Returning the Ring
The Inner Dimension of Tolkein's The Lord of the Rings
The Lord of the Rings was written by J.R.Tolkien, an Oxford professor of old languages. It began as a story for his children and friends and much of it was written during World War Two. The Lord of the Rings was first published in 1954 but only became a best seller in the late sixties.
In the sixties The Lord of the Rings resonated with that generation we now call the 'Flower Children' and it has remained at the top of the bestsellers list ever since. Recently The Lord of Rings has been made into three full-length feature films and a whole new audience has been captured by the story.
The popularity of the tale alone would suggest that The Lord of the Rings holds a deeper significance than even Tolkein was aware of. Few stories have magnetized our attention to such an extent. Only Star Wars, which shares a principal common theme, has achieved the same degree of popularity.
The Lord of the Rings is a modern day myth. Its theme of the renunciation of power is particularly relevant for our present day, addressing such issues as the world crisis and the transition of the ages. Like a guiding dream The Lord of the Rings describes how we may flow with the required transformation of our current era. It is the map which we so desperately need - a guiding light for our precarious times.
From the Preface
Craig Jarman has written a wonderful book about the mythological land of Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. Archaic language, mythological scenes, fairytale plots are the carriers of some of the most pertinent and telling commentaries on our modern world and the disaster-creativity which faces us. Modern ears are tired of the doom and gloom of so much of our current writing, and news headlines are no better. But in this tale of hobbits and little people and noble bearers of power we have spelled out the chaos which we face and a visionary solution to it.
The story is a new one - perhaps the latest outpouring of mythology in our western world - and it carries great power. To read a myth created by a man still within living memory is to be at the forefront of living mythology. Craig Jarman, a citizen of the new age, speaks its language eloquently and creates a new vision for us all.
Robert A. Johnson
Jungian Analyst, San Diego, California
Chapters Titles
Hobbits and the Shire
The Dark Lord & the One Ring
Frodo and the Ring
The Quest Begins
Old Tom Bombadil
Towards Rivendell
In the House of Elrond
The Ring Party sets out
Lothlorien
The Breaking of the Fellowship
The Way to Mordor
Shelob's Lair
On the Edge of Mount Doom
The War is Won
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Returning the Ring is freely available to all who are interested in the deeper meaning of Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. Your feedback is appreciated.
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