Cardinal Vices in Middle-earth

Martina Juričková

Cardinal Vices in Middle-earth

Berlin · Bruxelles · Chennai · Lausanne · New York · Oxford

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

A CIP catalog record for this book has been applied for at the Library of Congress.

Names: Juričková, Martina, 1991- author.

Title: Cardinal vices in Middle-earth / Martina Juričková.

Description: Oxford; New York: Peter Lang, 2025. | Series: Studies in linguistics, Anglophone literatures and cultures, 2364-7558; 43 | Includes bibliographical references and index.

Identifiers: LCCN 2025000488 (print) | LCCN 2025000489 (ebook) | ISBN 9783631922903 (hardback) | ISBN 9783631922910 (ebook) | ISBN 9783631934272 (epub)

Subjects: LCSH: Tolkien, J. R. R. (John Ronald Reuel), 1892-1973--Criticism and interpretation. | Tolkien, J. R. R. (John Ronald Reuel), 1892-1973. Hobbit. | Tolkien, J. R. R. (John Ronald Reuel), 1892-1973. Lord of the rings. | Tolkien, J. R. R. (John Ronald Reuel), 1892-1973. Silmarillion. | Vices in literature | Virtues in literature. | LCGFT: Literary criticism.

Classification: LCC PR6039.O32 Z66646 2025 (print) | LCC PR6039.O32 (ebook) | DDC 823/.912--dc23/eng/20250107

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2025000488

LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2025000489

Bibliographic Information published by the Deutsche Nationalbibliothek

The Deutsche Nationalbibliothek lists this publication in the Deutsche Nationalbibliografie; detailed bibliographic data is available in the internet at http://dnb.d-nb.de

The cover image © Martina Juričková

Based on artwork by the creator Buddy_Nath, available at: www.pixabay.com/photos/solar-eclipse-1482921

The publishing of this book was funded by the project UGA III/5/2024 Morálne hodnoty vo fantasy literature (Moral values in fantasy literature).

ISSN 2364-7558

ISBN 978-3-631-92290-3 (Print)

ISBN 978-3-631-92291-0 (E-PDF)

ISBN 978-3-631-93427-2 (E-PUB)

DOI 10.3726/b22705

© 2025 Peter Lang Group AG, Lausanne (Switzerland)

Published by Peter Lang GmbH, Berlin (Germany)

info@peterlang.com

All rights reserved.

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This publication has been peer reviewed.

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Table of contents

List of abbreviations

Introduction

1 Tolkien the Religious Man

2 Tolkien’s Literary and Moral Philosophy

2.1 Theology of Fantasy and the Theory of Sub-creation

3 Research Aims and Methodology

4 Defining Virtues and Vices

4.1 Virtues

4.2 Vices

4.2.1 Cardinal Vices

5 Up-to-date Research on Middle-earth Ethics

5.1 The Underlying Christianity

5.2 An Inkling of Humanity

5.2.1 The Objective Morality

5.2.2 Criticism of Tolkien’s Approach

5.3 The Nature of Good and Evil

5.3.1 Augustinian Evil

5.3.2 Manichean Evil

5.3.3 Characteristics of Evil

5.3.4 The Nature of Good

5.4 Middle-earth Virtues and Vices in Research

5.4.1 Virtue

5.4.1.1 Wisdom

5.4.1.2 Courage

5.4.1.3 Loyalty and Obedience

5.4.1.4 Pity and Mercy

5.4.1.5 Faith and Hope

5.4.2 Vice

5.4.2.1 The Ring as a Symbol of Sin

5.4.2.2 Vices of the Races

5.4.2.3 Seven Capital Vices

5.4.2.4 Unique approaches

6 Analysis of Cardinal Vices and their Contrary Virtues

6.1 Wrath and Patience

6.1.1 Wrath

6.1.2 Patience

6.2 Sloth and Diligence

6.2.1 Sloth

6.2.2 Diligence

6.3 Pride and Humility

6.3.1 Pride

6.3.2 Humility

6.4 Lust and Chastity

6.4.1 Lust

6.4.2 Chastity

6.5 Greed and Liberality

6.5.1 Greed

6.5.2 Liberality

6.6 Gluttony and Temperance

6.6.1 Gluttony

6.6.2 Temperance

6.7 Envy and Kindness

6.7.1 Envy

6.7.2 Kindness

7 Findings

7.1 The Hobbit

7.2 The Lord of the Rings

7.3 The Silmarillion

7.4 Conclusion

Appendices

Appendix A: Thomism and its Place in the Catholic Church

Thomas Aquinas

The history of Thomism

Appendix B: The Morality of Northern Mythology

Relation to Christianity

Basic moral principles

Northern Gods

Christian cardinal sins in Northern mythology

Wrath

Sloth

Pride

Lust

Gluttony

Greed and Envy

Appendix C: Word Count Charts

Vices

Virtues

Appendix D: Prominence of vices across The Lord of the Rings

Bibliography

Index

List of abbreviations

H = The Hobbit

HOME = The History of Middle-earth

L = The Letters of Tolkien

LOTR = The Lord of the Rings

S = The Silmarillion

UT = Unfinished Tales

Introduction

Virtue and vice are the key markers of moral goodness or badness and thus are naturally present also in fantasy tales in which the global conflict typically consists of the battle between good and evil. Tolkien’s work is the epitome of fantasy literature, and morality plays all the more important role in it since it was heavily and consciously influenced by the author’s faith, as he proudly admitted on several occasions. The idea to explore its morality gradually emerged from my previous research in bachelor and diploma theses in which I analysed the virtue of friendship as presented in his novel The Lord of the Rings. That required me to also examine other related virtues and vices, as well as the broader concept of morality in the story, and the more I learnt about this aspect of his work, the more I realised how important a role it played in the context of his overall philosophy of art as sub-creative power.

Further, reading such scholarly publications as Jane Chance’s The King under the Mountain (2001) and John L. Treloar’s article The Middle-earth Epic and the Seven Capital Vices (1989) inspired me to investigate how virtue and vice are treated in the three major tales of Tolkien’s set in Middle-earth: The Silmarillion, The Hobbit, and The Lord of the Rings, as it should contribute to better understanding of his fictional universe and its morality and help readers realise the philosophical relevance of his work even for the modern world. I started researching this topic in my dissertation thesis (Juričková, 2021e), in which I established the theoretical and methodological framework and investigated how Tolkien utilised three out of the seven cardinal vices—wrath, sloth, and pride—and their opposing virtues—patience, diligence, and humility—in building the ethical system of Middle-earth. The presented book is thus a continuation and an extension of my dissertation research, enriched with chapters covering the remaining four cardinal vices—lust, greed, gluttony, and envy—and their opposing virtues—chastity, liberality, temperance, and kindness—as well as other material some of which has been previously published in shorter and edited version in a number of academic and non-academic journals and some of which has not yet been published at all, as all of it is a part of the same research project and deserves to be published in its entirety to best showcase the interconnectedness of the various analysed elements and ideas of Tolkien’s work. This is indicated in footnotes in appropriate places.

Building on my dissertation research, the aim of this book, as described in more detail in chapter 3, is threefold: First, it aims to determine how much Tolkien’s depiction of virtues and vices is concordant with their theological understanding. Second, it assesses to what extent, in their depiction, he adheres to the principles of his own theory of sub-creation and the theology of fantasy. And third, it investigates the differences and similarities in the depiction of the virtues and vices between his three abovementioned works to trace the development of his moral standards in different stages of his writing. Regarding the last point, I suppose that significant differences can be observed due to the distinct nature of the texts.

This work consists of 7 chapters. The first chapter introduces the basic facts about Tolkien’s relation to faith and religion. The second chapter recounts Tolkien’s philosophy of sub-creation and its relation to theology in general and the theology of fantasy in particular, driving attention especially to his possible inspiration by the teaching of Thomas Aquinas. Besides that, it explains the relevance of leading a virtuous life as a precondition to the attainment of the moment of eucatastrophe. The third chapter, as stated above, presents the aims and research methodology, which is based on methods of close reading and comparison. The fourth chapter establishes the theoretical background of my work by defining the concepts of virtue and vice. The fifth provides a critical overview of the up-to-date research of ethics and morality in Tolkien’s work. The sixth chapter then analyses the depiction of the seven cardinal vices and their opposing virtues in Tolkien’s books. The major findings and observations with regard to the partial aims of this work are then summarised in the seventh chapter, along with suggestions on further research of the topic. At the very end are then appended two essays that may help the readers better understand certain aspects of the analysis which there was no room for to include in the main text. These appendices explain the historical context of Thomism as one of the theologies influencing Tolkien the most and the moral concepts of Northern mythology Tolkien took so much inspiration from. Appendix C provides a chart counting the occurrence of words related to the analysed virtues and vices in all the three Tolkien’s works that are the objects of my research with regard to the context. Only such uses are counted that pertain to virtues and vices; if they are used as figures of speech, they are left out. And Appendix D features a chart that depicts which vices are prominent in which chapters of The Lord of the Rings.

Although it was beyond my wildest imagination to ever become a Tolkien scholar when I got acquainted with his book and immersed in the magical world of Middle-earth first—in fact, back then I did not even know anything like Tolkien studies existed and that it was possible to make a career of reading and analysing your favourite books—this dream started taking shape during my undergraduate studies. When I started working towards my doctoral degree and attending conferences, this dream started taking more realistic contours and I began to view the publication of this book as its peak and fulfilment. But achieving that would not be possible without the support of each of my small steps by many people to whom I want express my immense gratitude now.

First and foremost I want to thank my supervisor, Mária Hricková, for allowing me to research the topics I wanted and guiding me throughout my university studies, as I have often told her.

To Arielle Bailey for being my court language editor for most of my academic journey up to 2023.

To Ana Kulić for inviting me to become a co-admin of a Tolkien dedicated Facebook fanpage, J. R. R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth, that I have helped to branch out into other platforms (Instagram, MeWe, and a website of its own), that allowed me to express my admiration of Tolkien in a different, non-academic way, but also share my academic work there too. And to Zoi Khoufalexi, another fellow Tolkien enthusiast and a soul-mate to the two of us.

To Avellina Balestri, another soul-mate and an amazing editor-in-chief of an online semi-academic fanzine, Fellowship and Fairydust, in which I have, over the years, published bits and pieces of my research, mainly in their old website, which has, unfortunately, been hacked and its contents deleted. Nevertheless, while it lasted, it was one of the main means for me to spread my knowledge of Tolkien’s work even further among the general readership. Some of those pieces are now also incorporated in this book.

To Craig Boyd, a renown scholar in the field of Tolkien studies, whom I had the luck to befriend during one online conference, for generously providing me with manuscripts of his articles and for mutual feedback on each other’s work.

To Sørina Higgins and Sarah Monnier for their enthusiastic support when I first started looking for ways to get this book published.

To Lukasz Galecki, Katarzyna Kaluzna, and all the people at Peter Lang Publishing who helped make this book a reality.

1 Tolkien the Religious Man

Tolkien was always very outspoken about his religion, proudly stressing his belonging to the Roman-Catholic rite.¹ The importance of faith in his life and its effects on his writing has been explored, most recently and most extensively, by Holly Ordway (2023) and before that, to a lesser degree, by Joseph Pearce in Tolkien, Man and Myth (1998)². For a complex picture of Tolkien’s religiosity, I refer the reader to these books as this chapter only provides a basic overview of the topic.

For Tolkien, his religion also had a special emotional significance, which few people were capable of understanding. His faith was the only immaterial heritage that his mother Mabel left him³. Born to a family of Anglicans, Methodists in particular, Mabel Tolkien became all the more attracted to the Roman-Catholic Church after her husband’s death, converting in 1900 and bringing with her also her sons, who at that time were 8 and 6 years old. Ronald received his First Communion three years later. The Tolkien boys too were originally baptised in the Anglican Church, and in his adult years Ronald regarded his second name, John, to be his Christian name, preferring to be addressed with this among his colleagues, though his parents never thought about this implication on the occasion of his baptism (L, no. 309).

Mabel’s conversion met with strong disapproval on the sides of both her and her husband’s families, resulting in the removal of most of their financial support, which only led to her adhering to her new faith even more in search for solace. This she found in the priests from the community of Birmingham Oratory, particularly in Father Francis Xavier Morgan who helped her rearrange their living conditions and also substituted the role of father to her sons, often even taking them for holidays to the seaside. They received their Catholic education in the strict environment of the Oratory, where, as Tolkien recounted in a letter (L, no. 306), they virtually became the junior inmates, usually serving at the Mass before going to school. And since the Oratory priests were all learned men, they provided the boys with a wide range of knowledge, mainly on religious philosophies and classical languages.⁴

Unfortunately, the idyll did not last long. Early in 1904, Mabel was diagnosed with diabetes, of which she died just about a half a year later. Tolkien ascribed the rapid deterioration of her health to her being worn out by poverty and persecution, which he believed were the result of the considerable repulsion by her family on account of her conversion. Thus, in his opinion, she was a martyr who spent herself in her effort to hand the faith on to her boys (L, no. 267). Ever since then, she embodied for him the ideal of religious devotion; he often presented her as a model to his own children and was much grieved when even under the image of her sacrifice their faith faltered. After her death, Tolkien, following the example of his patron Saint John the Evangelist⁵, adopted Saint Mary, the mother of Jesus, as his spiritual mother, holding her in special devotion.

However, as Pearce (1998, p. 23) remarks, it should not be assumed that he clung to religion blindly, without any critical evaluation, out of loyalty to his mother or his Oratorian upbringing. Indeed, as Ordway (2023) describes in detail in her book, Tolkien had to test it against various theories he came across in the university environment, which by its nature should be areligious.⁶ But in spite of the fact that even Tolkien had his darker periods when he almost completely ceased to practise his religion (for example, during his first term at Oxford, later in Leeds or while living at 22 Northmoor Road⁷), the Catholicism remained his spiritual harbour to the end of his days, because for him it “was not an opinion to which one subscribed but a reality to which one submitted.” (Pearce, 1998, p. 23)

But though the seed of faith was planted by his mother, it would have never got rooted so firmly without the care of Fr. Morgan, into whose guardianship Mabel entrusted her sons ere she died. Metaphorically speaking, Fr. Morgan held over them both of his hands: one the soft hand of protection and financial support, for which Tolkien always felt immensely indebted to him, but the other one strictly overseeing his education and moral development. He was the one who ensured that Tolkien remained at King Edward’s by paying a portion of his tuition fees with his own money when he was under no obligation to do so, and from whom Tolkien learnt charity and forgiveness (L, no. 306, 267) and, as Pearce (1998, p. 31) adds, also the Christian understanding of honour, obedience, faithfulness and other virtues. Later, in his writings, he liked to juxtapose these with their perception based on the Northern mythologies, interest in which he started to develop at about the same time as he and his brother were moved by Fr. Morgan from their aunt’s house, where they were unhappy, to new lodgings at Duchess Road.

Religion and Fr. Morgan had also a crucial impact on Tolkien’s marriage. At Duchess Road, the sixteen-year-old Ronald met Edith Bratt, a fellow orphan two years his senior, and in the next two years their friendship turned into a romantic relationship. Because of his two newly founded loves, to Northern literature and languages and to Edith, his school performance slightly slackened, to Fr. Morgan’s great disappointment. While the priest did not mind the former of Ronald’s loves, he ordered the boy to end the romance and when, in spite of his warning, they continued it, he had the girl removed to another accommodation and strictly forbid Ronald to see her or write to her until his 21^st birthday. Out of reverence and indebtedness, though unwillingly, Tolkien submitted to the three-years-long ban.

When this was over and the lovers finally successfully reconciled and Edith agreed to marry him, Tolkien’s next biggest concern was her conversion to Roman Catholicism because for him it was absolutely unthinkable not to have a proper wedding in this rite. This proved to be the first major source of quarrel in their life together, as Edith used to be a very active member of the Church of England and appreciated in their local community (besides, her relatives would react just as Mabel Tolkien’s did), and it remained the main source of their disagreement for most of her life, despite her initial after-conversion excitement. Carpenter (2002, p. 98) mentioned that is was because she developed considerable dislike to some of Roman-Catholic practises, such as confession-making, which Pearce criticises him for (1998, p. 46), saying it might not have been as bad as Carpenter described it. But they both agree that while the shallowness of Edith’s faith might have partially been the result of the not-enthusiastic-enough teaching of the priest who prepared her for the conversion, to which Tolkien ascribed it, he too was not very helpful to her in this matter, being unable to communicate to her the nature of his emotional attachment to religion, which she did not understand, nor reason it out using the mythology-based arguments he later presented to C. S. Lewis.⁸

What he did not achieve with his wife, he did, at least partially, with his colleague and friend, the above-mentioned Lewis. It were the philosophical debates with Tolkien and Hugo Dyson that led the born-Protestant to resume the practice of religion and basically created one of the greatest Christian apologists of his age. Partially, because, to Tolkien’s disappointment, Lewis did not turn to Roman Catholicism but remained an Anglican. Most of their disagreement, as far as religion was concerned, resulted henceforth. Their opinions differed mostly on the matter of marriage—while Lewis advocated the dual system of civil and church marriage, Tolkien accepted only the church one as true and sinless—and that was also one of the reasons of their later estrangement. Tolkien reproached Lewis not only for not informing him or any other of their Inkling friends about his wedding, nor inviting them to it, but mainly for marrying a divorcee with a child. His view on the sanctity of marriage Tolkien explained also in several letters to his sons, Michael and Christopher.⁹ Pearce (1998, p. 47) observes that in this he was echoing the teaching of Thomas Aquinas. Nonetheless, the teaching fell somewhat short of the intended effect in the case of his youngest and favourite son Christopher, who divorced and remarried, causing his father considerable sorrow.

Tolkien always cared much about the religious up-bringing of his children, even though in one of his letters he expressed guilt that he might not have done enough (L, no. 250). He used to take them to church regularly and, as they grew up, discussed with them and advised them in many matters of faith, just like Fr. Morgan did with him, often via letters when they flew out of the family nest. From the perspective of the devout Catholic that he was, his efforts were more than rewarded when his eldest son John became a priest.

Apropos priests, from childhood Tolkien had many good friends, and later also fans among them, with whom he maintained a lively correspondence. And he seemed to be much interested in the religious views of most, if not all, people with whom he became more than just an acquaintance, especially those who made an occasional appearance at the Inklings’ meetings, such as Charles Williams or Roy Campbell, both of whom also had a certain impact on his relationship with Lewis. While Tolkien thought Williams, also Anglican, had a regressive effect on his friend, he was highly amused by Lewis’s misgivings about the latter one, a Christian convert.¹⁰