Gandalf = God? Swat alum speaks on religion in Lord of the Rings

April 15, 2005

Editor’s note: This article was initially published in The Daily Gazette, Swarthmore’s online, daily newspaper founded in Fall 1996. As of Fall 2018, the DG has merged with The Phoenix. See the about page to read more about the DG.

Read Mercer Schuchardt ’93 returned to campus, following last year’s talk on religion in the Matrix, to present his lecture “Religious symbolism in Lord of the Rings.” Schuchardt’s talk stretched over three hours and branched off to include other topics such as nature vs. technology, communication theory, and his own life.

Schuchardt, a professor of communication studies at Marymount Manhattan College, also runs the film critique site Metaphilm (http://www.metaphilm.com), which is devoted to creative film analysis. He argued in today’s society, cinema has almost replaced church–the two hour time span, popcorn and soda in place of bread and wine–saying, “The modern prophet shouldn’t go to seminary, but to Hollywood.”

Sample advertisement

First Schuchardt spoke about Tolkien’s background–he fought as a soldier in the first world war and went on to become a professor of linguistics at Oxford, where he befriended fellow author C.S. Lewis. However, Tolkien didn’t approve of the blatant religious symbolism found in Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia, saying “you can’t fictionalize the Christ figure.”

Instead, Schuchardt argued, Tolkien wrote the Lord of the Rings trilogy to explain the universal truths that are manifested through Christianity. Rather than having a central Christ figure, such as Aslan from Narnia, aspects of Christ were divvied up among a number of characters.

Schuchardt then asked the audience how many people thought God was cool–a few hands went up. When he repeated the question about Gandalf, even more raised. He pointed out that the stereotypic gray-bearded grandfatherly view of God is boring–but give him a staff and have him fight a Balrog, and he is immediately more interesting. Gandalf also is seen as a Christ figure in his death and subsequent rebirth.

Similarly, Aragorn also resembles Christ in his being a faraway king, destined to return and claim the throne that is rightly his. However, despite his greatness, Aragorn remains humble, protecting his companions, and is strong enough to resist the power of the ring. And like Christ, Frodo bears an incredible burden, yet goes through his task without complaining and leaves the “mortal” world shortly after completing it.

Schuchardt went on to talk about Tolkien’s views on nature vs technology, or more literally wood vs metal. In old times, he explained, Christians believed not only in praising God but also taking care of nature–a view which has since gone by the wayside. He pointed out that name for Isengard, Saruman’s stronghold, comes from the German “eisen” for iron–and Isengard is subsequently destroyed by the Ents, humanoid trees.

Schuchardt went on to develop the ideas behind the nature vs. technology debate, and to give his own views (“Burn your televisions.”), before digressing further into theories of communication, taking audience questions all the while.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

Previous Story

College Corner: Interview with number one

Next Story

Housing lottery roundup: seniors

Latest from Sports

Swinging Through the Glass Ceiling 

The Swarthmore men’s golf team has welcomed numerous women as walk-on players over the years. Currently there are two female players competing on the men’s team: Ava Chon ’26 and Bori Chung ’28. Chon is a senior from Princeton, NJ, who went

Athlete of the Week: Melissa Eyer ’28

Melissa Eyer '28 runs the volleyball court with her elite ball control and defensive capabilities. Read on to hear more about her fourth Centennial Athlete of the Week selection!

Garnet Soccer Takes on Johns Hopkins in Baltimore

On Sept. 20, Swarthmore men’s and women’s soccer packed their bags and boarded buses for Baltimore to play their long-time conference rival Johns Hopkins University. The day began Centennial Conference play for both Garnet teams. The men came into their game carrying

The Best Quotes of Jalen Hurts

We live in a current age of heat checks, lyric drops, motivational apps and posters, and speeches about “locking in” or “walking through fire.” And then there is Jalen Hurts — the starting quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles, an outright contemporary Nietzsche,
Previous Story

College Corner: Interview with number one

Next Story

Housing lottery roundup: seniors

The Phoenix

Don't Miss