What I am a little afraid of is that Tolkien might have isolated Light as a metaphor because he disapproved of Newton’s work. This bothers me as I see theoretical science and metaphysics as very close, and often interlinked, areas of thought. The misapplication of theoretical science leads to misapplication of technology, and misapplication of metaphysics leads to dogma. In my opinion… What Child says is very much what I think, that science (or rather, technology, the practical application of science) cannot be allowed to stand alone:
Quote:
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Without an understanding of our real place in the world we will fall into error and everything we touch--science, human feelings, even natural desires to build a community or a family--will be tainted.
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What was Saruman doing that he somehow managed to
break the light? Was this something to do with the misapplication of the Palantir? And what might he have hoped to have achieved by breaking light? One theory of quantum physics is that light and time are related; if we look at the stars, we are looking at the past, hence, if we could apply the uses of light in relation to time, we may be able to see the past. Was Saruman experimenting with Light in order to see into the past and maybe find the Ring? Or am I, as I suspect, trying to read into his motives too much? I like to think that there are many tales waiting to be told of Saruman.
Onto the theological uses of Light by Tolkien in his work... Davem has expressed this splendidly. It had occurred to me that Light was used by Tolkien to express Divinity in his world (an idea originating a long time ago when I was thinking of the Silmarils) and I'm pleased to see agreement on this. It is not surprising he used this powerful metaphor, given his Christianity, and the fact that Light is a common symbol of ‘good’. I can see that, looked at in this way, Saruman, rather than breaking the Light for scientific purposes, is instead breaking it for diabolical purposes. One thought is that maybe in Saruman breaking the Light, he was being shown to be delving too deeply into the nature of Divinity, and this could be a lesson that faith is easily broken once the person breaks it up to see how - and, more importantly - why it works. The similarity of this metaphor to the Newton experiment still bothers me, though I might have to accept that Tolkien was not intending to criticise Newton’s actions!
I’m sorely tempted now to consider the darkness which opposes the Light, but I shall stop awhile before the men in white coats come for me.