Powrót do Shire… : baśń uświęcona Ewangelią? O walce dobra ze złem w świecie Tolkiena

Abstract

The article offers an attempt to find connections between The Lord of the Rings and the Gospel, especially in the context of the struggle between good and evil. The point of departure for the reflections presented in the text is Tolkien’s own qualification of his work as “Christian,” which – in his opinion – becomes evident in subsequent re-readings. Such a return to the text is reflected in the metaphor of the return to the Shire, which proves helpful in analyzing both The Lord of the Rings and other stories from the Middle-Earth. Importantly, however, Tolkien does not transplant the Bible into his text in a literal manner; he does not impose any preferred reading, thus allowing his audience to interpret his work in a variety of ways. In The Lord of the Rings, the reader may find many universal truths, also those involving the creation of good and evil. Stories from the Middle-Earth also draw inspiration from sources other than the Gospel, which, albeit interesting, exceeds the scope of the present study, which compares selected excerpts from Tolkien’s works with Biblical texts in light of academic literature of the subject, as well as in the perspective of the author’s own interpretations.