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squire
Half-elven
Jan 31 2013, 2:37pm
Views: 3013
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Some objects are "evil" in Tolkien's world, but he explains what that means in terms of his story.
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Do we really want to use the mechanisms of a digital computer to explain the ways of Tolkien's universe - a universe where both morality and magic are more effective than they are in our world of science and relativity? Analogies tend to take their users where the users want to go, in this case in a mechanistic direction. Even Tolkien tended to fall into the trap of scientizing some of his magic, such as in his later essay on the palantirs (in Unfinished Tales) where he actually tries to write down the rules of their operation to fit, retrospectively, a sequence of episodes that he wrote rather freely while composing The Lord of the Rings. The explanations seem forced and artificial, even when phrased in Tolkien's soothing and authoritative prose, because his imagination was not following any rigorous rules when he wrote about the Stones in the first place.
But Tolkien is stronger on the subject of the Ring than he is with the palantirs, luckily, since the problem of the Ring is the core of the entire book. The Ring is an extension of Sauron, and both are said to be evil in the story. If we ask what it means to be "evil", there is a clear and satisfying answer: Tolkien consistently shows that Sauron is evil because of what he does, not who he is. The Dark Lord personifies the human concept of a Will to Power, which is the compulsion of another free will. The Ring likewise enables its wearer to compel others to follow his or her commands, against their own wills. This is inherently a corrupt act, and furthermore we know that human nature being what it is, the corruption tends to appeal to the vanity and ego of any personality, leading to further and stronger acts of compulsion. The final result is, in fact, the Dark Lord, a being of absolutely isolated ego and a total inability to empathize with any other personality.
So the Ring is not just vaguely "evil", as if evil is some discrete quality that can be imbued in an object with evil results, etc. The Ring is evil because its only power is to compel obedience and unwilling action through the will of the wearer. Tolkien followed a long string of philosophers and theologians who recognized that compulsion vs. freedom is how good and evil actually exist in the workaday world. His brilliant contribution was to isolate and highlight the point by writing a story in which compulsion is embodied in a physical and inanimate artifact that people can choose to make use of, or not.
squire online:
RR Discussions: The Valaquenta, A Shortcut to Mushrooms, and Of Herbs and Stewed Rabbit
Lights! Action! Discuss on the Movie board!: 'A Journey in the Dark'. and 'Designing The Two Towers'.
Footeramas: The 3rd (and NOW the 4th too!) TORn Reading Room LotR Discussion; and "Tolkien would have LOVED it!"
squiretalk introduces the J.R.R. Tolkien Encyclopedia: A Reader's Diary
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How The Ring tempts
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noWizardme
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Jan 27 2013, 5:02pm
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Get thee behind me, Ring!
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CuriousG
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Jan 28 2013, 12:36am
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Loyal evil
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Mim
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Jan 28 2013, 1:54pm
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I like your conclusion
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CuriousG
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Jan 28 2013, 4:45pm
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How "intelligent" is the Ring?
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noWizardme
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Jan 28 2013, 5:07pm
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The power of the ring...
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elevorn
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Jan 28 2013, 6:06pm
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There was only One Ring, but
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CuriousG
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Jan 28 2013, 6:50pm
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Not so sure about the Palantir.
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Elizabeth
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Jan 28 2013, 10:42pm
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Corrupted palantirs, an insight into Sauron's powers and methods?
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noWizardme
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Jan 29 2013, 1:05pm
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still not sure about the palantir...
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telain
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Jan 30 2013, 7:09pm
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Imbued vs contaminated?
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CuriousG
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Jan 30 2013, 9:11pm
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"When can an object be evil?" May be a promising question
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noWizardme
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Jan 31 2013, 11:05am
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Some objects are "evil" in Tolkien's world, but he explains what that means in terms of his story.
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squire
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Jan 31 2013, 2:37pm
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Very interesting answer: thanks! //
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noWizardme
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Jan 31 2013, 2:40pm
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Very well said! //
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Voronwë_the_Faithful
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Jan 31 2013, 2:52pm
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The One Ring's motivation, as voiced by Rick Astley
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noWizardme
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Nov 21 2020, 12:39pm
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*Old Denethor raises eyebrows*
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CuriousG
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Nov 21 2020, 2:16pm
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And ther ewas me thinking "They're never goinna click that link'...
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noWizardme
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Nov 21 2020, 6:38pm
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A hobbit wearing a Ring? Who? Where? I don't see him!
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dernwyn
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Nov 22 2020, 3:35am
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