Written by Emmanuelle Dastous Sara

for Prof. Rebecca Million

Behold! A victory may only come upon a land with the guidance and strength of its people. Yet certain prophecies must be fulfilled for the assurance of a victory. This concept was clearly portrayed in J. R. R. Tolkien’s second installment of Lord of the Rings, The Two Towers. The beauty of Middle Earth is slowly perishing and the darkness within is emerging throughout the land. Middle Earth is slowly dying and without rebirth, all of its beauty will vanish. However, rebirth is not an easy accomplishment and Tolkien is commenting on what is necessary for it to happen; prophecies need to be accomplished for Middle Earth to continue on a righteous path. Tolkien is conveying to his readers that for a victory to emerge, certain prophecies must be fulfilled. Tolkien’s prophecies surround the idea of revival through the death and rebirth of the wise, the renewal of a lost king and the dishevelment¹ of hope. It is with these accomplishments that Middle Earth will flourish.

Gandalf the Grey is a mentor for the Fellowship and he strengthens their unity. The falling of the wise (Gandalf) discourages the Fellowship, as they feel lost without his guidance, thus breaking the Fellowship. Gandalf is the one who sends Frodo to go on the mission, advises Bilbo to go on the Hobbit’s journey, and creates the journey for the Fellowship by leading them all and giving them hope and faith. The falling of the wise through fire and water renews Gandalf’s wisdom and creates a new spirit within him: “Naked [he] was sent back” (502). The use of an allegory to demonstrate Gandalf’s divinity is truly shown through his death and rebirth, one of Tolkien’s prophecies. Additionally, it is an allegory of birth as a child is born naked into the world; thus Gandalf’s nakedness emphasizes his rebirth. As Gandalf comes back from death, he is reborn into a new form of wisdom: “Behold, I am not Gandalf the Grey … I am Gandalf the White, who has returned from death” (583). His transformation of color additionally emphasizes the fact that he has died and come back to life as a new form of wisdom: Gandalf the White. This eucatastrophe suddenly ends the impending doom and gives the Fellowship back their hope when they are re-joined with their fellow comrade (Gandalf). Gandalf returning to the broken Fellowship brings them unity, reinforcing the allegory of Gandalf’s divinity, as he is the one who brings back their hope and faith in their mission and the possibility of a victory. Not only is it a possibility, but as this is one of Tolkien’s prophecies, it is bound to happen and indicates that rebirth is necessary for there to be a victory.

Prophecies are essential for a victory, and Tolkien demonstrates that the renewal of a lost king is crucial for Middle Earth to mend itself. Théoden, the King of Rohan, is unable to enact his monarchical duties of ruling as he is taken over by the evil wizardry of Saruman. Théoden is weakened, appears significantly more elderly than he is, and his endowment has been taken from him. Hence, Théoden cannot produce heirs for his kingdom, symbolizing his role as a Fisher King. As Théoden is unable to rule Rohan, due to being taken over by Saruman’s spell, it is as if he is dead. Thus, when Gandalf restores life to Théoden by undoing the spell, Théoden goes through rebirth: “Now tall and straight he stood, and his eyes were blue as he looked into the opening sky” (515). His rebirth and the concept of him ending his time as a Fisher King is truly shown once Théoden takes grip of his sword, a phallic symbol, which represents his endowment: “As his fingers took the hilt, it seemed to the watchers that firmness and strength returned to his thin arm” (517). Hence his endowment, represented by his sword, truly indicates Théoden re-obtaining his ability to produce heirs and truly being able to fulfil his role as king. Thus, this rebirth is not only a rebirth of a king, but a rebirth of a kingdom, which is a crucial part of Tolkien’s prophecies as they will potentially be the ones to defeat the darkness within Middle Earth.

Mordor, the land of destruction, death, and darkness, must be conquered for a victory to emerge. Thus, the prophecy of the dishevelment of hope exemplifies how Mordor will in fact be vanquished. This prophecy is portrayed through the neighbouring lands of Ithilien and Mordor. Ithilien, “the garden of Gondor,” which is “now desolate” but “kept still a dishevelled dryad loveliness,” is struggling to grasp onto life (650). Yet its ability to maintain life, in spite of Mordor’s neighbouring darkness, indicates the possibility of a good future and the hope of Ithilien’s beauty spreading. This persist life is clearly foreshadowing that Mordor will be conquered through the death and rebirth of beauty throughout the land. Thus Mordor, with its “pit of uncovered filth and refuse: trees hewn down wantonly and left to die, with evil runes,” will be rebirthed into a dishevelled beauty (651). Tolkien hints at the fact that Mordor is “a land defiled, diseased beyond all healing – unless the Great Sea should enter in and wash it with oblivion” (632). The Great Sea that Tolkien describes is Ithilien, as its beauty and hope will spread once Mordor is conquered. This implies that the prophecy of dishevelled hope must live on throughout the process to this victory in which darkness will be vanquished. Not only does Mordor have to be vanquished, but on its own, Mordor is slowly decaying and all life is close to death. Through the death of Mordor and the rebirth of beauty, due to the help of Ithilien as it grasps onto dishevelled hope, goodness and peace will ultimately overcome the darkness lurking on Middle Earth.

Tolkien evidently conveyed the concept that death and rebirth are necessary stepping-stones for a victory to emerge. Without these deaths and rebirths, the possibility of Sauron’s defeat would not happen. Tolkien’s prophecies that must be fulfilled surround the idea of revival. The death of Gandalf the Great and his rebirth as Gandalf the White, the renewal of Théoden as the spell upon him is lifted enabling him to rule his kingdom, and the dishevelment of hope within Ithilien and its possibility of spreading through neighbouring lands will ensure victory for Middle Earth. Alas! A victory is not easily won and will often cause many casualties. Tolkien expresses three prophecies, yet there are likely many more hidden prophecies that are the root of other casualties that take place for this victory to emerge.

Works Cited

Tolkien, J. R. R. The Two Towers. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 1994. Print.

 

 

About the Author:  I have always loved The Lord of The Rings. When I was younger, I would constantly watch the movies and for the first time in fall of 2015 I read all three books. This made me love Tolkien’s stories even more. Being able to write about the stories I always loved as a child was truly wonderful.