The Man & the Myth:
Biographer Joseph Pearce on J.R.R. Tolkien
Q&A by Kathryn Jean Lopez
December 22-28, 2001
Joseph Pearce is author of many books, including Tolkien: Man and Myth and editor of Tolkien: A Celebration, both published by Ignatius Press. Pearce is also editor of The Saint Austin Review.
Kathryn Jean Lopez: Literarily, Lord of the Rings has never gotten real respect, has it?
Joseph Pearce: It's never received any respect from the self-styled literati who have sought to hijack literature for their own secular humanist agenda. On the other hand, it has never lacked the respect it so evidently deserves from those who appreciate a great work of literature when they see it!
Lopez: Why such passionate opinions?
Pearce: Basically, Tolkien's moral traditionalism, i.e. his belief that good and evil are objectively real, goes against the grain of our philosophically relativist and morally bankrupt age.
Lopez: Can it be seen as anything other than Christian mythology?
Pearce: If it were nothing other than Christian mythology it would still have more of real relevance to say to the modern world than any number of pseudo-Freudian fantasy novels. The central point is that the moral dimension in The Lord of the Rings is powerfully applicable to our lives. Concepts such as self-sacrifice; the exaltation of the humble; the power of humility versus the destructive and self-negating futility of pride (theologically understood) are at the center of everybody's lives — even if they don't realize it!
Lopez: You have said that The Lord of the Rings should be required reading in every Christian family. But…isn't it a "boy thing?"
Pearce: Perhaps the best way of answering this question would be to allow the leading feminist writer, Germaine Greer, to answer for me. In 1997, Ms. Greer wrote the following: "Ever since I arrived at Cambridge as a student in 1964 and encountered a tribe of full-grown women wearing puffed sleeves, clutching teddies, and babbling excitedly about the doings of hobbits, it has been my nightmare that Tolkien would turn out to be the most influential writer of the twentieth century. The bad dream has materialized." Clearly one woman's nightmare is another woman's delight! Personally, I have spoken about Tolkien in various parts of the country and can state unequivocally that there are more women than men in attendance. Clearly the whole "boy thing" is very much a "girl thing" also!
Lopez: What is the message of Lord of the Rings? Is there an alternative (more secular) lesson?
Pearce: Having quoted a leading feminist, perhaps I'll answer this question by allowing Tolkien to answer for me: "The Lord of the Rings is of course a fundamentally religious and Catholic work; unconsciously so at first, but consciously in the revision." The Book, like every other book from the Bible downwards, can be read or mis-read, used or abused. If The Lord of the Rings is read as its author intended it to be read, its religious dimension will shine through. Ultimately questions of right or wrong, good and evil, are religious questions.
Lopez: What did Tolkien set out to do? Did he have any idea how big his books would be?
Pearce: Tolkien set out with a good heart to write a good story. The goodness of the former shines forth in the latter.
Lopez: How did Tolkien come up with Middle Earth, etc?
Pearce: Tolkien believed that certain truths could be more effectively conveyed through the medium of mythology than through any other literary medium. Consequently, he set out to create a mythological world in which to have room to speak truthfully.
Lopez: What got you interested in Tolkien's life?
Pearce: It seemed to me that the hostile critics knew as little about the man behind the myth as they knew about the myth itself. My desire to learn more about Tolkien was inspired by a desire to exorcise ignorance with the power of knowledge.
Lopez: Are there similarities between Tolkien and Rowling's Harry Potter?
Pearce: Certainly there are similarities. At its best, Harry Potter is a poor imitation of Tolkien.
Lopez: Is the Tolkien revival underway a good thing or is the pop-culture aspect a bad thing for the original books?
Pearce: If the films lead to more people reading the books they will have an edifying impact — even if the films themselves fail to do the books justice. God can, and does, bring good from evil.
As Tolkien wrote in The Lord of the Rings, "Above all shadows rides the Sun."