of times, Gollum is made into a flat villain. But the fact of the matter is that Gollum isn't scary or menacing. He's just pitiable. Smeagol was turned into Gollum by an obsession over the ring, and he's just a miserable character. Why does Frodo fear Gollum in a way? Because he knows that Gollum is his future. That's why Frodo is obsessed with saving Gollum and turning him back into Smeagol. He has to believe that Gollum has Smeagol in him somewhere. He has to believe that Gollum is not doomed, and therefore, Smeagol is not doomed, and therefore, neither is Frodo.
Gollum is just like Satan. Gollum was a promising Hobbit-like creature who was torn down by his own choices and by the temptation of ring--by the temptations of power. Satan was the Son of the Morning, torn down by his own choices and the temptations of power. And Satan, like Gollum, is a wholly pitiable creature.
Why does Gollum want to hurt Frodo, even though Smeagol does not? It's because Gollum, like Satan, wants someone else to be as miserable as he is. Why does Gollum hate Sam? Because Sam is to Frodo what Gollum never had. Sam is Frodo's link with reality, hope and goodness. Sam saves Frodo in more than one way. Smeagol didn't have that, and so Gollum hates Sam.
So what does this allegory teach us? That we should try and save Satan? Absolutely not. Because, in the end, Smeagol was past saving. And Frodo cannot succeed until he is willing to give up on saving Gollum. By trying to save Gollum, Frodo was pulled away from Sam--reality, hope and goodness. And the only way that Frodo can free himself of the ring/temptation, is by removing himself from it entirely (ala Joseph of Egypt), ending his associations with evil, and pushing Gollum/Satan into the fires of Mount Doom/Hell.
And that is how Tolkien got a Christian allegory that C.S. Lewis completely missed.
In The Chronicles of Narnia, there are many allegories for Satan. The White Witch. The Emerald Witch. Tash. But they all have something in common. All of the Satan allegories have no motivation. They are simply evil, and that's all you ever need know. Why are they evil? It doesn't matter. They just are. And they aren't even of Narnia. They come from somewhere else. The White Witch comes from Charn (as far from being Narnia as Earth is). The Emerald Witch's origins are disputed. Tash comes from who knows where--the depths of Hell probably.
However, Tolkien also had a few Satan allegories. Of course, there's Sauron and all that, but the most complicated one--and the best one--is Gollum.
There are many things that I didn't like about Peter Jackson's rendition of Lord of the Rings. Not as many as I don't like about his rendition of The Hobbit mind you. Mostly because the things I didn't like about Lord of the Rings, he took and went to town with on The Hobbit. Anyways, my dislike for Peter Jackson is for another day. Today, we're talking about what he did right--and Gollum was one of those things.
A lot of times, Gollum is made into a flat villain. But the fact of the matter is that Gollum isn't scary or menacing. He's just pitiable. Smeagol was turned into Gollum by an obsession over the ring, and he's just a miserable character. Why does Frodo fear Gollum in a way? Because he knows that Gollum is his future. That's why Frodo is obsessed with saving Gollum and turning him back into Smeagol. He has to believe that Gollum has Smeagol in him somewhere. He has to believe that Gollum is not doomed, and therefore, Smeagol is not doomed, and therefore, neither is Frodo.
Gollum is just like Satan. Gollum was a promising Hobbit-like creature who was torn down by his own choices and by the temptation of ring--by the temptations of power. Satan was the Son of the Morning, torn down by his own choices and the temptations of power. And Satan, like Gollum, is a wholly pitiable creature.
Why does Gollum want to hurt Frodo, even though Smeagol does not? It's because Gollum, like Satan, wants someone else to be as miserable as he is. Why does Gollum hate Sam? Because Sam is to Frodo what Gollum never had. Sam is Frodo's link with reality, hope and goodness. Sam saves Frodo in more than one way. Smeagol didn't have that, and so Gollum hates Sam.
So what does this allegory teach us? That we should try and save Satan? Absolutely not. Because, in the end, Smeagol was past saving. And Frodo cannot succeed until he is willing to give up on saving Gollum. By trying to save Gollum, Frodo was pulled away from Sam--reality, hope and goodness. And the only way that Frodo can free himself of the ring/temptation, is by removing himself from it entirely (ala Joseph of Egypt), ending his associations with evil, and pushing Gollum/Satan into the fires of Mount Doom/Hell.
And that is how Tolkien got a Christian allegory that C.S. Lewis completely missed.
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