Ents, elves, and Eriador : the environmental vision of J.R.R. Tolkien / Matthew Dickerson and Jonathan Evans.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Dickerson, Matthew T., 1963-

Contributor:

Evans, Jonathan D. (Jonathan Duane), 1954-

Series:

Culture of the land.

Culture of the land : a series in the new agrarianism

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Tolkien, J. R. R. (John Ronald Reuel), 1892-1973--Criticism and interpretation.

Tolkien, J. R. R.

Tolkien, J. R. R. (John Ronald Reuel), 1892-1973--Knowledge--Environmental sciences.

Environmental literature--History and criticism.

Environmental literature.

Ecocriticism.

Environmentalism.

Middle Earth (Imaginary place).

Human ecology in literature.

Nature in literature.

Ecology in literature.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xxvi, 316 pages)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Lexington, Kentucky : University Press of Kentucky, [2006]

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Many readers drawn into the heroic tales of J.R.R. Tolkien's imaginary world of Middle-earth have given little conscious thought to the importance of the land itself in his stories or to the vital roles played by the flora and fauna of that land. As a result, The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion are rarely considered to be works of environmental literature or mentioned together with such authors as John Muir, Rachel Carson, or Aldo Leopold. Tolkien's works do not express an activist agenda; instead, his environmentalism is expressed in the form of literary fiction. Nonetheless, Tolkien's vision of nature is as passionate and has had as profound an influence on his readers as that of many contemporary environmental writers. The burgeoning field of agrarianism provides new insights into Tolkien's view of the natural world and environmental responsibility. In Ents, Elves, and Eriador, Matthew Dickerson and Jonathan Evans show how Tolkien anticipated some of the tenets of modern environmentalism in the imagined world of Middle-earth and the races with which it is peopled. The philosophical foundations that define Tolkien's environmentalism, as well as the practical outworking of these philosophies, are found throughout his work. Agrarianism is evident in the pastoral lifestyle and sustainable agriculture of the Hobbits, as they harmoniously cultivate the land for food and goods. The Elves practice aesthetic, sustainable horticulture as they shape their forest environs into an elaborate garden. To complete Tolkien's vision, the Ents of Fangorn Forest represent what Dickerson and Evans label feraculture, which seeks to preserve wilderness in its natural form. Unlike the Entwives, who are described as cultivating food in tame gardens, the Ents risk eventual extinction for their beliefs. These ecological philosophies reflect an aspect of Christian stewardship rooted in Tolkien's Catholic faith. Dickerson and Evans define it as "stewardship of the kind modeled by Gandalf," a stewardship that nurtures the land rather than exploiting its life-sustaining capacities to the point of exhaustion. Gandalfian stewardship is at odds with the forces of greed exemplified by Sauron and Saruman, who, with their lust for power, ruin the land they inhabit, serving as a dire warning of what comes to pass when stewardly care is corrupted or ignored. Dickerson and Evans examine Tolkien's major works as well as his lesser-known stories and essays, comparing his writing to that of the most important naturalists of the past century. A vital contribution to environmental literature and an essential addition to Tolkien scholarship, Ents, Elves, and Eriador offers both Tolkien fans and environmentalists an understanding of Middle-earth that has profound implications for environmental stewardship in the present and the future of our own world.

Contents:

Part I. "The tides of the world" : Gandalfian stewardship and the foundations of Tolkien's vision

Varda, Yavanna, and the value of creation

Gandalf, stewardship, and tomorrow's weather

Part II. "The succour of those years wherein we are set" : A complex ecology of agriculture, horticulture, and feraculture

Hobbits and the agrarian society of the Shire

Horticulture and the aesthetic of the Elves

Woods, wildness, and the feraculture of the Ents - The necessity of margins in Middle-earth's mingled ecologies

The ecology of ham, Niggle's Parish, and Wootton Major

Part III. "Uprooting the evil in the fields that we know" : Following the vision, and the consequences of ignoring it

Three faces of Mordor

Rousing the Shire

Environmentalism, transcendence, and action

Conclusion : Some practical matters.

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 273-298) and index.

Description based on print version record.

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.

ISBN:

9786613232779

9780813138381

0813138388

9781283232777

1283232774

9780813171593

0813171598

OCLC:

77011189