2017/07/03 by Martin Simonson · 1 citation
Arts and Humanities · #Themes in Literature Analysis #Ecocriticism and Environmental Literature #Religious Studies and Spiritual Practices #Stewardship (theology) #Wonder #Arboreal locomotion #Environmental ethics #Sociology #Beauty #Aesthetics #Literature #Philosophy #Epistemology #Ecology #Law #Art #Biology #Political science #Politics
paper · doi:10.1080/00138398.2017.1406735
openalex publication_date 2017/07/03 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/29
In The Silmarillion, J.R.R. Tolkien, writing in a period before concepts such as ecology or ecocriticism entered social and academic vocabulary, expresses a stance that champions responsible stewardship as key to a fruitful mode of being in the world. The present article centres specifically on how Tolkien's portrayal of trees act as a mythical presence that combines and enhances natural and spiritual elements to define an interaction between human(oid) beings and nature which is not only contingent on the particular needs of Elves and Men, but also premised upon the preservation of the beauty and wonder of the natural world. Symbolically, the destruction of the Two Trees of Valinor sets a mythical precedent and transfers stewardship of Arda from the divine Valar to the Children of Ilúvatar (Elves and Men). I shall argue that the tenets of this stewardship, derived from a combination of spirit and matter connected to the Two Trees, are at the very core of the moral struggle in Middle-earth, because as dwellers in this world, the relationship of Men and Elves with creation – made up of matter and spirit both – will determine their fate. As The Silmarillion prefigures many of Tolkien's later literary works, the expression of stewardship in this work is important for our understanding not only of the moral disposition of Elves and Men, and of the stories of their misfortunes and triumphs that occupy the central stage in Tolkien's legendarium, but also of the role of trees in Tolkien's entire ouvre.