Tuesday, November 20, 2018
Chance/Coincidence or Providence/Fate
List examples for chance/coincidence and another list of examples for providence/fate from any part of The Return of the King. Are the events in this part of The Lord of the Rings more directly a result of Providence or the happenings of Chance? What evidence leads you to that reading? Alternately, do the events at the end of the text equally the result of Providence AND Chance, both woven together affecting one another in some kind of interplay? Whichever you choose, what does your answer suggest about Tolkien's personal philosophy on this subject as well as his theories about mythmaking?
2 comments:
It’s difficult to categorize occurrences into these two lists, because so often it seems like Tolkien is hinting that what appear to be chance events are actually fate. Take for example the Ride of the Rohirrim to Minas Tirith. The Orcs have begun destroying the Rammas Echor before the Rohirrim arrive. If they had not done so, they could have held the Rammas Echor against the Rohirrim possibly indefinitely, since the Rohirrim were a cavalry force unprepared to storm fortifications. On the surface this looks like a chance happening, but there are overtones of fate. The downfall of the Orcs at Minas Tirith comes from their destructive nature. However, I think there certainly was some chance involved. I think the choices the characters are the main source of chance, assuming free will is present in Tolkien’s world. Providence or fate used those chances in some way to work out the outcome of the stories. Sam’s actions at Cirith Ungol, for example, are his own choices that he has to make and follow through with; Providence helps later with the water in Mordor, to name one thing. In the series as a whole, Bilbo chose not to kill Gollum and Frodo chose to take the Ring from Rivendell to Mordor. So fate or providence will do some things, but the characters have to make the right choices and follow through as well.
~Ulmo
My favorite example of fate/chance is when Sam and Frodo are in Mordor and Frodo is captured by orcs. We are led to believe all hope is lost but the orcs start a horrible brawl over what they should do with Frodo. When Sam finally finds Frodo, Frodo makes us believe for a second that the ring is lost and on its way to Sauron. Fortunately Sam had taken the ring while Frodo slept. If we skim over this I do believe it comes of as chance,but I think it has more to do with fate. Fate from some sort of divine intervention working from outside on then situation, so the people who want and hope for the best are rewarded. I think that this is exactly the type of magic Tolkien loves best. He clearly doesn't like spells or potions, he likes the type of magic that comes from wishing for something with all your heart, specifically wishing for something good. I think this is connected to to religions faith, often it is that people pray and hope for divine intervention, and if their heart is in the right place God will give it to them. While we clearly do not know of the Valar helping or intervening I think someone had to put the idea for Sam to take the ring in Sam's head. They also had to give him that nudge for him to do it since it went explicitly against what Frodo ordered him, and we know Sam is loyal to Frodo through and through, infact Sam taking the ring is the only instance of defiance towards Frodo I can think of.
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