Representing Middle-earth

Robert T. Tally Jr. is a professor of English at Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas.

“In this original and inspiring book, Robert Tally gives us the Marxist criticism of Tolkien that he has long deserved. Transcending stereotypes fostered equally by piously apostolic readings and academic snobberies, Tally shows us how Tolkien recognized social complexity, experienced history and modernity, and comprehended that even the Orcs want to get away from the Big Bosses. Written in an accessible, involving style, Representing Middle-earth shows us both a Tolkien we did not know before and a world that can tremendously gain from reading Tolkien wisely.”—Nicholas Birns,. New York University, author of The Literary Role of History in the Fiction of J. R. R. Tolkien

• Table of ContentsPreface and AcknowledgmentsIntroduction: The Perilous Realm in an Era of Multinational CapitalismStrange Bedfellows: Tol­kien and Marxist Literary CriticismTowards a Literary Cartography of ­Middle-earthOn the Shadowy Marches of Faërie1. “Almost it seemed that the words took shape”: Narrative, History, and the Desire Called Marx“The theatre of my tale is this earth”In the Hall of Fire“Endless untold stories”2. Formulae of Power: Generic Discontinuities in the Saga of the Jewels and the RingsHarmonizing Heterogeneous Narrative ParadigmsModern Epics“The starry sky is a map of all possible paths”The Red Book of Westmarch“A more or less mediocre, average English gentleman”The Cauldron of Story3. Three Rings for the Elven Kings: Trilogizing Tol­kien in Print and Film“There is no real division into 3”: Defining Trilogy“The rhythm or ordering of the narrative”: Trilogizing The Lord of the Rings“Too much hobbitry”: The Hobbit as a Film TrilogyAn Artificially Ordered World4. The Geopolitical Aesthetic of ­Middle-earth: Space, Cinema, and the World System in The Lord of the Rings“I wisely started with a map”The Eye of SauronThe Conspiracy of the RingGeopolitical Fantasy5. The Politics of Character: The Dark Lord, the ­Witch-Queen, and the White WizardSauron, Healer of ­Middle-earthGaladriel, ­Witch-Queen of LórienSong of Saruman“Satan fell”: Ethics as False Consciousness6. Let Us Now Praise Famous Orcs: Simple Humanity in ­Middle-earth’s Inhuman Creatures“Whence they came or what they were”No More Big Bosses!Human, ­All-Too-HumanOrcs’ Untold Stories7. Demonizing the Enemy: Monstrosity, Ethics, and the Sense of the World WarsManufacturing MonstersSympathy for the DevilsAfter the Wars8. “Places where the stars are strange”: Fantasy, Utopia, and CritiqueSurveying the Great Schism“The world as it appears under the sun”Reflections on MagicBeyond Good and EvilThe Fantastic Is Good to Think WithConclusion: “We should not neglect the red dragons”NotesBibliographyIndex