The Redemption of Man (in LOTR)

Diving into Tolkien's Living Mythos

I always cry when I watch the Lord of the Rings. I am transported without fail to a world so rich and familiar, to the great story of our age. No matter how many re-tellings, there are moments filled with truth and tragedy that cannot help but cut through; the fall of Gandalf, the death of Boromir, and Frodo’s departure to the West.

Growing up in a secular culture, The Lord of the Rings was my bible. It was a myth that I held religiously, revisiting every year in ceremonial fashion. My grandfather collected vintage editions of the books and read the stories to my mother, passing them down generationally. It’s a story that I will undoubtedly share with my children and have shared with most of my romantic partners. Where other 'franchises' are partially shared, LOTR seems to be held fondly across the board, particularly among men.

I recall in my 10th year of (high) school that the cinema was re-airing the whole trilogy back-to-back. I was so excited for the once-in-a life time opportunity that I told my whole friend group (of dudes) about the event and went together. To my surprise, they used their phones during and some of them cracked  gay jokes and meme jokes during the movies. Usually onboard for banter, I was distinctly sensitised to this so much so that the memory resurfaced this week. That day I came away with a quiet sense of profanity, wishing I had gone alone to  preserve the sanctity of my relationship to these stories. For me they were realer than real, more honoured than any other story. Now with many years behind me, I’m revisiting Middle Earth to uncover the root of why The Lord of the Rings endures as a sacred mythos.

A Universal Mythos

Tolkien’s opus speaks to us on  many levels. The story of the fellowship is a beautiful demonstration of how values, meaning and wisdom are often far better conveyed more in story than in dictum, logic or law. Tolkien was devoted to catholicism in it's mystery and theater, he was a philologist with a deep knowledge of the lore of Anglo-Saxon and pagan cultures and deeply interweaved them in Middle Earth. We’ll explore later the significance of Tolkien’s Catholicism for LOTR. But first, I laud the achievement of conveying the value of fellowship, sacrifice and courage in a way that remains universally accessible; transcending national and religious boundaries.

The Redemption of Man

Core among the deep truths that Tolkien's myth evokes is the redemption of man. Throughout Middle Earth man struggles to redeem himself, to redeem not only himself but his line, his kingdom. It's a perennial challenge, and today we too live with a prevailing sense of man's fallenness and lack paths to redemption.  Tolkien’s mythos crystallises the core possibility of the Christian and chivalric-warrior culture of redemption. No matter how far we fall there is a possibility of turning towards the good.

In Boromir, son of Gondor, we find the heir to a once great kingdom that has fallen into decay and failing rule. He would do whatever it takes to redeem the kingdom, but in his pained passion, he is tempted to use  any means to achieve this end including using the one ring.. Boromir’s fall is heartbreaking because, in the wake of failing Frodo and trying to take the ring from him, he recognises his own failure. Boromir, in the last devotes himself with valiance to protecting the fellowship, slaying many Uruk-Hai before falling in battle. In his last moments, he demonstrates a powerful redemption, not only of self-sacrifice but also of overcoming the power-hunger and resentment of his paternal line by pledging his brotherly allegiance to Aragorn. Despite his fall, he is held in honour by his brother and king Aragorn for his valiance; in his redemptive sacrifice, he finds forgiveness. The members of the fellowship are not perfect and often fail to meet the ideal, it is in their confrontation with this failure and their renewal of devotion that they demonstrate the greatest courage and devotion.

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The redemption of Man is mirrored in the journey of Theoden, king of Rohan a land that has fallen into corruption and decay. We find Theoden weak, his mind corrupted by the voice and witchcraft of Saruman. Following his exorcism at the hands of Gandalf, Theodon grieves the decay of his kingdom and the death of his favourite son, which occurred while his mind was addled. Through the story, he wrestles with fulfilling his kingship, not wishing to risk his people’s blood or 'open war' though it is upon him. He still holds resentment for the ways other kingdoms of men have failed him in the past. Theoden’s journey develops in at two key moments of turning. First, in the darkest hour before dawn at Helms deep, when the gates are breached and his people face slaughter, Theoden heeds Aragorn’s call ‘Ride out with me’. He turns in the very moment of disaster to a deep and ancient valour, carrying the standard of Rohan high into battle. Later, when the battle is done and Gondor calls for aid, Theoden extends honour to an ally that has not reciprocated it, he breaks the karmic rot in the brotherhood of the kingdoms and re-instantiates an age old honour. In the end he faces his fear and rides into open battle with little hope of victory, finding the solace to join ‘the house of his fathers’ with honour.

The redemption of man is theme also played out between Boromir and Aragorn. At Rivendell Boromir discovers the shard’s of Narsil; the blade of Isildur that cut down Sauron. He first picks up the blade with a sense of wonder at the great power of Gondor’s line then cuts himself on the tip of the blade. He steps back from the sincere power of the lineage exemplified in the blood it draws from him, dropping the blade and disregarding it ‘no more than a broken heirloom’. In this moment Boromir cannot find the living power of Isildur, he turns away from it as he also turns away from Aragorn. For a moment, he thinks to pick it up then walks away leaving Aragorn to restore the blade to its place. We see in both men’s journeys how much their destiny is not about a 'self-made’ man free-floating without context but as a descendant of an ancestral line to which they are in deep dialogue. Their fates and the fate of their Kingdoms are at one.

Aragorn as strider, symbolises the ranger who avoids his highest calling and roams the world in obscurity. He sees the sins of his fathers in the corruption of Isildur and turns away from the power that is his destiny. He fears in his heart that man is fundamentally corrupted by power and by the power of the ring, choosing instead to walk in obscurity, never to claim his kingship. In his devotion, not to himself but to the fellowship and to Frodo (representing small, innocent, courage), Aragorn begins to rediscover the resolution of this. His redemption is powerfully supported by the love of Arwen, who, embodying the feminine power of the queen, sees and calls forth the greatness of man. Arwen reminds Aragorn that he is not Isildur, that he can choose a new path. Aragorn, like the best of leaders, is at first reluctant to take power and only claims the call when absolutely necessary in service of his kingdom. Later in the Return of the King, Elrond restores Narsil, calling on Aragorn to claim his kingship, with which he is able to claim the allegiance of the ‘fallen men’ of the mountain. These 'fallen men' called to true allegiance prove to be essential to fighting the great battle of the age. Aragorn’s kingship is ultimately rooted in his love for the fellowship, he stands and is prepared to die fighting at the gates of Mordor ‘for frodo’. In the end, he, as king, bows before the hobbits, demonstrating the humility of his kingship before the sacred fellowship.

Redemption in Tolkien’s work ultimately extends beyond men to all races. Gimli stands to redeem the fallenness of the dwarves into greed. Pippin proves himself a valiant fuckup who turns towards his courageous sacrifice.

Nobility and devotion in The Lord of the Rings are not about being the descendant of an untarnished line. Each of the great men are born into fallen lines and fallen kingdom’s but they know in their hearts that there is greatness to be found. In every fall, we can turn again towards love, honour and devotion to the fellowship.

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This was really invigorating to write and I’m feeling a lot of emotion connecting with these stories. If the Kairos strikes there will be a pt.2!

In the meantime…

Explore further with us at ‘The Lord of The Rings and The Reality of myth’