Return of the King: Tolkien's lordly tale a parable for the modern age

+ Cardinal George Pell, Archbishop of Sydney
18 Jan 2004

Why is The Lord of the Rings so popular?

One youngster told me that The Return of the King was twice as good as the first two films.  I agree.

What won me over?  What in today’s world is bringing tens of millions of people to watch this grotesque morality play, more brilliant than anything available in the Middle Ages?

First of all it is a prodigious feat of imagination.  Artists can share in the work of God’s creation to adorn or despoil it.  Tolkien created a whole new world of Middle Earth, coherent in every detail, fantastic and spectacular, brought to us in colour in the savage New Zealand countryside, so unlike Australia’s.

The film is also full of enjoyable old fashioned violence, enormous massed battles between the forces of good and evil.  Our choice for good is made easier because the evil are ugly and frightening, often not human.

Tolkien knows human nature, the allure of evil, and the corruption that accompanies power, the possession of the ring.  The odious little Gollum, debating right and wrong with himself, (Smeagol) is recognised by every one.  If evil seems beautiful, ultimately it is ugly, anti-life, hate filled.

Sauron’s Mordor was a dying land, where things grew harsh, twisted, bitter and even the buds were maggot ridden.
 
On the other side, inspired by goodness, we find that honour and courage are valued, required of those beyond the grave and after death; that courage is infectious, that ordinary beings will make sacrifices for great and good causes.  Brave and clear headed leaders persuade their followers to fight for good when there seems little chance of victory.

These are grand, age-old themes and most people love them, but there is an unexpected twist.

Frodo, the saviour, is not a hero, not even a man, but a hobbit, a halfling, who perseveres, knows depression, is tricked by lies to distrust Sam his protector.  Neither does he administer strict warrior justice, as he spares Gollum, shows mercy.  Without Gollum the ring could not have been destroyed.

Many people like to escape their every day surrounds through a film or a book.  The Return of the King is escapism, but Tolkien claims it is not an escape without a destination, not “scientification”, using improved means to inferior and ugly ends.

In fact we arrive at the most important point of the traditional fairy story, the consolation of a happy ending, a good catastrophe.  A sudden miraculous grace, which will not recur, achieved in spite of sorrow and failure; “joy beyond the walls of the world, poignant as grief”.

Much modern art is alienated or deeply unhappy, materialist and elitist, designed to appeal only to a few with superior knowledge.

Tolkien’s masterpiece (and the film too will be acknowledged as a classic) is deeply spiritual, hope inspiring, and accessible to all, young and old, educated and less educated.