Did JRR Tolkien mean for the Lord of the Rings to be interpreted as a Christian work?

  • Thread starter Thread starter The Good Dr.
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The Good Dr.

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... I have now heard both:

a) Although Tolkien was a Christian himself, the LOTR was NOT intended to be taken as a Christian allegory.

b) Tolkien deliberately wrote the LOTR with Christian themes.

For God's sake (ha, ha), which is it? I recently had an argument with someone on this issue, and want to be sure I was arguing the correct side! And if now, I want to understand the truth so I may correct my erroneousness!

Please provide evidence for your answer, if possible. Thank you!!
 
No! The underlying themes of the LOTR is mythological, read any good Mother Goddess book, like Robert Graves The White Goddess, and you will recognize the themes of nobility and tragedy of the human condition, in our natural state, spirituality is a whole other battleground, even though some would argue that these two mirror each other, it would only be a reflection.
 
Tolkien said MANY times himself in MANY different interviews as well as letters to his son that he detested allegory. He meant his story to be taken for what was written and nothing more. There were no deliberate themes, certainly not christian ones.

(Sorry, this is by far the most annoying assumption of tolkien's work I've yet encountered...and I see it sooo often).
 
Agree with lupinesidhe. Tolkien clearly stated in one of his letter to the publisher that he hated allegory and LOTR wasn't meant to be an alegory of any sort. You can find the letter on 1991 LOTR book edition or on the special feature of FOTR.
Of course the professor's devotion to Christianity may color his works from which the fellow devoted believers can catch glimpse of Christianity in his work, but then again, many of his life experience have colored the book, including his service during WWI.
 
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