The Victory of Hope: Magic, Enchantment, and the True Nature of Power in The Lord of the Rings

This thesis is an extended analysis of power in the fantasy writings of J.R.R. Tolkien, principally The Lord of the Rings. In it, I argue that the supernatural power which would colloquially be identified as “magic” can be distinguished into two fundamentally different kinds of power. The first kind is the power of evil, of Sauron and his servants, and is properly called “magic.” Magic, in this sense, arises from lust for power and dominance, and is used to enslave, conquer, and deceive. Magicians like Sauron use their power for no one but themselves and no purpose but their own. The second kind is the power of good, of the heroes of the story, and following Tolkien I call it “enchantment.” Enchantment arises from a subordination of one’s will to a higher purpose, coming from a person or reality higher than one’s self. Enchantment manifests in the world when a character chooses in accordance with that purpose which they have received from beyond themselves. When that happens, they wield power which overcomes the evil which stands in the way of that quest or mission to which they are choosing to subordinate themselves. These choices are “eucatastrophic,” participating in and instrumentally causing the ultimate and final defeat of evil in the world.

Grantor dc:publisher

University of Oregon

Year dc:date.issued

2020

Author dc:creator

• LeFave, Anselm Gerard

• Literature
• Comparative Literature
• Magic
• Tolkien
• Power
• Enchantment
• Hope
• Eucatastrophe

Language dc:language.iso

en_US

Handle dc:identifier.uri

https://hdl.handle.net/1794/25774

OAI record oai:identifier

https://scholarsbank.uoregon.edu/server/oai/request?verb=GetRecord&metadataPrefix=dim&identifier=oai%3Ascholarsbank.uoregon.edu%3A1794%2F25774