Pity

[CAB]

I would like to preface this by admitting this is not a well thought out question. It just occurred to me this morning. Also I am not a Christian, so my knowledge of Christian philosophy is not strong. Nor am I particularly familiar with Tolkien the man. My interests have always revolved around Middle Earth itself…..not the author or those things which may have inspired him.

So….with that out of the way……

What do you think of the role of pity in Tolkien’s writings? How does it relate to his Christian beliefs?

Specifically, I was wondering if pity is meant by Tolkien to be a lesser form of (or really, a precursor to) Christian ideas of love. As in “Love your neighbor.” “Love your enemy”? It seems to me that there is a great deal of overlap between pity and this kind of love. Both likely coming from having some understanding of and being able to empathize with, another.

As I recall, Tolkien’s writings about Middle Earth were meant by him to be an English myth that predated the time of Jesus. So, when Gandalf said that he pitied Sauron’s slaves and when Frodo said he pitied Gollum, etc. (there are surely many other examples…...I can dig up some quotes if needed), were they almost practicing a Christian ideal without quite taking it to the extent that Jesus did? And, of course, in the process leaving the revelation that one should love his enemies something to be revealed by Jesus in a later time?

A related question: If pity is a precursor to Christian love in Tolkien’s writings, then how should we view Nienna, who seems almost an embodiment of pity and empathy?

There are many folks on Entmoot who are far better equipped than I to answer these questions. I would love to hear your opinions.

[Alcuin]

Lord of the Rings certainly has Christian themes, some intentionally Catholic. In Letters of JRR Tolkien #142, to (Father?) Robert Murray, SJ (“SJ” for Society of Jesus: he was a Jesuit), Tolkien wrote,

The Lord of the Rings is of course a fundamentally religious and Catholic work; unconsciously so at first, but consciously in the revision. … [T]he religious element is absorbed into the story and the symbolism.

And he proceeds in other letters to describe this in some detail in regards to pity or mercy, which might be the better term. The most important of these, I think, are Letters 191, 192, and 246.

In Letters 191, he wrote,

…[It was] quite impossible for [Frodo] to surrender the Ring … He [did] all that was within his utmost physical and mental strength to do. He (and the Cause) were saved – by Mercy : by the supreme value and efficacy of Pity and forgiveness of injury.

Corinthians I x. 12-13 may not at first sight seem to fit – unless “bearing temptation” is taken to mean resisting it while still a free agent in normal command of the will. I think rather of the mysterious last petitions of the Lord’s Prayer: Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. A petition against something that cannot happen is unmeaning. There exists the possibility of being placed in positions beyond one’s power. In which case (as I believe) salvation from ruin will depend on something apparently unconnected: the general sanctity (and humility and mercy) of the sacrificial person.

1 Corinthians 10:12-13 is a quotation appropriate not only to Frodo, but also to Saruman and Boromir – and to Sam and Faramir: it is a recurring theme in Lord of the Rings:

So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall! No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.

The “mysterious last petition of the Lord’s Prayer: ‘Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil,’” is sometimes cited, “do not subject us to the final test, but deliver us from the evil one,” which is footnoted by the US Catholic bishops as, “Jewish apocalyptic writings speak of a period of severe trial before the end of the age, sometimes called the ‘messianic woes.’ This petition asks that the disciples be spared that final test.” Tolkien is using it as an overwhelming or undefeatable temptation that leads to damnation: something beyond our ability to cope.

And there is yet more to the Lord’s Prayer that is pertinent here, for immediately after its recitation in Matthew 6, Jesus continues, saying, “If you forgive others their transgressions, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your transgressions.” Which is very frightening concept: if someone cheats you, or betrays, or robs, or kills you (or tries), it is a very difficult thing to forgive. But is exactly what Jesus does for the Roman soldiers who crucified him: “Father forgive them, for they know not what they do.” This forgiveness is a hallmark of Christian saints (and supposed to be a guiding principle for all Christians), but like all things in Christianity, it is preceded and grounded in Judaism: for instance, in Jeremiah 9:24, God says (through the prophet Jeremiah), “[L]et him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the LORD.” The phrase “steadfast love” is the Hebrew word checed, often interpreted as “mercy”. The same is in Psalm 33:5, Hosea 2:19, and famously in Micah 6:8.

There is the well-known passage between Gandalf and Frodo in “Shadow of the Past” in Fellowship of the Ring that goes straight to this:

…Frodo [said], “What a pity that Bilbo did not stab that vile creature, when he had a chance!”

“Pity? It was Pity that stayed his hand. Pity, and Mercy: not to strike without need. And he has been well rewarded, Frodo. Be sure that he took so little hurt from the evil, and escaped in the end, because he began his ownership of the Ring so. With Pity.”
…
“I am sorry,” said Frodo. “But I am frightened; and I do not feel any pity for Gollum. … Do you mean to say that you and the Elves let him live on after all those horrible deeds? Now at any rate he is as bad as an Orc, and just an enemy. He deserves death.”

“Deserves it! I daresay he does. Many that live deserve death. And some that die deserve life. Can you give it to them? Then do not be too eager to deal out death in judgment. For even the very wise cannot see all ends. I have not much hope that Gollum can be cured before he dies, but there is a chance of it. And he is bound up with the fate of the Ring. My heart tells me that he has some part to play yet, for good or ill, before the end; and when that comes, the pity of Bilbo may rule the fate of many – yours not least. …

In “The Taming of Sméagol” in Two Towers, when Frodo and Sam capture Gollum and Frodo has him at sword-point,

“Very well,” [Frodo] answered aloud, lowering his sword. “But still I am afraid. And yet, as you see, I will not touch the creature. For now that I see him, I do pity him.”

Even Sam pities Gollum on the slopes of Mount Doom and spares him – too late for Gollum’s redemption, but soon enough for Frodo’s.

But I think mercy is also bound up in this. Pity is an emotion of sympathy or empathy toward another ; but mercy is acting upon that. We conflate the two, and perhaps Tolkien does, too. You cannot give (or offer) someone else mercy unless it is within your power to do something unpleasant to him: to kill him, in the cases of Bilbo, Frodo, and Sam in regards to Gollum.

Nienna the Vala is the embodiment of pity and mercy. Tolkien says Olórin the Maia – Gandalf – was for a while her student, and learned pity from her. Both of these characters, Nienna and Gandalf, should be thought of in this light as angelic beings who have pity (and mercy) on Elves and Men, and urge others to as well. (Nienna’s pity is untempered: she also urged pity upon Melkor, who upon his release from captivity poisoned the Two Trees, killed Finwë king of the Noldor, and stole the Silmarils, just as a start.)

There is a great deal of overlap between pity and mercy in the commands, “Love your neighbor,” and “Love your enemy.” Jesus quotes “Love your neighbor,” which first appears in Leviticus 19. “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your heavenly Father, for he makes his sun rise on the bad and the good, and causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust,” which Jesus says in the Sermon on the Mount, is not a refutation of Scripture but a correction of a misquotation of Scripture. “Love your neighbor and hate your enemy,” misquotes Exodus 21:24-25 and Leviticus 24:19-20, both of which cite the rule, “an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.” Christians interpret this to mean that the misquotation was what people taught, believed, and practiced; Jesus not only corrected it, he took it a step further and insisted that people forgo vengeance: This is also in the Torah: “Vengeance is mine,” is from Deuteronomy 32:25, and appears in the just-cited Leviticus 19:18. Jesus makes it much more explicit, extending it to enemies, when in Leviticus it extended only to fellow Israelites. What Jesus taught is not unprecedented: when King David, the “man after God’s own heart”, was pursued by his son Absalom when Absalom tried to usurp the throne, a relative of King Saul’s, whom David had succeeded to the throne, cursed David as he passed and called him a murderer. Rather than allow his officers to kill the man, David ordered them to leave him alone. Even after he returned victorious, David pardoned him.

There are at least three example of this in particular in Tolkien:

1. Théoden made peace with the Dunlendings on very moderate terms after the Battle of Helm’s Deep. “The men of Dunland were amazed, for Saruman had told them that the men of Rohan were cruel and burned their captives alive.” (Two Towers, “Road to Isengard”)
2. King Aragorn Elessar’s likewise made a generous peace with the Easterlings and the people of Harad. Then he gave the slaves of Mordor their freedom and the land around Lake Núrnen to be their own.
3. Frodo led the Hobbits of the Shire forgiving those who colluded with the Chief and his Ruffians, restoring peace in his own homeland. There could have been a period of revenge had the victorious Hobbits rooted out and punished the collaborators among them; that was avoided.

The point is that Tolkien is drawing upon all this material. However inadequate the answer, I believe Tolkien would be delighted that you posed the questions.

[CAB]

Great post, Alcuin.........as always. Good to see you haven't changed.

Thank you for your reply.