Lord of the Elves and Eldils: Fantasy and Philosophy in C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien

by Richard L. Purtill

A fascinating look at the fantasy and philosophy of C.S. Lewis and J.R.R Tolkien. The two men were friends and fellow professors at Oxford, renowned Christian thinkers who both found it necessary to create for the purposes of their fiction other worldsnot utopias or dystopias, but different worlds.

The great importance of [Lewis and Tolkien] is that they have succeeded in restating certain traditional valuesin a way that they make an imaginative appeal to a very wide audience, young and old, traditionalist and non-traditionalist. Richard Purtill, Author, J.R.R. Tolkien: Myth, Morality, and Religion"

Genres: Philosophy, Fantasy, Literary Criticism, Spirituality, Christianity, Christian, Mythology

304 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1974

About the author

Richard Purtill was the Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at Western Washington University, Bellingham, Washington, as well as an author of fantasy and science fiction, critical non-fiction on the same genres, and various works on religion and philosophy. He is best known for his novels of the "Kaphtu" universe. He wrote as both Richard Purtill and Richard L. Purtill, a variant form of his name. He was active in professional writing circles, being a member of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, the Authors Guild, and the National Writers Union. His book J.R.R.Tolkien: Myth, Morality and Religion won the 1987 Mythopoeic Scholarship Award for Inklings Studies.

Reviews

[Jamie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Warning: this book will cause you to read (or re-read) other books.

Ever since I finished this book, I have been itching to read C.S. Lewis's "space trilogy", as well as get my copy of "The Hobbit" back from my friend, so I can start reading it to my children.

"Lord of the Elves and Eldils" does an excellent job of providing background information about C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien: their lives, their friendship, their academic specialties, their faith, and personal philosophies. It also provides added insight into things that you may have glossed over or just plain misunderstood when you first read the fiction of Tolkien or Lewis.

Although the book is about the fictional works these men, the true insights of the book come from an examination and analysis of their non-fiction. For example, passages in "Miracles" and "Mere Christianity" help to better understand "Perelandra" and "The Last Battle".

The only unfortunate thing is that Tolkien did not leave behind as large a legacy of non-fiction as Lewis did, so we don't have as much directly from Tolkien and instead must be satisfied with what his son, Christopher, and others have said about him. (This is not meant as a negative against this book, but rather to explain the challenges faced in his analysis of Tolkien and why there is more about Lewis.)

The footnotes show the depth of the research that went into writing this - not only research about Tolkien and Lewis, but also about their critics and detractors. You may think you are reading something about your favorite authors, but what you end up getting is an education in literary criticism through an example of how it is done well.

This is an excellent book, but as I said before, do not start reading this unless you have time in your reading schedule for at least 3-6 more books when you are done.

[Kris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved the in-depth look at various aspects of myth and fantasy, and how Lewis and Tolkien put their ideas in practice. A few times his research felt scattered, or lumped together awkwardly in chapters, but it was all very interesting information, analyses, and surmises. There was just a twinge of the author's own approach and conclusions which I appreciated. He did try to bring a sense of organization to this massive idea, separating the authors with their works, or by their approach to religion. This text could almost have been bigger, and perhaps this expansion may have helped the prose flow more easily and stay connected. Purtill makes a great use of secondary sources, but I wish he would have quoted from Lewis and Tolkien's poetry, essays, letters, and nonfiction writings more often. It would have created a better picture of the men themselves.

[Johnny · Rating 4 out of 5]

Richard Purtill is a philosophy professor who uses categories of philosophy and theology to cross-section the work, and to some extent the lives, and two of the most famous Christian fantasists of all time: C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien. Lewis overtly represents his Christianity and philosophy in his fantasy and science-fiction works while his colleague and friend, Tolkien, believed strongly in a more subtle approach. Just prior to the summary section on Conclusions in Lord of the Elves and Eldils: Fantasy and Philosophy in C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien, I believe Purtill offers a succinct and powerful summary of Lewis’ theme throughout all of his work. Purtill writes, “In all of Lewis’s imaginative works, one of the great themes is that to choose God is to choose joy, and to choose anything else, no matter how apparently noble or delightful or wonderful, is ultimately to choose frustration, nothingness, sorrow.” (p. 146)

The contrasts between the works and messages of the two masters of fantasy are distinct, but not incompatible or cognitively dissonant. Lewis creates a true “Christ figure” in Aslan, yet those who attempt to shoehorn Tolkien’s Frodo into that role are inevitably unsuccessful. As Purtill observes, “Frodo, as we have said, is not a figure of Christ—he is too limited, too imperfect for that. But he is what every Christian should be, an imitator of Christ, one who carries out or imitates in his limited and imperfect way the redemptive suffering of Christ.” (p. 166)

In drawing conclusions, Purtill suggests that many of our modern problems are addressed in the fantasies of Lewis and Tolkien. For example, in Lewis, “One effect of entering secondary worlds with a number of nonhuman ‘speaking races’ must surely be to make us see that differences of color and culture among human races are fairly trivial differences.” (p. 184) Then, after observing that Bilbo, Frodo, Sam, Merry, and Pippin are the only hobbits who seem to be interested in other races and cultures, Purtill suggests that they are richly rewarded. Then, Purtill concludes, “Similarly, those in our world who close themselves into their own culture are shutting themselves off from a great deal of enjoyment, if nothing worse.” (p. 185) Purtill sees Frodo as a symbol of personal responsibility (p. 186) Purtill closes with a quotation from Tolkien regarding the idea of rejecting Christianity as false: “To reject it leads either to sadness or wrath.” (p. 194)

Fans of Lewis and Tolkien who do not entertain the possibility that the claims of Christianity may be right will not get as much out of this book as I did. After more than 30 years, re-reading this volume was like catching up with an old friend.

[Mya Burke · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is more like a 10/10. Loved every chapter.

[Julie Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beginning this book is the reason I felt the push to finally push myself to read That Hideous Strength (the final one of C.S. Lewis's "space trilogy). Purtill has an in-depth essay at the back of the book discussing that book and mentions it frequently in the beginning of the main text. I had been looking for something which discussed Lewis's work as well as Tolkien's and this is one that has been praised highly.

I was surprised to see that quite a bit of this winds up addressing Tolkien's critics. I had no idea how many people, both positively and negatively inclined, have tried to shove The Lord of the Rings into their own narrow worldview. It is really interesting to see how much broader Tolkien, with his devout Catholic worldview, has managed to be simply because he himself wanted to write a story that was pre-Christian. I was also quite surprised to see some of the criticisms of Lewis's writing and also of Lewis's own commitment to Christianity. For example, I had no idea that people took a string of seemingly attached events and spun them to conclude that Lewis lost his faith after his wife died. I never would have drawn that same conclusion and it was interesting to see Purtill look at that issue, eventually showing that it was not logical when considering all the facts in context.

I also really like the way that Purtill takes his comments about others' critiques of both authors and then turns to make his own remarks which extend beyond any criticism into appreciation and elucidation. It is this which is really valuable to me.

[Gabriel Conroy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good, bur Purtill frustratingly enters the not-ver-informative debate about whether C. S. Lewis's fiction can be properly termed "allegorical" (save for "Pilgrim's Regress"). Yes, Lewis's fiction is not allegory by his own definition, but I'm not sure it matters. Purtill also explains, uncritically, Lewis's "historical" argument for the truth of Christianity. As a good philosopher, he points out the faults in Lewis's other arguments, but, frustratingly, adds no comment to Lewis's assertion that Christ was either "a lunatic" or the "son of God."

This book will probably be only enjoyable for those who have read the ring trilogy, the Narnia chronicles, and Lewis's science fiction trilogy.

[Randi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't give it 5 stars just because I'm ornery that way. But honestly, I loved this book, I keep recommending it to people I meet, and I want to read it again.

Much of it confirms what I already detected while reading Lewis and Tolkien, but it pointed out some things I missed, as well. My favorite part was actually right at the beginning...I mean the chapters which discuss the merits of fantasy as a literary genre. It gives me food for thought about why I have chosen to write fantasy.

Overall: Fascinating and highly readable. Makes me miss my academic days! ;D

[Annie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short read, but a great start of tidbits to bite into Tolkien and Lewis's works.