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Old 11-27-2012, 04:56 AM   #1
Faramir Jones
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Silmaril Review of Elizabeth M. Stephen's 'Hobbit to Hero'

Elizabeth M. Stephen, Hobbit to Hero: The Making of Tolkien’s King, (Moreton in Marsh, Gloucestershire: ABC Publications Ltd., 2012). Paperback. 375 pages.

http://www.adcbooks.co.uk/

This book is a study of Aragorn II, using in particular the material available in The Silmarillion, Unfinished Tales and The History of Middle-earth, and shows how, when constructing Aragorn, Tolkien also constructed fundamental parts of his mythology. Ms. Stephen does this with a good, readable style that readily deals with complex issues.

Starting in Chapter 1 with an overview of the finished Aragorn, Ms. Stephen then goes to the previously mentioned material to look at his construction in Chapter 2, where she explains that he was originally a hobbit called Trotter; and while he became a man towards the end of 1939, Tolkien still went through a long process before the recognisable character emerged. Next, in Chapter 3, she shows how the story of Númenor evolved at the same time Tolkien was writing The Lord of the Rings, giving Aragorn an ancestry and people.

Chapter 4 looks at the development of the concept that a strain of divinity would exist in Men due to the three unions between Men and Elves, Aragorn and Arwen’s playing a key role. This is also used, among other things, to demonstrate why Aragorn was such an exemplary person, both before and after his crowning. Aragorn and Arwen’s son Eldarion would be ancestor to ‘the kings of many realms in long days after'. Aragorn’s story is therefore ‘fulfilling a vital function’ in Tolkien’s mythology.

Ms. Stephen shows this in particular by her use of The Notion Club Papers, supposedly discovered in 2012. The Papers speak of two 1980s academics, Alwin Lowdham and Wilfred Jeremy, descendants of Elendil and his companion Voronwë, who experience past events as witnessed by their ancestors. Tolkien planned to have them experience such events from earlier and earlier periods of history, until Elendil and Middle-earth were reached. One forefather was intended to be the legendary Scandinavian king Sheave (or Scef), a possible ancestor of Queen Elizabeth II.

Chapter 5 deals with the construction of Aragorn as a warrior hero, and the materials Tolkien used, not just his own developed stories of Beren, Túrin and Tuor, but also the medieval stories of warrior kings from legend and history: Sigurd, Beowulf, Arthur and Charlemagne. Aragorn was also, however, given new qualities by Tolkien to make him attractive to twentieth-century readers, including high levels of personal humility, tolerance and compassion.

Chapter 6 is the culmination of the book. In it, the peaceful and accepting manner by Aragorn of his death is not just ‘the entire key to understanding’ his character; it is an excellent illustration of Tolkien’s portrayal of death, the real theme of his mythology. While Men were given a gift by Eru of leaving the world when they died, no assurance was given to them about what their fate is after death; so hope exists, perhaps due to divine prompting, that death is not the end. Aragorn’s death is pointed out by the author as ‘an opportunity to touch on a subject that has far wider implications than the demise of an ageing king, no matter how esteemed’. She ends the book by saying, ‘Aragorn’s example as he conquers even death itself remains one of Tolkien’s greatest gifts to us all’.

This book, in exploring the construction of so important a character as Aragorn, also shows the resulting construction by Tolkien of fundamental parts of his mythology, giving an insight into not just this, but also into his writing methods. It is presented in a far easier way for the reader to grasp than if he or she were to read The History of Middle-earth.

There are four issues I have with the book. First, Ms. Stephen is mistaken that William III was the last monarch of Britain and Ireland to lay hands on his subjects suffering from scrofula. Second, she is mistaken in confusing the fact that a modern monarch’s position is ‘tenable only with the consent of the people’ with Aragorn’s seeking an element of consent for his crowning, the latter indicating that he was ‘way ahead of his time'.

Third, when she said that Aragorn’s line was ‘noticeably lacking any less than stellar characters. It can be surely no accident that Aragorn is descended from all the good guys!’ Being morally good does not mean that a person is an effective ruler. A Gondorian point of view could be, as exemplified by Denethor II, that all Aragorn’s ancestors did was reproduce and hold on to a few heirlooms. This, of course, shows that Aragorn was, as well as morally good, an exceptionally able politician, overcoming the many obstacles to the long vacant throne of Gondor, showing that he was worthy to be king, in particular by defeating Gondor’s enemies. Fourth, when she looked at other monarchs as a possible inspiration for Aragon, she strangely left out King Alfred the Great of Wessex.

Despite these issues, I fully recommend this book for anyone interested both in the character of Aragorn and also in how Tolkien developed some fundamental parts of his mythology, without needing to wade through the relevant manuscripts. Ms. Stephen has made an addition to Tolkien scholarship that is both very significant and enjoyable to read.
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Old 11-27-2012, 07:12 AM   #2
Estelyn Telcontar
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Thank you for the review, Faramir! I heard about this book and have been waiting for it to be released. Now that I know it's worth reading, it goes on my Christmas list!
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