OK. Am I the ONLY one to notice that maybe, JUST MAYBE, JRR Tolkien was either anti-gnostic (unconsciously) or PURPOSELY made the conflict in the LOTR ambiguous--so ambiguous that perhaps we are intended to think about the story THE OTHER WAY AROUND???!!!
I mean, the symbol of the oneness of a ring seems holy enough; and it certainly seems that dwarves and elves have been in rebellion against their ring-giver (liege) (Sauron). And it also seems clear that the great kings who were given their nine rings have immortal life. Why is this picture starting to look all 'slanty'? Have we noticed that the world of men has DIMINISHED since Sauron was rejected and allegedly defeated? Why have they not REPOPULATED in 3 thousand years? Come on. It doesn't take that long. Orcs are derisively called hideous and weak and wrecked elves: but what else WOULD you call elves who made the OTHER decision; the decision to stay loyal to the POWER in Middle-Earth? And besides, there is no question that the elves are navel-gazing quitters. They care little (if anything) for any other life form and at any rate are taking their leave of the Earth for no apparent reason other than their own whim. If Sauron is SO EVIL, why not stay and fight? Also, any possible CONNECTION with Sauron (the palantiri) is considered to drive men mad or evil. Hmm. It all very much smacks of 'he who wins the battle writes the history'. And the story, if one is a little creative, could be written entirely from another perspective (a la "Wicked" vs. "The Wizard of Oz."
For example, is it not true that Sauron's kingdom, while employing physical creatures, is one "not of this earth"? Is it not true that wearing the ONE RING gives the wearer the ability to see another realm--a spiritual realm that becomes more and more real while the physical reality becomes more and more dim and shadowy? Doesn't this sound just like what the mystical / gnostic life is like?
I won't belabor it, but I get the feeling that this book is all wrong, and perhaps intentionally so: just like the Rabbis of old telling the people NOT to read or think about certain passages--only for their own good (that is, for the stupid and lazy) and only to challenge the worthy (to break their injunction and find the sweet, hidden truths within Torah).
Just a thought.
That, and I think Balrogs are really, really cool. How could something so cool be evil? After all, who disturbed WHOSE dwelling? Who trespassed against WHOSE dominion?
And I can't help but put in the parting shot about the Rohirrim---whose land was STOLEN from the native inhabitants and given to them by a more powerful king (Gondor), and nurtured a 1000 year enmity. What does THAT sound like, eh?
Just riffing . . . . .
