Book description
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.
""A well-researched, readable, and relevant study of
Tolkien's ecological principles and concerns. And, as Tom Shippey
comments in the afterword, Tolkien, no doubt, would approve." --
Journal of the Fantastic in the Arts" --
Matthew Dickerson, professor and member of the environmental
studies program at Middlebury College, is the author or coauthor of
several books, including Following Gandalf: Epic Battles and Moral
Victory in the Lord of the Rings and From Homer to Harry Potter: A
Handbook on Myth and Fantasy. Jonathan Evans, associate professor of
English and director of the medieval studies program at the University
of Georgia, is a member of the Environmental Ethics Certificate
Program faculty. His essays on J. R. R. Tolkien have been published in
J. R. R. Tolkien and His Literary Resonances, Tolkien the Medievalist,
and The J. R. R. Tolkien Encyclopedia.
