Riddles in the dark: a theoretical approach to Tolkien’s The Hobbit

Traballo de fin de grao Riddles in the Dark: A Theoretical Approach to Tolkien’s The Hobbit Grao en Lingua e Literatura Inglesas Xullo 2016 Traballo de fin de grao Riddles in the Dark: A Theoretical Approach to Tolkien’s The Hobbit Grao en Lingua e Literatura Inglesas Xullo 2016 Contents Introduction....................................................................................................................... 3 1. “The Love Gift of a Fairy-Tale” ........................................................................... 6 1.1 Some Definitions through History .................................................................. 6 1.1.1 Tolkien’s Realm of Faërie ...................................................................... 6 1.1.2 Propp’s Morphology ............................................................................. 11 1.1.3 New Approaches: Bettelheim, Zipes and others................................... 13 1.2 On Fantasy .................................................................................................... 19 1.3 Fairy-Tale and Children................................................................................ 22 1.4 A Notion of Fairy Tales ................................................................................ 26 2. There and Back Again ........................................................................................ 28 2.1 Inside Information: On the Form of The Hobbit .......................................... 28 2.2 Riddles in the Dark: Content and Effects of The Hobbit .............................. 35 2.3 Children and The Hobbit .............................................................................. 38 Conclusions..................................................................................................................... 41 Bibliography ................................................................................................................... 43 Appendix A..................................................................................................................... 45 Appendix B ..................................................................................................................... 47 Appendix C ..................................................................................................................... 48 Appendix D..................................................................................................................... 49 Riddles in the Dark: A Theoretical Approach to Tolkien’s The Hobbit Alberto Amoza Dávila 3 Introduction During my years as a student of English literature I have looked into a wide variety of novels, plays and poems, which belonged to many different authors and genres. However, most of these works had something in common: they were canonical texts. From Daniel Defoe’s Moll Flanders to Virginia Woolf’s Mrs. Dalloway or Shakespeare’s sonnets and plays, relevance in accordance with the English canon was observed as a primary criterion of selection, which is undoubtedly necessary knowledge for a prospective philologist. However, during the course of some lectures on Comparative Literature I discovered a growing interest in non-canonical literature such as the folktale. Despite the fact that, as a reader I enjoy many of the canonical works that had been written through history I also find most appealing what is nowadays called “fantastic literature”, and especially J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit (1937) and The Lord of the Rings (1954). The idea of looking into The Hobbit as a fairy tale sprang after my reading of Vladimir Propp’s seminal essay Morphology of the Folktale (1968), in which the Russian author explained a series of functions as constitutive of the fairy tale genre that reminded me of some parts of Tolkien’s novel. The fairy tale genre has been relegated through history to a second-class literary form, as it evolved from the oral tradition to the “nursery” field. However, during the first half of the twentieth century, critics such as Propp or Tolkien himself started to show an interest in the fairy tale from a formal theoretical perspective, yet also discussing issues of content and readership, thus elevating the genre to an academic level. Later on in the century, other authors such as Bruno Bettelheim and Jack Zipes continued the analysis of this genre, adding new perspectives to the study of fairy tales. The aim of this work is to offer an approach to some theories concerning the analysis of the fairy tale genre, to then move on to an examination of Tolkien’s The Hobbit within the framework of that theoretical background. To achieve this aim, this essay has been informed by different foundational studies on the fairy tale genre, springing from Tolkien’s own notion of the genre presented in his essay On Fairy Stories (1947), his major contribution to the analysis of the aforementioned genre. Moreover, other seminal works for the study of the fairy tale as a Riddles in the Dark: A Theoretical Approach to Tolkien’s The Hobbit Alberto Amoza Dávila 4 literary genre had been taken into account, which are later used in my reading of Tolkien’s novel. However, in this process of reassessment of these theories, some conflictive concepts have appeared, namely the notion of the fairy tale as a true narrative which Tolkien puts forward in his essay, related to the consideration of fairy tales as children’s literature. Tolkien’s use of the word “true” to define fairy tales derives from his idea that these narratives do not occur in the real world, but in an alternative one which he calls “Faërie”, since the fantastic and magic elements which appear in this realm are “not true” in our world. Therefore, Tolkien’s notion of a “true” narrative implies that the world in which fairy tales take place has its own regulations as an alternative, which are indeed “true” within this fictional universe. Furthermore, the reader’s assumption of the “true” nature of this universe is for Tolkien crucial to have an effect on the reader, as will be subsequently explained. This essay also addresses the question of fairy tales as children’s literature, which is a rather complex debate: some authors, such as Bettelheim or Zipes, understand that fairy tales are indeed children’s literature, as they assume that this genre has a particular effect on them. However, I have positioned myself with Tolkien’s view of the issue in considering that fairy tales should not be considered as children’s literature, but rather the opposite, although children are not excluded from their readership. This essay is divided in two major parts: the first one provides a theoretical approach to the fairy tale genre departing from Tolkien’s notion of the fairy tale, to later move on to Propp’s formalist approach and to subsequent studies of the genre by Bettelheim and Zipes, among others. The second part of the essay aims to examine Tolkien’s The Hobbit in terms of the formal and semantics aspects pertaining to the fairy tale genre as established in the first part of this work. The analysis of Tolkien’s novel also follows a two-fold structure: in the first place, a formal approach to the novel will be given by following Tolkien’s and Propp’s notions of the genre, which spring from a formalist perspective. Finally, the second section offers an approach to the novel in terms of content, especially in what relates to Tolkien’s notions of the fairy tale genre as a “true” narrative, by examining the fantastic Riddles in the Dark: A Theoretical Approach to Tolkien’s The Hobbit Alberto Amoza Dávila 5 and magic element of the novel and the effects which these produce on the reader. In this sense, a brief approach to the debate of the fairy tale genre as children’s literature will close this section, which departs from Jane Chance’s analysis of the novel and from Tolkien’s views on the issue. Riddles in the Dark: A Theoretical Approach to Tolkien’s The Hobbit Alberto Amoza Dávila 6 Child of the pure unclouded brow And dreaming eyes of wonder! Though time be fleet, and I and thou Are half a life asunder, Thy loving smile will surely hail The love-gift of a fairy tale.1 1. “The Love-Gift of a Fairy-Tale” 1.1 Some Definitions through History The fairy tale, or fairy story, is a literary genre that has often been undervalued by both scholars and readers, and yet it is much more powerful than we imagine. Fairy tales are capable of taking us into magical worlds in which the common laws of physics and logic do not apply; fairy stories make us believe in the impossible, they make us fantasize, they make us imagine. The aim of this essay is to examine J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit (1937) within the framework of the fairy tale as a literary genre. There are many different approaches to the notion of the fairy tale; however, for the purpose of this text, I will focus mainly on four: J.R.R. Tolkien’s own study of the genre in his essay On Fairy Stories (1947); Vladimir Propp’s Morphology of the Folk Tale (1968); Jack Zipes’ Breaking the Magic Spell: Radical Theories of Folk and Fairy Tales (2002), and Bruno Bettelheim’s The Uses of Enchantment: The Meaning and Importance of Fairy Tales (1991). 1.1.1 Tolkien’s Realm of Faërie Tolkien draws on his own ideas on the genre of fairy stories to write The Hobbit. In what follows I will be examining Tolkien’s major argumentations in order to move on to an analysis of the novel itself.2 1 Carroll, Lewis. Through the Looking Glass in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland; Through the Looking Glass; The Hunting of the Snark. New York. The Modern Library, 193-? (159). For the complete poem see Appendix B. 2 Zipes also comments on this: “Tolkien’s comments are most significant for an understanding of his own fairy tales.” (In Breaking the Magic Spell, 2002: 160). Riddles in the Dark: A Theoretical Approach to Tolkien’s The Hobbit Alberto Amoza Dávila 7 Verlyn Flieger and Douglas A. Anderson say the following in the introduction to On Fairy Stories: “[The essay’s] chief concern is the essential nature of fairystories, their position in relationship to myth, the character of their intended audience, and their uses as a literary genre.” (2014:19) This is a very good point, and very important for the matter at hand. Tolkien’s understanding of the fairystory does not comply with most approaches to the genre. At the time that Tolkien studied the fairy tale the OED provided a three-fold definition for fairy tales, reproduced in Tolkien’s essay: “(a) a tale about fairies, or generally a fairy legend; with developed senses, (b) an unreal or incredible story, and (c) a falsehood.”(Tolkien 2014:28)3 This definition was for Tolkien at best insufficient, if not directly wrong. For the British author, fairy-stories […] are not in normal English usage stories about fairies or elves, but stories about Fairy, that is Faërie, the realm or state in which fairies have their being […] Most good ‘fairy-stories’ are about the adventures of men in the Perilous Realm or upon its shadowy marches. (Tolkien: 32) This idea has an immediate consequence on the fairy tale reader: whatever s/he is reading does not belong to this world. This is so because for Tolkien a good fairy tale needs to be true in some dimension, meaning that “it is at any rate essential to a genuine fairy-story, […] that it should be presented as ‘true.’” (Tolkien: 35) Tolkien believed that a fairy tale could not be understood as true if it dealt with fantastic matters happening in this world, what he calls “Primary World” (Tolkien: 52), the world in which we live, such as the ones that appear in fairy-stories, because that would force the reader to believe things that he/she knows are not truly possible in this world, such as talking beasts, magic, etc. Tolkien’s conception of fairy tales is thus bound to an alternative world with its own measure of reality. However, all this is only a deconstruction of a definition that Tolkien does not actually provide. All he says (Tolkien: 32), in an attempt to define his idea of fairystory, is the following: The definition of a fairy-story […] depend[s] […] upon the nature of Faërie […]. I will not attempt to define that, nor to describe it directly. It cannot be done. Faërie cannot be caught in 3 All quotes from Tolkien’s essay On Fairy Stories from here onwards belong to the 2014 edition by Flieger and Anderson. Riddles in the Dark: A Theoretical Approach to Tolkien’s The Hobbit Alberto Amoza Dávila 8 a net of words; for it is one of its qualities to be indescribable, though not imperceptible. […] I will say only this: a ‘fairy-story’ is one which touches on or uses Faërie, whatever its own main purpose may be: satire, adventure, morality, fantasy. With this definition, Tolkien only emphasizes previously advanced ideas, namely that fairy tales are stories about what he calls the “realm of Faërie”. However, Tolkien goes deeper into this definition by ruling out other types of tales that had been historically defined as such (by Andrew Lang in his Fairy Books for instance). Tolkien first excludes such tales as Jonathan Swift’s “A Voyage to Lilliput”, as its inclusion in fairy tale collections4 comes from the fact that “Lilliputians are small, even diminutive” (Tolkien: 34). According to the OED fairy tales were defined as “stories about fairies.” Lang’s confusion defining Swift’s narrative as a fairy tale comes from a mistaken definition of Lilliputians as “fairies”, as he seems to be following the lexicographer’s definition of fairy that Tolkien quotes (and rejects) at the beginning of his essay, stating that fairies are “supernatural beings of diminutive size, in popular belief supposed to possess magical powers and to have great influence for good or evil over the affairs of man.” (Tolkien: 28) As Tolkien sees it, Swift’s narrative belongs to the traveller’s tales class, as “such tales report many marvels, but they are marvels to be seen in this mortal world in some region of our own time and space; distance alone conceals them.” (Tolkien: 34). Thus, it does not belong to the fairy-story taxonomy, as this would have to take place within the realm of Faërie. The British author also excludes the pure “Beast-fable” from fairy tales. Despite the fact that they are connected in a way, the beast-fable cannot take place in the Faërie realm, as there is no place for human beings in them, or their appearance is merely accessory (Tolkien: 36). In his essay the British author also tried to provide an account of the origins of the fairy tale, and in doing so he also further develops his conception of the genre. For Tolkien fairy stories spring from the human mind, thus the writer of fairy stories becomes a “sub-creator”, as he/she is producing a world that, as was said before, is true. Therefore, as he says in the text: “An essential power of Faërie is thus the power of making immediately effective by the will the visions of 4 This tale, first appearing in Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels was included for instance in Lang’s Blue Fairy Book, first published in 1889. Riddles in the Dark: A Theoretical Approach to Tolkien’s The Hobbit Alberto Amoza Dávila 15 with religious themes.” (Bettelheim 1991:13) Such a religious status of the fairy tale could explain the fact that fairy tales mostly deal with morality issues. As seen above, Bettelheim and Tolkien disagreed in a number of aspects concerning the notion of fairy tales. Nevertheless, they also agreed on some others that are fairly relevant to this study. First of all, the Austrian author said the following: “it is unfortunate that both the English and the French names for these stories emphasize the role of fairies in them – because in most, no fairies appear.” (Bettelheim 1991:26) Although not in a straightforward manner, and even though he does not consider any second world; Bettelheim echoes in these lines Tolkien’s conception of fairy tales as being stories about humans in Faërie. Bettelheim agrees that fairy tales are not stories about fairies, as the OED defined them at the time when Tolkien wrote his essay. Moreover, he compares the fairy tale with myths, distinguishing them in the following way: Far from making demands [as he says the myth does], the fairy tale reassures, gives hope for the future, and holds out the promise of a happy ending. That is why Lewis Carroll called it a “love-gift” – a term hardly applicable to a myth. (Bettelheim 1991:26) By saying this, Bettelheim is stating along with Tolkien and Propp9 that fairy tales, in order to be defined as such, must have a happy ending, for a number of reasons. Tolkien believed that the happy ending was necessary to give the reader some sort of consolation. Bettelheim believes that fairy tales provide some sort of psychological aid (i.e. hope), which is basically the same thing. Even more so, Bettelheim discusses Tolkien’s thesis and states that “Consolation is the greatest service the fairy tale can offer a child.” (Bettelheim 1991:147) The contrast with myth also helps Bettelheim later on to reinforce the idea of the happy ending as something that is inevitable and necessary for a fairy tale: The ending, which in myths is nearly always tragic, [is] […] always happy in fairy tales. […] The myth is pessimistic, while the fairy story is optimistic, no matter how terrifyingly serious some features of the story may be.” (Bettelheim 1991:37) 9 Even though he does not explicitly say this in the text, Propp’s last function is the marriage of the hero (see Appendix A: XXXI), thus establishing a “happy” ending, if we accept the social convention of marriage as a “happy” issue. Riddles in the Dark: A Theoretical Approach to Tolkien’s The Hobbit Alberto Amoza Dávila 16 One last agreement between Bettelheim’s and Tolkien’s view of the fairy tale is that they both affirm that the fairy tale should be presented as true, that is, what “happens” in the fairy tale should be understood by the reader as the reality of things and not as something invented. For Tolkien’s this “realm of Faërie” cannot be achieved if not considered true. Bettelheim phrases this issue in a different way: Although the events which occur in fairy tales are often unusual and most improbable, they are always presented as ordinary, […]. Even the most remarkable encounters are related in casual everyday ways in fairy tales.” (Bettelheim 1991:36-37) Bettelheim uses in these lines “ordinary” with the meaning of “belonging to the regular or usual order or course of things” (OED). Thus, it has to be “true” for the reader and therefore possible in this world. The same was stated by Ernst Bloch in his essay The Fairy Tale Moves on its own Time (1930) when speaking about two plays by Molnár:10 “Both deal with the genuine fairy-tale world of a petty bourgeois young woman of today, a world in which almost every part is false and nevertheless the whole is true.” (Bloch 1930) It is interesting to note that Bettelheim considered impossible to assign characters proper names in fairy tales, in accordance with most traditional fairy tales.11 Such a tendency towards universality in character-depiction helps readers, for Bettelheim mostly children, to identify themselves with those characters. “The question for the child is not “Do I want to be good?” but “Who do I want to be like?” (Bettelheim 1991:10) This might be questioned, as what helps the reader, both child and adult, to identify themselves with the characters may not be their names, but rather their personality, actions and situations, although the generic naming of characters does support Tolkien thesis of the fairy tale as a universal genre. Finally, Bettelheim’s psychological approach understands fairy tales mainly as literature for children, a topic which will be subsequently developed in this paper. In addition to this, Bettelheim emphasizes the oral quality of fairy tales, which, in 10 “Molnár was a Hungarian playwright and novelist who is known for his plays about the contemporary salon life of Budapest and for his moving short stories” - http://global.britannica.com/biography/Ferenc- Molnar. 11 Fairy tales normally provide characters with generic names like Jack (for instance in Jack the Giant Killer), Hansel or Gretel, or maybe names used to describe one quality or the appearance of the character as “Little Red Riding Hood” or “The Ugly Duckling.” Riddles in the Dark: A Theoretical Approach to Tolkien’s The Hobbit Alberto Amoza Dávila 17 his view, should be told rather than read: “The purpose in telling a fairy story ought to be […] a shared experience of enjoying the tale, although what makes for this enjoyment may be quite different for child and adult” (Bettelheim 1991:154). From Bettelheim’s perspective, telling a fairy tale is psychologically speaking more effective for the child’s development as a person, as he says that “the fairy story communicates to the child an intuitive, subconscious understanding of his own nature and of what his future may hold if he develops his positive potentials.” (Bettelheim 1991:155) Therefore, the effectiveness of the fairy story in the growing process for Bettelheim is much greater if child and adult “share the experience” of the tale. Bettelheim’s reading of the fairy tale as a genre with positive psychological uses in the growing process of children is shared by other theorists of the genre, such as Jack Zipes. In his book Fairy Tales and the Art of Subversion, first published in 1983, Zipes states the following: The best fairy tales are supposedly universal. It does not matter when or why they were written. What matters is their enchantment as though their bedtime manner can always be put to use to soothe the anxieties of children or help them therapeutically to realize who they are. (Zipes 1991:1) Zipes’ approach, although it indeed touches on the issue of children, also points in Tolkien’s direction. Zipes believes fairy tales to be “universal”, meaning that these types of stories will always follow a pattern that is marked by its form, which is somehow similar to Tolkien’s definition of the genre. As was mentioned before, Tolkien gives the fairy-story a universal theme, thus it actually “does not matter when or why they were written”, as Zipes said, because they would all follow that universal pattern. Moreover, in his book Breaking the Magic Spell: Radical Theories of Folk and Fairy Tales (2002), Zipes points out a question that Propp already mentioned concerning the creation of fairy tales, namely that “the fairy tale gives full expression to the dissatisfactions of average people, and this is why it remains such a powerful cultural force among them.” (Zipes 2002:158) Propp affirmed that uncorrupted fairy tale construction was only possible for the peasantry; therefore, it is unavoidable that those fairy tales dealt with themes and topics concerning the lower rural classes. Interestingly enough, in the earlier Riddles in the Dark: A Theoretical Approach to Tolkien’s The Hobbit Alberto Amoza Dávila 18 mentioned Fairy Tales and the Art of Subversion (1991) Zipes, quoting Jameson, says the following: For Jameson the individual literary form is a symbolic act, ‘which is grasped as the imaginary resolution of real contradiction’. Such a definition is helpful in understanding the origins of the literary fairy tale for children because it immediately perceives the process of writing as part of a social process, as a kind of intervention in a continuous discourse, debate, and conflict about power and social relations (Zipes 1991:2-3) Zipes, following Jameson’s definition of “individual literary form”, defines the fairy tale as a social tool that, being developed primarily by the peasantry, works as a subversive weapon against power and social conventions. Tolkien does not approach the genre in terms of these social features, although they can be appreciated when reading his works. Zipes believes this too, as he says about Tolkien that “his sympathies remained with the common people whom he regarded as exploited by capitalism and technology.” (Zipes 2002:177) Thus, even though Tolkien did not belong at all to the peasantry his fairy-stories did belong within that social frame, at least from Zipes perspective. Finally, concerning Zipes’ socio-political perspective towards the genre, he made an interesting observation about Tolkien’s social and political ideology, which can be used in favour of this study: The importance of communality, fraternity and solidarity is striking in the writings of both Bloch and Tolkien as is the longing for a true home. […] While both were anti-capitalist, Tolkien was more the reactionary romantic […]. Tolkien placed the blame for the decadence of crass materialism of contemporary society on the hubris of human beings who sinned by seeking to change the world through machines and by using money to promote their own glory. (Zipes 2002:167) Taking these observations into account, the study of Tolkien’s conception of the fairy tale becomes inevitably wider. Following Zipes, the fairy tale’s main features described by Tolkien in his essay On Fairy Stories acquire another layer of meaning. The issue of recovery and escape in the genre can be understood not only in terms of a refreshing view of things, or as a getaway from our problems, but also as an escape towards a past uncorrupted by the advances of technology and capitalism. Tolkien’s “consolation” becomes under this ideology much more Riddles in the Dark: A Theoretical Approach to Tolkien’s The Hobbit Alberto Amoza Dávila 19 determined, as it indeed serves the reader to cast away his/her problems through reading. Similarly, Bettelheim’s “experiencing” in the fairy tales tackles problems which are a direct consequence of modern society. This explains why fairy tales in general and Tolkien’s in particular turn to some undetermined archaic world which for Tolkien is the realm of Faërie.12 Likewise, Zipes states the following on the form of fairy tales: If all folk tales have essentially the same ‘morphology’ (even though the main functions may be varied), they all express the same thing, some kind of universal statement about the plight of humanity. The form itself is its meaning, and the historicity of the individual creator (or creators) and society disappears. (Zipes 1991:5)13 According to Tolkien’s notion of the fairy tale genre as “stories about Faërie”, which, as stated before, is a universalizing theme; the socio-political implications of fairy tales must be universal. Therefore, as Zipes says, they all have the same form, and thus express the same, which from a political perspective could be embodied in the aforementioned return to a primitive past. 1.2 On Fantasy In the construction of fairy tales, Tolkien considered Fantasy to be a key feature of the genre. For Tolkien, fantasy is “I think, not a lower but a higher form of Art, indeed the most nearly pure form, and so (when achieved) the most potent.” (Tolkien: 60) Fantasy is thus not a consequence, or a mere component of the fairystories that Tolkien wrote, but rather a productive artistic process. Even more, Tolkien describes fantasy as the most potent form of art, as it is the source of another “true” world: To make a Secondary World […], commanding Secondary Belief, will probably require labour and thought, and will certainly demand a special skill, a kind of elvish craft. […] such difficult tasks […] when they are attempted and in any degree accomplished then we have a rare achievement of Art: indeed narrative art, story-making in its primary and most potent mode. (Tolkien: 61) 12 See for instance Hans Christian Andersen’s Fairy Tales’ Selection. 13 These thoughts are derived by Zipes from Tenèze’s study of Propp’s and Lüthi’s folk and fairy tale genres definition. Riddles in the Dark: A Theoretical Approach to Tolkien’s The Hobbit Alberto Amoza Dávila 20 This is similar to what Wordsworth says on his Preface to the Lyrical Ballads: For all good poetry is the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings: and though this be true, Poems to which any value can be attached were never produced on any variety of subjects but by a man who, being possessed of more than usual organic sensibility, had also thought long and deeply. (Wordsworth 1800) Thus, Tolkien’s conception of the term is somehow a “romantic” one, as he believed in the need of a superior ability or skill to be able to use fantasy, in order to create the realm of Faërie. As seen in Wordsworth’s “Book Six: Cambridge and the Alps” in The Prelude, imagination is something unfathomable in which the poet gets lost.14 Tolkien’s concept of fantasy springs from that, as it is born to give shape to the imagination. However, as imagination is something so difficult to grasp, fantasy is consequently very difficult to achieve and thus “remains undeveloped; it is and has been used frivolously, or only half-seriously, or merely for decoration: it remains merely ‘fanciful’.” (Tolkien: 61) However, Zipes points out that Tolkien was acutely aware, whether he stated this or not, that the essence of Christianity could only be conveyed to human beings in a secularized allegorical form, […]. Thus, fantasy is not only art for Tolkien, but religion, secularized religion. (Zipes 2002:165) According to Zipes, Tolkien relates fantasy to his profound religious convictions in On Fairy Stories. In addition to this, and in a romantic fashion, Tolkien establishes a difference between the notions of fantasy and imagination. The latter was for him “the mental power of image-making” (Tolkien: 59) while fantasy is rather a word that “embrace[s] both the Sub-creative Art in itself and a quality of strangeness and wonder in Expression, derived from the Image […] essential to the fairy-story.” (Tolkien: 59-60) Thus, fantasy works for Tolkien as a rational process which gives form to the images born out of imagination. Bloch also believed on the rationality of fantasy, in his previously mentioned essay he says that “what is significant about such kind of “modern fairy tales” is that it is reason itself which leads to the wish projections of the old fairy-tale and serves them.” (Bloch 1930) Zipes also comments on this aspect of fantasy, by saying that “the fantastic 14 Imagination—here the Power so called Through sad incompetence of human speech, That awful Power rose from the mind’s abyss Like an unfathered vapour that enwraps, At once, some lonely traveller. I was lost; (Wordsworth 1850:104, ll: 594-598) Riddles in the Dark: A Theoretical Approach to Tolkien’s The Hobbit Alberto Amoza Dávila 21 form of the fairy tale carries a realistic lode of what is open-ended and fragmentary but can still be realized.” (Zipes 2002:159) Then, even though Tolkien believes that fantasy carries its “older” meaning, i.e. “unlikeness to the Primary World” (Tolkien: 60), it is still wielded by reason, to the point that Tolkien says that “the keener and clearer is the reason, the better fantasy will it make.” (Tolkien: 65) Tolkien also reinforces this idea by contrasting Fantasy with Dreaming, which he considers a stupid and malicious confusion, as he regards Dreaming as an irrational activity “in which there is no Art” (Tolkien: 60) while there is in Fantasy. Tolkien’s last point concerning fantasy has to deal with its incompatibility with drama. He believes that “Drama is naturally hostile to Fantasy. Fantasy, even of the simplest kind, hardly ever succeeds in Drama […]. The nearer it is to ‘dramatised fairy-story’ the worse it is.” (Tolkien: 61) Exemplifying this through the three witches in Shakespeare’s Macbeth (1623), Tolkien defends that for drama to be successful, the audience members need to “believe” what they are seeing on stage to be possible in the “Primary World”, or “in other words, if they ceased to be ‘Fantasy.’” (Tolkien: 62) However, Tolkien also speaks about what he calls “Faërian Drama”, that is: “those plays which according to abundant records the elves have often presented to men.” (Tolkien: 63) This type of drama, according to Tolkien, is able to produce Fantasy in an extraordinary way and “their usual effect (upon man) is to go beyond Secondary Belief [and] […] to experience ‘directly’ a Secondary World.” (Tolkien: 63) Then, if the experience of the human audience of this “Secondary World” is direct, they believe it to be the true reality, in the same way the fairy tale is understood as true by the reader, which Tolkien calls “Primary Belief”. However, as the British author says, Faërian Drama “is for them [the elves] a form of Art [and] Art […] produces […] Secondary Belief.” (Tolkien 63-64) Thus, following what Tolkien said before, if Faërian Drama produces Primary Belief in the human audience, in a way entering the Secondary World created by it; we need to give a different name to it. For this purpose, Tolkien proposes the idea of “Enchantment”: “Enchantment produces a Secondary World into which both designer and spectator can enter, to the satisfaction of their senses while they are inside; but in its purity it is artistic in desire and purpose.” (Tolkien: 64) Riddles in the Dark: A Theoretical Approach to Tolkien’s The Hobbit Alberto Amoza Dávila 22 Finally, Bettelheim speaks about fantasy in the following fashion: “The fairy tale offers fantasy materials which suggest to the child in symbolic form what the battle to achieve self-realization is all about.” (Bettelheim 1991: 39) This approach to fantasy is not surprising coming from Bettelheim, as his study of fairy tales was made from a psychological perspective. Bettelheim gives strength to his theory of the fairy tale as a helpful tool for the growing process of the children by this statement. Even more so, he believes that fantasy is not only something that the children can see in fairy tales, but rather a mechanism they can learn from them, as he says that “fairy tales leave to the child’s fantasizing whether and how to apply to himself what the story reveals about life and human nature.” (Bettelheim 1991: 45) 1.3 Fairy-Tale and Children Fairy tales have been considered for a long time as children’s literature. As was shown before, this is an issue that was taken into great consideration by some authors, namely Tolkien and Bettelheim, although others have dealt with it too. In one of his letters, collected in The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien (1999), Tolkien spoke about the issue of fairy tale as children’s literature in the following way: I am not interested in the ‘child’ as such…and have no intention of meeting him/her halfway, or a quarter of the way… I have only once made the mistake of trying to do it, to my lasting regret, and (I am glad to say) with the disapproval of intelligent children: in the earlier part of The Hobbit. (Letters 1999:309-310) As seen in this letter, Tolkien does not believe that the writer of fairy-stories needs to pay special attention to children when writing his/her tales, even more, he believes that doing so is a mistake, and one that he says he committed at the beginning of The Hobbit (1937). Similarly, Tolkien says the following in his essay On Fairy Stories: The common opinion seems to be that there is a natural connection between the minds of children and fairy-stories, […]. I think this is an error; […], and one that is […] most often made by those who, […] tend to think of children as a special kind of creature. (Tolkien: 50) Riddles in the Dark: A Theoretical Approach to Tolkien’s The Hobbit Alberto Amoza Dávila 23 In Tolkien’s opinion, fairy-stories are wrongly addressed to children, as he does not consider them different to any adult when approaching the genre. Tolkien also believes that this link is a consequence of domesticity, as “fairy-stories have in the modern lettered world been relegated to the ‘nursery’, […] primarily because the adults do not want it, and do not mind if it is misused.” (Tolkien: 50) This is somehow similar to what Flieger and Anderson say in their introduction to Tolkien’s essay: Lang’s Darwinian assumption that fairy-stories were leftovers from the Childhood of human development led to the corollary assumption that the tales were therefore leftover fare for human children, who would in the course of time, like the human race in general, mature into adulthood and put away childish things. (Flieger and Anderson 2014:22) Their interpretation of Lang’s Darwinian development of fairy tales gives a reason for the genre’s link with children’s literature, which is a historical evolution. Coincidently, Tolkien’s view also deals with the historical development of domestic arrangements, culminating with the fairy tale being relegated to the “nursery” field, as shown before. Furthermore, Tolkien does not think of children as being more capable than adult of understanding the fairy stories they read, “only some children, and some adults, have any special taste for them; and when they have it, it is not exclusive, nor even necessarily dominant.” (Tolkien: 50) Tolkien affirms that this “special taste” for fairy tales, that both children and adult may possess, appears in the early years of life only if it is taught from the outside, and shown to the children. Moreover, Tolkien affirms that this “innate” taste for fairy tales is enhanced with time if positively encouraged. (Tolkien: 50) As regards to this, Zipes states that “clearly Tolkien is writing a defence of fairy tales and fantasy, and he takes issue with those traditionalists who have relegated the fairy tale to the realm of children and the domain of trivial art.” (Zipes 2002: 161) Zipes points out Tolkien’s concern with the fairy tale genre, which he considers to have being “relegated” to children’s literature. On this matter Tolkien said that “fairy-stories banished in this way, cut off from a full adult art, would in the end be ruined; indeed in so far as they have been so banished, they have been ruined.” (Tolkien: 51) Riddles in the Dark: A Theoretical Approach to Tolkien’s The Hobbit Alberto Amoza Dávila 24 From Tolkien’s perspective, the above mentioned “taste” has to do with belief, that is, it is necessary that the reader believes what he/she is reading to be true for him/her to appreciate the genre. Tolkien says that the reader, even the child reader, is “capable of literary belief […]. That state of mind has been called ‘willing suspension of disbelief.’” (Tolkien: 52) However, Tolkien believes, as explained earlier, that in fairy tales, rather than having a “willing suspension of disbelief”, the writer acts as a sub-creator that gives life to a “Secondary World” that the reader enters because he believes it is true. Therefore the belief must be actual rather than literary. According to Tolkien, when the reader is reached by disbelief, or incredulity; the fairy tales’ “magic, or rather art, has failed.” (Tolkien: 52) Therefore, the reader would no longer be inside that “Secondary World”, but looking at it from the outside. This suspension, Tolkien argues, “is a substitute for the genuine thing, a subterfuge we use when condescending to games or makebelieve, or when trying to find what virtue we can in the work of an art that has for us failed.” (Tolkien: 52) By “the genuine thing” the British author is referring to the actual belief in the realm of Faërie, which is substituted, or even betrayed by the reader that employs that suspension of disbelief. Tolkien believes that this latter state of the reader “is often the state of adult in the presence of a fairy-story. […]; they think they ought to like the tale. But if they really liked it, for itself, they would not have to suspend disbelief: they would believe – in this sense.” (Tolkien: 53). Tolkien builds up on this topic from another perspective by quoting Lang: “‘Is it true?’ is the great question children ask.” (Tolkien: 53) This question may give the impression that children do believe in what they read in fairy-stories. However, as Tolkien points out, this may or may not be so: “They were more concerned to get the Right side and the Wrong side clear. For that is a question equally important in History and in Faërie.” (Tolkien: 53) For Tolkien the “Is it true?” question which children supposedly ask is not indicative of belief or disbelief but rather of curiosity, or as Tolkien puts it, of “desire to know which kind of literature he is faced with.” (Tolkien: 53) As aforesaid, Bettelheim stated in a similar way that the children’s actual concern when reading or being read a fairy tale was who to be like. Moreover, on the issue of polarity he said the following: Riddles in the Dark: A Theoretical Approach to Tolkien’s The Hobbit Alberto Amoza Dávila 31 wars (Orcrist and Glamdring), the company has to take a path in the mountains in order to resume their journey. When resting in a small cave by the mountain, the group is caught by goblins and taken to their leader, the Great Goblin, who questions the group (function D). Thorin, as the leader of the company up to this point in the novel, tries to convince the Great Goblin to let them go away (function E). Then Gandalf, who was able to evade the goblins when they caught the dwarves, appears killing the Great Goblin and leading the escape of the company; thus fulfilling function H. The similarities of both encounters with the trolls’ and the goblins’ are evident. However, and despite the fact that the Great Goblin is killed, the “victory” of the company in this battle is a rather relative one. They manage to escape from the goblins and find their way out of the mountains, but they do so without Bilbo, who gets lost. There Bilbo finds a ring, and has to face Gollum, a vile small creature that lives in the deeper caverns of the mountain. The battle with Gollum is an intellectual one, as they “fight” with riddles. Therefore, the episode concerning this foe is somehow reversed and condensed. First Bilbo finds the ring, which will be later on revealed as a magic ring, thus fulfilling function F, and it is only after being in possession of this magic agent that he is able to fulfil functions D, E and H. As earlier explained, Bilbo and Gollum’s battle is one of riddles, which Bilbo wins with the help of the ring, by having Gollum leading him to the exit of the mountain, thus achieving “victory” (function I) over him. Bilbo is then reunited with the company outside the mountains; however, as was said before, their victory over the goblins was only a partial one, because outside the mountain the company finds an opening without trees. This place “somehow it struck all of them as not at all a nice place, although there was nothing wrong to see.” (Tolkien 2007:92) Here, Bilbo and Thorin’s group is attacked by Wargs, “the evil wolves over the Edge of the Wild” (Tolkien 2007:94), who often helped the goblins do evil. Therefore, even though the Wargs are a new menace to the group, they immediately start the “struggle”, which correspond to function H. Moreover, the group, as happened with the goblins, does not achieve a clear “victory” over the Wargs, as they manage to escape thanks to the great Eagles who rescue them. Function F is thus fulfilled, as the group gets the help of a magical agent, while function I Riddles in the Dark: A Theoretical Approach to Tolkien’s The Hobbit Alberto Amoza Dávila 32 remains unsuccessful. This section appears as a variation of the base scheme, since the Eagles who rescue the company also carry them near the Eastern limit of Mirkwood, thus performing Propp’s function G, the “spatial transference between two kingdoms.”18 Later on, and after the company’s rest in Beorn’s house, a similar pattern will be repeated. The villain, or foe, is now Mirkwood, a great forest that lies in the way between Beorn’s home and Erebor, the destination of Bilbo’s group. This is a magic forest where anyone who leaves the path gets astray to death. That is the test the group is challenged to overcome by sticking to the path, thus standing for function D. However, they are unable to do this and they get lost, which functions as the “reaction” of the group to the previous test. Afterwards, function H (the “struggle”) is performed through the giant spiders of the forest, which trap the dwarves in their webs, excepting Bilbo, who, with the help of his magic ring which makes him invisible, kills many of the spiders and is able to free his companions. However, the actual defeat of the villain, which was stated earlier as Mirkwood and not its spiders, comes through a magic agent, the elves of the forest, who take the dwarves to their King’s palace. There, Bilbo, who followed them with his ring on, finds a way to get out of Mirkwood and thus defeats it, therefore fulfilling function I. As the narrative moves forward, the company reaches Lake Town, where they get supplies and equipment for their last journey up to the Lonely Mountain, where the dragon lies. Here, before the company actually faces Smaug, Bilbo is bestowed with the difficult task of opening a secret door on the side of the mountain. After a while, Bilbo figures out how to open the door and he is recognized as a “hero” by Thorin, who says that “Bilbo […] has proved himself a good companion on our long road, and a hobbit full of courage and resource far exceeding his size, and if I may say so possessed of good luck far exceeding the usual allowance.” (Tolkien 2007:195) 18 The Eagles actually take the company up to the Carrock. See Appendix C. Riddles in the Dark: A Theoretical Approach to Tolkien’s The Hobbit Alberto Amoza Dávila 33 This series of actions correspond to three functions in Propp’s theory, XXV, XXVI and XXVII, respectively.19 The battle with Smaug actually occurs in two different stages. The first of these would be Bilbo and his company, following a pattern which mirrors other confrontations with foes, as earlier explained. Bilbo first approaches Smaug with his ring on and steals a golden cup from his hoard. When Smaug destroyed the secret door and trapped the company inside the mountain, Bilbo goes down again towards the dragon and speaks to him, being interrogated and thus fulfilling function D. After this, Bilbo escapes towards the tunnel were the dwarves wait for him, an action that stands for function E. However, at this point the narrative pattern experiences a variation, since Smaug, instead of battling the company now led by Bilbo, decides to fly upon Lake Town and burn it to ashes as a punishment for having helped Bilbo and the dwarves to get to him. Therefore, the function of the “struggle” (H) is fulfilled, yet not by Bilbo, but by Smaug and Bard, the latter being a character introduced at this point in the novel with the sole purpose of defending Lake Town. Bard is thus the one also burdened with the duty to fulfil function I, “victory” for which he pierces the only weak spot of the dragon’s belly with a black arrow. However, and despite this fact, Bilbo will be the one acquiring a new magic agent. Once the dragon has been gone for some time (the company ignored he was killed in Lake Town), Bilbo goes down to the dragon’s hoard and finds the Arkenstone of Thrain, a “great white gem, which the dwarves had found beneath the roots of the Mountain, the Heart of the Mountain.” (Tolkien 2007:212) Despite the fact that Propp imbued magic agents with positive connotations, the gem is in the novel actually poisonous to Thorin’s mind, who becomes obsessed with finding the gem and barricades himself in Erebor, claiming the whole treasure for himself and refusing to give away any amount of it to the people of Lake Town who helped them.20 The last part of the novel presents the development of what is called the “Battle of Five Armies” (Tolkien 2007:256) and Bilbo’s return home. Propp’s functions, 19 All three of those are related to what Propp calls ‘difficult tasks’ and stand respectively for ‘difficult task’ (M), ‘solution’ (N) and ‘recognition’ (Q). 20Seeing how the gem was affecting Thorin’s mind even before having it, Bilbo decides to keep it for himself as his fourteenth share of the treasure. Riddles in the Dark: A Theoretical Approach to Tolkien’s The Hobbit Alberto Amoza Dávila 34 which had been clearly performed in earlier sections of Tolkien’s novel, become more difficult to identify in this last section, where there is no longer a clear villain until the armies of the Goblins and Wargs appear. However, some of Propp’s functions do appear, for instance, when Thorin commands his companions to give him the Arkenstone the moment they stumble upon it, thus addressing an interdiction (stands for function II or γ). Nonetheless, Bilbo has already the Arkenstone in his possession and refuses to give it to Thorin. Most importantly, Bilbo runs away from Erebor to give the gem to Bard and the Elvenking, who had arrived after the news of the dragon’s death to claim part of his treasure, and ended up helping the people of Lake Town. In doing so, Bilbo fulfils function III or δ, the violation of an interdiction. However, a deeper analysis in terms of Propp’s functions of the “Battle of Five Armies” would be beyond the scope of this work, since the positions of hero and villain, which are key points in Propp’s theory, depend on the reader’s particular perspective. From Thorin’s perspective, Bard and the Elvenking are the villains, as he believes that they intend to steal “his” treasure. On the other hand, from Bard’s and the Elvenking’s perspective Thorin and his company are the villains. Therefore, the functions each of them realizes depend entirely on the perspective the reader takes when approaching the text and not on mere form. The “Battle of Five Armies” ends on a bitter note, as Thorin, Fili and Kili (Thorin’s nephews and the youngest in the company) end up dead. However, and supporting the thesis put forward in the present essay, the novel partake of a happy ending. Tolkien’s “consolation” is possible through Bilbo’s return home. In his leaving Erebor the social order there is restored, as Dain, Thorin’s cousin, is crowned King Under the Mountain, and peace comes back to those lands. As for Bilbo, he goes back to the Shire with a small share of the treasure (one chest full of gold and the other full of silver) passing through all the places he and the company of Thorin went through before. Finally, after all his adventures, Bilbo gets to the Shire, and the novel, despite all the terrible things it narrates end happily: “You are a fine person Mr. Baggins, and I am very fond of you; but you are only quite a little fellow in a wide world after all.” “Thank goodness! Said Bilbo laughing, and handed him the tobacco-jar.” (Tolkien 2007:276) Riddles in the Dark: A Theoretical Approach to Tolkien’s The Hobbit Alberto Amoza Dávila 35 Finally, the analysis of Tolkien’s The Hobbit shows how the writer uses fantasy to create the Middle Earth: from trolls to dragons, elves, magic forests, giant spiders and eagles, Tolkien’s imagination is given form in The Hobbit and at the same time defines the novel’s world. 2.2. Riddles in the Dark: Content and Effects of The Hobbit The theoretical questions concerning content and effects of the fairy tale largely appear in Tolkien’s The Hobbit. Thus, my analysis of these issues in Tolkien’s novel will consist of a brief series of quotes from the text linking The Hobbit to the fairy tale genre in terms of signification. In the first place, The Hobbit abides to Tolkien’s own notion of the fairy tale as a genre that should be presented as true to the reader. This notion is established mainly through the narrator’s description of the tale’s world, the Middle Earth, and its lore. As an example, when describing Bilbo and the company’s stay in Rivendell, the narrator says the following: “The master of the house was an elffriend - one of those people whose fathers came into the strange stories before the beginning of History.” (Tolkien 2007:48) The use of the word “History” by the narrator – versus “Story” – is significant for this analysis, since it is in accordance with the idea that the world depicted in the novel must be regarded as a “true” one by the reader, thus reinforcing the veracity of what is being told. Furthermore, the development of the novel helps to create a “History” of this realm by showing the “historical” origins of sports, such as the invention of golf, which the narrator attributes to Bilbo’s distant relative Bullroarer, who Charged the ranks of the goblins of Mount Gram in the Battle of the Green Fields, and knocked their king Golfimbul’s head clean off with a wooden club. It sailed a hundred yards through the air and went down a rabbit-hole, and in this way the battle was won and the game of Golf invented at the same time. (Tolkien 2007:18) In addition to this, the narrator also proposes the origins of different proverbs; when the company is surrounded by wolves after escaping the goblin mountain, Bilbo says the following: “Escaping goblins to be caught by wolves!” he said, and it became a proverb, though we now say “out of the frying-pan into the fire” Riddles in the Dark: A Theoretical Approach to Tolkien’s The Hobbit Alberto Amoza Dávila 36 (Tolkien 2007:92).Similarly, and after having spoken to Smaug, Bilbo asserts: “Never laugh at live dragons, Bilbo you fool!” he said to himself, and it became a favourite saying of his later, and passed into a proverb.” (Tolkien 2007:209) These small details help the narrator create an actual history of the Middle Earth, therefore helping the reader give what Tolkien called Primary Belief to this alternative world he presents in the novel. Moreover, the narrator also emphasises the veracity of the narrative in his descriptions of the different creatures of the Middle Earth. In chapter II, Roast Mutton, the narrator describes the three trolls in the following manner: Three very large persons sitting round a very large fire of beech-logs. […] they were trolls. Obviously trolls. Even Bilbo, in spite of his sheltered life, could see that: from the great heavy faces of them, and their size, and the shape of their legs, not to mention their language, which was not drawing-room fashion at all, at all. (Tolkien 2007:33) Tolkien’s narrator considers that the identification of those creatures as trolls should be obvious. However, the narrator seems to be appealing to the reader’s assumed knowledge of what a troll is. Moreover, this idea is reinforced later on, when the trolls are turned into stone, as the narrator says: And there they stand to this day, all alone, unless the birds perch on them; for trolls, as you probably know, must be underground before dawn, or they go back to the stuff of the mountains they are made of, and never move again. (Tolkien 2007:40) Again the narrator assumes that the reader is acquainted with these creatures and with their defining “biological” features. Furthermore, the narrator expects the reader to have some previous knowledge not only of trolls, but also of many of the different “fantastic” creatures that belong in this particular Faërie that is the Middle Earth. For instance the Wood-elves of Mirkwood, which feasted in the woods while the company was lost in them, are identified by the narrator as follows: “The feasting people were Wood-elves, of course.” (Tolkien 2007:154) Later on, while Bilbo is speaking to Smaug with “riddling talk” (Tolkien 2007:205), the narrator makes a pause in the dialogue to point out, again as an obvious matter that “this of course is the way to speak to dragons, if you don’t want to reveal your proper name (which is wise), and don’t want to infuriate them by flat refusal (which is also very wise).” (Tolkien 2007:205) Riddles in the Dark: A Theoretical Approach to Tolkien’s The Hobbit Alberto Amoza Dávila 37 All the aforementioned creatures and features of the Middle Earth already suggest the existence of a magic component in Tolkien’s novel. The OED defines magic as follows: The use of ritual activities or observances which are intended to influence the course of events or to manipulate the natural world, usually involving the use of an occult or secret body of knowledge; sorcery, witchcraft. Also: this practice as a subject of study. In this sense, the novel explicitly shows magic through Gandalf, who from the beginning manipulates smoke rings, changing their colours and making them move at will: “Gandalf’s smoke-ring would go green and come back to hover over the wizard’s head.” (Tolkien 2007:13) Later on Gandalf will put off all of the goblin’s torches in order to kill the Great Goblin. But Gandalf is not the one wielder of magic in The Hobbit; when describing the Wood-elves the narrator says that “their magic was strong.” (Tolkien 2007:154) Moreover, near the end of the novel, when Gandalf and Bilbo are going back to the Shire, the narrator points out to an earlier scene in the narrative in which Gandalf abandoned the group, and explains that he “had been to a great council of the white wizards, masters of lore and good magic; and that they had at last driven the Necromancer from his dark hold in the south of Mirkwood.” (Tolkien 2007:270) Tolkien’s presentation of such a world has a purpose which, as explained earlier, unfolds in three steps: recovery, escape and consolation, all of which define the novel as a fairy tale. In addition to this, and according to Zipes, “Tolkien’s other world, his utopia, appears to be a romantic regression into a legendary past, an escape from the brutalities of modern day conditions.” (Zipes 2002:149) Thus, Tolkien brings to the fore the problems of the modern, capitalist society in which he lived, thus providing the fairy tale reader a way out of those concerns by creating an alternative world which Tolkien defined as Faërie. This alternative world, as said before, has its own particular reality, and by giving it “Primary Belief” the reader would be able to achieve the effect which Tolkien believed that fairy tales possessed. In The Hobbit, these effects appear most clearly in the last chapter, more specifically in the song the elves of Rivendell sing when Gandalf and Bilbo pass through Elrond’s Last Homely House: Riddles in the Dark: A Theoretical Approach to Tolkien’s The Hobbit Alberto Amoza Dávila 38 The stars are far brighter Than gems without measure, The moon is far wither Than silver in treasure; The fire is more shining On heart in the gloaming Than gold won by mining, So why go a-roaming? O! Tra-la-la-lally Come back to the Valley.21 (Tolkien 2007:270) Tolkien is clearly making a critique of capitalism and of his modern consumerist society, urging the reader to “go back to the Valley.” This shows how Tolkien’s novel is indeed an example of “escapist” literature, as the British author guides the reader into his world in order to help him/her escape of the modern world that the author despised. Moreover, this song is also an instance of “recovery”, as it praises nature above wealth, thus showing a different view of reality to the reader of Tolkien’s time. Finally, Tolkien’s narrative gives “consolation” to the reader and proves itself to be a fairy tale by virtue of its unconditional defining feature, the happy ending. As was shown earlier in this work, The Hobbit is a most turbulent, tragic and even bleak tale, even though it has its bits of comedy, mainly at the beginning of the novel. However, despite having a tragic ending, the novel ends up in a happy tone, giving consolation to the reader by showing that even after the darkest of terrors peace and safety can be achieved. 2.3. Children and The Hobbit In previous sections of this work Tolkien’s position in considering fairy tales as children’s literature was discussed. Despite the fact that Tolkien was categorical in rejecting fairy tales as children’s literature, "the Hobbit has been regarded by some critics as merely a work of children's literature and by others as a badly muddled mix of children's literature and adult literature." (Chance 2001:48) 21 For the complete song see Appendix D Riddles in the Dark: A Theoretical Approach to Tolkien’s The Hobbit Alberto Amoza Dávila 39 The critical appreciation of Tolkien’s novel has been diverse concerning this issue, which could be partly explained in terms of Tolkien’s ambiguous comments regarding his novel: “I […] have no intention of meeting him/her halfway, or a quarter of the way… I have only once made the mistake of trying to do it […] in the earlier part of The Hobbit.” (Tolkien 1999:309-310) He admits to have aimed unsuccessfully to write The Hobbit for children in the initial sections of the novel, which explains the comic situations which characterise the inception of the narrative. For instance, in the first episode the dwarves mess with Bilbo when they are dinning and they sing a song making the little Hobbit believe they are going to break all his dinnerware. Moreover, the episode with the trolls, although it is indeed a “battle”, also has many comic touches through the trolls’ dialogue. However and as earlier argued, the narrative acquires a more serious tone as the novel advances, signalled by the increasing menace of the foes the company has to face in its journey. However, and according to Chance, the children’s level of the novel had to do largely with the narrator, “The arrogant, unimaginative, and very “adult” narrator assumes this story about little Hobbits must be relegated to an audience of little creatures - children.” (Chance 2001:50) Following Tolkien’s affirmation that the fairy tale should be a genre written by and intended for adults, the novel’s narrator must be addressing an experienced readership. The “littleness” of hobbits is interpreted by Zipes in a different way: A small fellow at the beginning of the tale, he [Bilbo] has won the respect of elves, dwarfs, men and a wizard. And this does not go to his head. Bilbo remains small. That is, he remains humble because of the vast self-confidence he has gained. He is now in touch with himself through the power of fantasy, and it is Tolkien's fantasy which allows us, too, to glimpse the possibilities of home. (Zipes 2002:173) The smallness of Bilbo is indeed physical; however, in Zipes opinion, by staying small in mind Bilbo becomes great in the Middle Earth. This humble mind which Zipes talks about, rather than ascribing Tolkien’s novel to the scope of children’s literature reinforces Tolkien’s theory; since an adult readership is more urgently in need of ideals which children are unlikely to have lost. Riddles in the Dark: A Theoretical Approach to Tolkien’s The Hobbit Alberto Amoza Dávila 40 Tolkien’s novel however, does have a children’s level, which is emphasized by Chance as follows: Tolkien calls his dragon Smaug "King Under the Mountain" [...] the phrase suggests the children's game of "King of the Mountain", in which various combatants try to topple a hill's resident "King". The epithet appropriately evokes the children's level of the novel used by Tolkien to mask his more serious purpose. (Chance 2001:54) This reference to this game played by children links Tolkien’s narrative to the field of children’s literature. However, and as Chance herself says, this serves the purpose of masking Tolkien’s more serious aim, which is to affect an adult readership and help the adult reader of fairy tales to escape the problems of his/her world. The link between the novel’s structure and a children’s game serves the purpose to provide a pattern which the adult reader will be able to identify by drawing from childhood memories. Despite this fact, The Hobbit largely falls beyond the scope of an unsophisticated piece of children’s literature, both in terms of the novel’s form as well as of its effects on an experienced readership. Riddles in the Dark: A Theoretical Approach to Tolkien’s The Hobbit Alberto Amoza Dávila 47 Appendix B Lewis Carroll’s “Child of the Pure Unclouded Brow” from Through the Looking Glass. Child of the pure unclouded brow And dreaming eyes of wonder! Though time be fleet, and I and thou Are half a life asunder, Thy loving smile will surely hail The love-gift of a fairy-tale. I have not seen thy sunny face, Nor heard thy silver laughter; No thought of me shall find a place In thy young life’s hereafter – Enough that now thou wilt not fail To listen to my fairy-tale. A tale begun in other days, When summer suns were glowing – A simple chime, that served to time The rhythm of our rowing – Whose echoes live in memory yet, Though envious years would say ‘forget’. Come, hearken then, ere voice of dread, With bitter tidings laden, Shall summon to unwelcome bed A melancholy maiden! We are but older children, dear, Who fret to find our bedtime near. Without, the frost, the blinding snow, The storm-wind’s moody madness – Within, the firelight’s ruddy glow, And childhood’s nest of gladness. The magic words shall hold thee fast: Thou shalt not heed the raving blast. And though the shadow of a sigh May tremble through the story, For ‘happy summer days’ gone by, And vanish’d summer glory – It shall not touch with breath of bale The pleasance of our fairy-tale. Riddles in the Dark: A Theoretical Approach to Tolkien’s The Hobbit Alberto Amoza Dávila 48 Appendix C In order to clarify the second half of the journey which Bilbo and his company undertake, this appendix provides a map of Tolkien’s Wilderland, which appears in The Hobbit, or There and Back Again(New York: Harper Collins Publishers, 2007). Riddles in the Dark: A Theoretical Approach to Tolkien’s The Hobbit Alberto Amoza Dávila 49 Appendix D The elves’ song appearing in chapter XIX of Tolkien’s The Hobbit or There and Back Again (269), in which Tolkien’s ideas against the modern society of his time appear. The dragon is withered, His bones are now crumbled; His armour is shivered, His splendour is humbled! Though sword shall be rusted, And throne and crown perish With strength that men trusted And wealth that they cherish, Here grass is still growing, And leaves are yet swinging, The white water flowing, And elves are yet singing Come! Tra-la-la-lally! Come back to the valley! The stars are far brighter Than gems without measure, The moon is far wither Than silver in treasure; The fire is more shining On heart in the gloaming Than gold won by mining, So why go a-roaming? O! Tra-la-la-lally Come back to the Valley O! Where are you going, So late in returning? The river is flowing, The stars are all burning! O! Whither so laden, So sad and so dreary? Here elf and elf-maiden Now welcome the weary With Tra-la-la-lally Come back to the Valley, Tra-la-la-lally Fa-la-la-lally Fa-la!