Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION 3
PART ONE : A Man and a Christian 6
I- Early Influences 9
I.1. Mabel Tolkien : a Christian Legacy 9
I.2. Father Francis Morgan and Upright Christian Values 11
II- Interaction Between Work and Family Life 14
II.1. Edith Tolkien : True Inspiration and Conflicting Views 14
II.2. J.R.R. Tolkien and His Children : an Interactive Christian Relationship 18
III- C.S. Lewis and the Inklings 20
III.1. The Inklings 20
III.2. Clive Staples Lewis 25
PART TWO : Christian Aspects of the Cosmic Order in Middle-earth 30 !
I- Christian Characteristics of Evil 34
I.1. The Nature of Evil 34
I.2. Christian Manifestations of Evil in Middle-earth 38
I.3. Evil and “Eucatastrophe” 45
II- Ilúvatar and Providence in The Silmarillion 48
II.1. Ilúvatar 48
II.2. The Valar 51
II.3. Providence and Fate in The Silmarillion 54
III- Death in Tolkien’s Work 56
III.1. Death, Immortality and Ilúvatar 56
III.2. Christian Representations of Heaven and Hell in Middle-earth 59
PART THREE : The Lord of the Rings, a Fundamentally Christian Work 63
I- Christian Free Will and Symbolism of Colours 67
I.1. Free Will and Hobbit “Luck” in The Lord of the Rings 67
I.2. A Representative Use of Colours 71
II- Christ-like Figures in The Lord of the Rings 76
I.1. Gandalf 76
I.2. Frodo 79
I.3. Aragorn 82
III- Further Christian and Biblical Features 85
II.1. Controversial Bombadil 85
II.2. Divine Galadriel 88
CONCLUSION 91
APPENDICES 95
(two letters from Christopher Tolkien)