This
week we responded to a highly interesting article by Niels Werber entitled ‘Geo-
and Biopolitics of Middle-earth: A German Reading of Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings’.[1] We
began by reflecting on the following passage from the article:
Through reading Tolkien's
novels, seeing the movies, or playing computer games like "The Battle for
Middle-earth" (EA Games, 2004), one is introduced into a certain bio- and
geopolitical knowledge: first of all, races are different not only in terms of
skin color or height, but in moral worth, refinement, wisdom, and political
integrity. The races are either hereditarily good and wise like Elves or
genetically evil and dumb like Orcs, and therefore they make
"natural-born" enemies. The absolute and insurmountable hate between
Elves and Orcs is not outlined as a consequence of political decision-making,
but as a result of their opposing DNA sequences.[2]
The group instantly noted that the generalisation
of Elves as ‘hereditarily good and wise’ needs more consideration. Whilst it is
true that the orcs are depicted as ‘genetically evil and dumb’, the Elves can
be good or malevolent, as in the examples of Fëanor and Thranduil. We agreed,
tentatively, with the general premise that hatred between Elves and Orcs comes
from ‘opposing DNA sequences’, although some members of the group had
reservations.
Werber’s suggestion that the ‘analogies between
the battle for Middle-earth and the Nazi campaign of racial warfare are
striking’ was also met with some uncertainty. One member stated it was ‘pushing
it a bit’ to draw this comparison. Tolkien, after all, said he was not a fan of
allegory in the preface to the second edition of LotR.
We pondered the depiction of the orcs as inhuman
and the notion, put forward by the German scholar Schmitt, and considered by
Werber, that ‘the “inhuman” enemy deserves neither pity nor lawful treatment,
but instant death’.[3] We
agreed that attitude seems to prevail in The
Lord of the Rings, but considered Gollum as an example of an inhuman
character that invites pity. We were reminded of the oft-quoted conversation
between Frodo and Gandalf:
"What a pity that Bilbo
did not stab that vile creature, when he had a chance!"
"Pity? It was Pity that
stayed his hand. Pity, and Mercy: not to strike without need. And he has been
well rewarded, Frodo. Be sure that he took so little hurt from the evil, and
escaped in the end, because he began his ownership of the Ring so. With
Pity."
The conversation, rarely quoted in its entirety, goes
on, with Frodo comparing Gollum to an Orc:
‘I am sorry,’ said Frodo. ‘But
I am frightened; and I do not feel any pity for Gollum.’
‘You have not seen him,’
Gandalf broke in.
‘No, and I don’t want to,’
said Frodo. ‘I can’t understand you. Do you mean to say that you, and the
Elves, have let him live on after all those horrible deeds? Now at any rate he
is as bad as an Orc, and just an enemy.
He deserves death.’
‘Deserves it! I daresay he
does. Many that live deserve death. And some that die deserve life. Can you
give it to them? Then do not be too eager to deal out death in judgement.’ (LotR,
3 vol edn, p. 58, my italics)
The conversation clearly speaks to the issues
discussed by Werber and seems to be a comment on the dangers of making ‘us and
them’ distinctions. In Frodo’s eyes, because Gollum is an enemy, he ‘deserves
death’. It should be noted that Frodo makes these remarks because he is ‘frightened’,
Tolkien perhaps suggesting that fear is a contributing factor to an ‘us and
them’ attitude.
We concluded by thinking about Peter Jackson’s
depiction of the Orcs in the movie trilogy. We considered Werber’s argument
that ‘not a single scene is shot from the perspective of an Orc. They lack a
point of view. We do not see the dreadful attacks of Rohan cavalry or
Elf-snipers from the standpoint of the "other."’ We agreed with
Werber, although some members of the group noted that there were some scenes
depicting the orc point-of-view, such as Gothmog’s during the attack on
Osgiliath and Minas Tirith. The point Werber makes, however, is that Orcs are
not depicted in a way that invites pity for them. Jackson does nothing new to
address the ‘us and them’ issue in Tolkien’s fiction with regard to the Orcs. The
Orcs are ‘just an enemy’ and need to be destroyed.
Werber’s thought-provoking article contains some
complex ideas and we agreed that it would take more time and further research
to draw definitive conclusions about the nature of the Enemy and the Other in
Tolkien’s fiction.
