J. R. R. Tolkien: The British and the Norse in Tension

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Middle-earth) or the carefully structured system behind Tolkien's Silmarillion. ( with its concern for .... and the Silmarillion. Wheaton, Illinois: Harold Shaw, 1976.
J. R. R. Tolkien: The British and the Norse in Tension Author(s): Marjorie Burns Reviewed work(s): Source: Pacific Coast Philology, Vol. 25, No. 1/2 (Nov., 1990), pp. 49-59 Published by: Pacific Ancient and Modern Language Association Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1316804 . Accessed: 27/02/2013 13:14 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at . http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp

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J.R. R. Tolkien:TheBritishand theNorsein Tension MarjorieBurns PortlandStateUniversity

The most persistentargumentagainst J. R. R. Tolkien's fictionis its moral simplicity,its tendencyto follow firmlydelineated lines of respectabilityand worth,its tendencyto slip into what Diana Joneswould call a "Goodies vs. Baddies story"(95-6). And certainlyfantasy-freed,as it is, from"thedomination of observed 'fact'" ("On Fairy-Stories"47)-has a particular capacity for and moralcertitude.Fantasistsare more at libertyto unequivocal characterization or justifytheirown brandof partialities;theycan rig thegame in ways less fortify easily defended in other literaryformsand more comfortablycreate a world where everythingand everyoneis clearlyand properlyin one camp or the other, where extremesof delineationin class, rank,and characterare just as the author sees fit. J. R. R. Tolkien's fictionseems unquestionablyto have been created along these lines. It is not difficultto pick out Tolkien'slikes and dislikes,his values and preferences,and his sense of who belongs where. This remains so even thoughthereis morecomplexityto Tolkienthanwould at firstappear evidentin a fictionalworld where social and culturalroles are firmlyspecifiedand where creatures seem all too often to be created either unredeemably evil or unwaveringlygood,1 and whereall the usual clues apply to markthe moraland hierarchicalextremes: lightand dark,ugly and fair,black and white,high and low, up and down (plus a few thatare somewhatmore peculiar to Tolkien:the superiorityof North over South, West over East, and the unadorned over the ornate). Even though this emphasis on opposition and dissimilarity persists throughoutThe Hobbitand The Lordof theRings,it is importantto realize thata good number of Tolkien's contrastingviewpoints are not easily divided into absolute good or bad. Tolkien,oftenenough,findshimselfdrawn to more than one opposing quality or trait,more than one culture or attitude.At times he seems comfortablewith multiplicity;at othermoments,however,he fluctuates, sometimes defending,sometimes rejectingone or another view. So it is that Tolkien,for example, both rejectsand makes use of allegory,both scorns and reveres the Celts, both lamentsand idealizes the pagan. This doubleness or, to borrowClyde S. Kilby'sclevercoinage,"contrasistency" (Preface)is characteristic of Tolkien throughouthis literatureand particularlynoticeablein his complex approach to traditionand change,or in the tensionbetween forestand garden, home and wayside, comradeshipand solitude, risk and security,freedomand obligation-all of whichappear as tensionsin the characterand storyof theskinchanger,Beorn.

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It is the last one, however,the tensionbetweenfreedomand obligation,that runs most strongly through Tolkien's literature and which is subtly but indicativelyreflectedin Beorn.ThoughTolkienis greatlyattractedto theloner,to independenceof thought,and to singularity(qualitiescloselyassociated with the Viking North),he is equally committedto the English world, to kingshipand inheritance,to ritual and the idea that blood will tell. Tolkien,in spite of the Germanancestryof his name,saw himselfas fullyEnglish;withthisand a strong Catholic upbringingbehind him, it is not surprisingthat inheritedrule and divine decree forma basis of his ideal and that sovereignty,stewardship,and allegiance-particularly evident throughoutThe Lordof theRings-culminate in that final,triumphantvolume, entitledThe Returnof theKing. And yet the greatestevil in Tolkien's view is "possessiveness,"a sin which includes simple materialismas well as domination,enslavement,and arbitrary control;and these,of course,are qualitieswhichmay be as manifestin thosewho inheritpower as in thosewho acquireit by force,stealth,or deception. In part, however, it is this very complexity,this tensionbetween differing beliefs,cultures,or ideals, thatsaves Tolkien fromthe tritenessof his imitators. Tolkien may create extremes based on an exaggerated view of types or but the conflicthe createsbetween extremesis played out in so characteristics, many directionsand in so manyformsand in such varyingcombinationsand on so many levels thatTolkien'sworld remainsintriguingand intricateat the same timeit is simplifiedand accentuatedto highlightprincipalthemes. I began by sayingthatTolkienis oftencriticizedfordividinghis charactersinto a too easily recognizableevil and good. And, trueenough,we tendto preferthose Tolkien characterswho appear to be exceptionsto this rule, those individuals who initially,at least, suggest a moral complexity,characterssuch as Strider, Fangorn,or Beorn,who fall on the side of the good but who exhibitan aura of risk.Most often,however,Tolkienadds complexityto his charactersnot so much by hints of a darker side but by his habit of intermingling qualities or beliefs drawn frommore than one literarytraditionor frommore than one cultural base. Since Tolkien, for example, values both independence and dependence (both the freedomof the VikingNorth and the social constraintsof England), a number of his charactersexhibitboth extremes.Usually these are individuals who display exceptional self-sufficiency and freedomof choice but who are equally capable of devotingthemselvesto a cause, when theneed or timeis right. Obvious examples are Tolkien's singular stewards and guardians (men or wizards), his Robin Hood "outlaw"figures(Englishand rebelliousat once), and those who preferseclusion in isolated homes or halls-all those who live apart or travelapartand yetbelongto thegood. To a lesserextentthe "bachelor"figures of Bilbo and Frodo belongto thistypeas well,as does Sam, in a modifiedservantclass way. These are individualswho moreor less differfromothersof theirkind,

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who sufferfroma certainpoetic sensitivityand who live (like the charactersin The Windin the Willows)free fromfamilial restraints.Through temperament and availability,theseare thesingled-outhobbits,men,wizards,elves,and dwarfs who qualifyforthe quest, an undertakingwhich,interestingly enough,requires both freedomand restraintcombined. The most strikingof Tolkien'sindividuals,however,are his innate,one-of-akind loners,the honorableisolationists,who dwell in secluded domains and who are presentedas being distinctive,free,self-reliant but respectfulof otherlives and hostile only to those deservinghostility.They are, in order of appearance, Beorn, both man and bear, "appalling" when angry,though "kind enough if humoured" (Hobbit 102); Tom Bombadil, childlike,blithe,and, innocentof a large or consistent,world-view; and Treebeard, ponderous and pondering, righteous and tenderhearted.Each is unique, and yet each, while initially appearingeitherbasicallyNordic or basically English,is the resultof a complex mixtureof traditions,literatures,and characteristics familiarto Tolkien with his backgroundin Old English,Icelandic,German,Finnish,and Welsh. A sense of the "good pagan," an ideal which runs throughoutThe Lord of the Rings,is (or at least its values) strongestwiththesecharactersas well, thoughChristianity is never fullyabsent in anythingTolkien createsto exemplifythe good. Where the settingseems more Nordic (thatis, eithergenerallyTeutonicor specifically Scandinavian), this pagan element is particularlypronounced; where a softer, more Englishclimateprevails,Christianvalues are morelikelyto occur. Of these threelone and singularcharacters,Beornis the one who most neatly exemplifiesTolkien's particularpatternof complexity;he is the one who best illustrates the tensions and cultural intricacies at work in Tolkien's "subcreation"("On Fairy-Stories" 22-3), though,at firstreading,Beorn's characterand thetraditionsthatlie behindit -appear to be simpleenough.He is, afterall, a characterin The Hobbit,where the tone is farmoreelementarythanit is in The LordoftheRingsand where explanationsand details are less likelyto occur. But thereare complexitiesand even contradictions connectedwith Beorn; and these, for the most part, hinge on those previously mentioned dichotomies: North/South,East/West,freedomand obligation,forestand garden,home and wayside,riskand security.Directionaltension,forexample,existsin the journey itself.The party(consistingof Bilbo, Gandalf,and the dwarfs) reaches Beorn's isolated lodgings by travelingfromMiddle-earth'scivilized and idealized West into the dangers of North and East, directionsthat,in Tolkien's mind and in Norse tradition,are always suggestive of risk. There is as well, within the characterof Beorn,a Nordic/Englishtensionof considerablecomplexity.Though Beornis primarilydrawn froma Vikingmodel and is given a Vikinghall, Shirelike qualities also play theirpart, as do hierarchicaland elitistelements that contrastwiththeprimaryimage of independenceand Northernsolitude. And, of course, the bear/man, Beorn himself, is a double character, with some overlappingof traits-he is rough and alarming,even when shaped like a man,

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outrightdangerouswhen wearingthe shape of a bear, and committedto justice (admittedlyharsh)in eitheroutwardform. Our firstimpressionis thatBeorn,the skin-changer, belongs unquestionably to a Norse and pagan world. His homestead(in the northernregionsof Middleearth),his name, his appearance,his attachmentto natureand revengelink him to the sagas, but thereare softer,more civilized aspects to him as well, aspects which are not specificallyEnglishor Christianbut which suggestsome elements of both. He neitherhunts nor eats otheranimals but "lives most on cream and honey" (103). He uses no metal (in other words, no weaponry) except in the occasional household knifewhereexceptionsmustbe made. His garden is fullof flowers,in an Englishcountrysideway. Home seems all importantand carefully maintained.And yet,of course,it is Beorn who ranges greatdistancesby night and who returnsfromhis private,ursine raid "in a splendidlygood humour" (115), havingstucka goblin'shead on the outside of the gate and nailed a warg's skin on a tree (a nasty but Nordic stunt).He is, then,in the best Tolkienian tradition,a being of two extremes:both ruthlessand kind, a bear and man, a homebodyand wanderer,a berserkerand pacifistin one. This doubleness, this blending of the civilized English with the far more willful Nordic, is by no means Tolkien's invention. English literaturehas exhibiteda persistentNordic undertonefromthe Anglo-Saxonperiod onward. Though time and new outside influence (most significantlythe Norman Conquest) have softenedEngland's Nordic disposition,it has never been fully dislodged. And those Englishliteraryworks which most influencedTolkien and which contributedspecificallyto the characterof Beorn are works in which the appeal of the North(the appeal of the not fullycivilized)can easilybe discerned. There is much about Beorn,for example, that is suggestiveof Bertilakin the Middle English Sir Gawain and the GreenKnight.Both fourteenth-century, workstake theirheroesaway fromorderand civilization(Camelot and the Shire) and thrusttheminto a northernworld of riskand transfiguration. Gawain's first encounterwith Bertilak,like Bilbo's with Beorn,is markedby a Nordic vitality and a saga magnitude. Gawaingazedat thegoodmanwhohadgreetedhimkindly, and he thought boldandbigwas thebaronofthecastle, verylargeand long,and hislifeat theprime: broadand bright was hisbeard,and all beaver-hued, inhisstanceuponstalwart stern, strong legs, his facefellas fire,and frankin hisspeech.(46)

Like Bertilak,the grimand outspokenBeorn lives in an isolated, oak-wood. Where Bertilakhas a castle,Beorn has "a great wooden house," and we see him firststandingbeforethe hobbit,"a huge man with a thickblack beard and hair, and great bare arms and legs with knottedmuscles" (103-4). Bertilaktoo is a changerof shape (as well as a changerof hue); and thoughhe practicesChristian

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and Christiancurtesiesand speaks in the name of God, he, like Beorn, formalities has a ruggednessand staturemore appropriateto pagan naturethanthe halls of Camelotor theburrowsof theShire. In both works,the journeysnorthward-intothe wilds of Wales or Middleearth-are fraughtwith the sort of troublingencountersone expects fromthe Nordic pagan world,thoughwhat is merelya listingof skirmishesin the earlier, Arthuriantale appears again and again throughoutThe Hobbit,as well as The LordoftheRings,in more fullydeveloped forms. unknown, [Gawain]climbedo'erincountries Manya cliff he rode. withoutfellowship farfledfromhisfriends Ateverywadingor wateron thewaythathe passed hefounda foebeforehim,saveat fewfora wonder; he mustneeds. and so foulweretheyand fellthatfight hemetinthoselands So manya marvelinthemountains thatt'wouldbe tediousthetenthpartto tellyoutherof. At whileswithwormeshe wars,and withwolvesalso, thatwanderedin thecrags, at whilewithwood-trolls and withbullsand withbearsandboars,too,at times; and withogresthathoundedhimfromtheheightsofthefells.(42-8)

NorthernliteratureinfluencedSir Gawain;Sir Gawainin turnleftits markon whichTolkienrefersto Beorn,a perfectexample of thatliterarycross-fertilization as "soup" ("On Fairy-Stories" 20, 26-8). As a philologist,as an expertin several he was well aware thatthemesand motifsare exempt languages and literatures, frombordercontroland thatall good storiesare the resultof plots and ideas that have been borrowedand rearrangedsince story-telling began. Though Beorn,in his ferocityand stature,may appear to be most consistentlybased on Norse convention,he has been filteredthroughEnglish literatureand placed in a modified settingwhere the Norse and English combine,all which brings him more in line with England itselfand hence in line with Tolkien's concept of a Middle-earthbased on componentsof ancientNorthwesternEurope and Britain broughttogetheras one.2 Consider the use of the oak-woods which surroundBertilakand Beorn. In Gawainthefeelinggivenby thesewoods is entirelydruidicand suggestiveof that particularotherworldlinessthat appears in Celtic tales or in the Celtic-based Arthuriantales. But the oak has a broadersignificanceand therebyneatlyserves as a common denominatorfor Tolkien's synthesized Middle-earth. The oak existedin ancientforestsin England,Scandinaviaand Northwestern Europe and was sacred there,as well as in Iceland (though trees there are rarer and less have been imported). impressivein size and the conceptin Iceland may therefore In particular,theoak was sacred to Thor,in his role as god of the sky;it bears,as well, the mistletoe,which lives mysteriouslybetween earth and air and which was consideredthe most holy of all plants in early European belief.It was, we should remember,a shaftof mistletoethatslew the otherwiseinvincibleBalder.

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But borrowingsfrom Sir Gawainand theGreenKnightand referencesto the uniting prevalence of the oak or to common English, European, and Scandinavian beliefsare not the only English/Norseingredientswhich Tolkien drew upon when he came to shapingBeorn.The influenceof Beowulf(writtenin Old English,mostlikelyin thefirsthalfof the eighthcentury)is stronglythereas well. Where Gawain is only partiallyNorthernin its outward Journeyinto a harsh,cold pagan nature,repletewithtrolls,worms,ogres,wolves,and wildmen, the earlierBeowulfis unrelentingly cold, heroic,and severe. Northern--brutal, Its influenceon The Hobbit(which shows an obvious borrowingof monsters, described dragons,dragonhoards,and a dragon'sstolencup) has been thoroughly in Tolkien criticismbefore,but what is less frequentlymentionedare specific charactersimilaritiesthatlink Beowulfand Beorn. Like Beorn,Beowulfsuggestsa shiftingor doubleness of formand character, though not so much-in Beowulf's case--throughspecific actions as through suggestionsof such doubleness in his name. "Beowulf,"in its literaltranslation, means "bee-wolf";and, throughthe vagaries of medieval "kenning"(a formof metaphorical naming), "bee-wolf" stands for the one who eats honey and thereforerepresentsthe "bear,"or, in its Old Englishform,"beorn."It is forthis reason thatTolkien,in his essay "On Fairy-Stories," refersto the young Beowulf as "the bear-boy"(29). And thus we have Tolkien's Beorn, who himselfis a producer and eater of honey as well as a great and fearlessopponentwhen the battleurge is on him. Like Beowulf,he returnswith dismemberedpieces of his enemies and displays the grisly remains. He is, in fact, a berserker,(or "bearshirter," neatlyenough).3But "beorn"is also an Old Englishheroicword for "man."(Compare the present-daytribute,"He's a real tiger.")And what we get, an almostdomesticatedindividual,a pacifistand then,is Beorntheskin-changer, bee-keeper,settled in the midst of ratherEnglish-soundingflower fields and gardens but who is at the same time a figureof brutal strengthand violence, belonging to a more ancient,Northernand carnivorousworld and living in a Norseman's hall. In fact,if one were to draw concentriccircles,with this hall or lodge as the centralpoint,ringsof mixed Englishand Nordic characteristics emerge.Outside the low-lying,Nordic, wooden hall, with its open firehole in the roof,lies the courtyardwith its Shire-likeflowergarden coming "rightup to the steps"(106). Beyond the courtyardis the wider yard,patternedafterthe Scandinaviangaard, withits traditionalclusterof surroundingouterbuildings,"barns,stables,sheds," all enclosed by a "high thorn-hedge"(reminiscentof early English protective techniques).This thenis itselfsurroundedby a "beltof tall and veryancientoaks" (104) of a size and antiquityperhaps more appropriateto England's fertilesoil than the colder more barrenNorth-but nonethelesssuitable to both. Here as well lie flowerfieldsestablishedforthebees, "all thesame kindsgrowingtogether as if theyhad been planted,"mostlyclover:purple clover,cockscombclover,and

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"shortwhite sweet honey-smellingclover" (103). Furtherout, beyond this last indicationof Shire-likehorticulture, lie hillyslopes and dales with oak and elm treesin a distribution again more mindfulof England thanregionsfarthernorth, thoughhere also are "wide grass-lands,and a riverrunningthroughit all" (100) on a scale thatseems truerto Iceland than anythingEngland can claim. Beyond thisare the mountains,Northernin theirlooming,bleak inhospitality and Norse in theirgoblin MountainKing. Often,in Tolkien'swritings,terrainalone is enough to establishcharacteror intent. And, indeed,theextremesof terraindisplayedin the chapteron Beorndo much to establishwho he is. We are, to tell the truth,given few specificfacts about Beornin The Hobbit,littlemore than what is describedor explained while the partystays in his hall. Tolkien,who oftenenough supplies long historiesfor his key characters(thebetterto place and explainwho theyare in an Englishand establishmentway), wisely leaves us withuncertainty when it comes to defining Beorn.Clearlyhe has a past and one thatentailsa defeat,forGandalfhas heard him mutterto himself,on his lone and mountainous Carrock, "The day will come when they will perish and I shall go back!" (103). But this and other peculiaritiesremain unexplained. "Why is it called the Carrock?" Bilbo asks. Because, says Gandalf,that "is his word forit" (102).4 Nor is the skin-changer's name given at first."He" or "somebody," "thatSomebody,""theSomebody"is all we are toldat thestart. TolkienbringsBeornback,an enigmato the end, foran encoreat the Battleof Five Armies,"alone,and in bear's shape," appearing"no one knew how or from where"and wreckinggreathavoc on goblinsand wolves alike (244). Though we hear that Beorn later "became a great chief"in his region (248) and thathe had many descendants,we are not shown him in a familysettingor in a voluntarily social state;what is emphasized,instead,is his wish to be leftalone. ("He never invitedpeople intohis house, ifhe could help it,"110). The closestwe come to an image of neighborlyhospitality,in connectionwith Beorn, is briefmentionof Yule-tide feastingheld in his house on Bilbo's journey home.5 But more than anythingthis is feastof good fellowship,a Beowulfmead hall event,a Valhalla aprbs-battlecelebration,and not a domestic affair.His is the masculine world typical of Anglo-Saxon and Norse literature,a world that sufferslittleor no femaleintrusion,a farcryfromCamelot. But descendants,the Beornings,appear; so somewherea matingoccurs. There is an interestingnote to these descendantsof Beorn. In The Hobbitat least, they are divided into two opposing categories,just as Beorn himselfis divided into more than one charactertype."Some were grimmen and bad," we are told, "butmost were in heartlike Beorn"(248). Such a splittinginto opposing characteristicshas its parallels in the Norse sagas, where children are not definedby similarpolarities. A particularlystrikingexample comes infrequently fromthe Saga of Egill Skallagrimsson, where,as T. A. Shippey points out (198),

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the skin-changingabilityof Kveld-ljlfr(Evening-Wolf),is remarkablyclose to thatof Beorn.But,more than this,the fateof the two skin-changers' is offspring thereis one also much the same. In each generation,descendingfromKveld-Ulfr, son who is handsomeand pleasantand one who is ugly,disagreeable,and greedy; so too the Beornings,who divide intoevil and good. Skin-changingis by no means limitedto Norse sagas or to Loki's or Odin's Eddaic abilities to take on other forms.The Celts and Teutonics in general all have theirtales of those who can shiftappearance and acquire the capabilities (wisdom or strength)of animalsor fishor birds.And thesesharedconceptsabout shape-changing,like those shared beliefsassociated with the oak, all help draw qualities of Britain,NorthwesternEurope, and Scandinavia togetherin the manner Tolkien desired for the creation of his Middle-earth. Nonetheless, Beorn's skin-changing,belongs more clearly to the Nordic berserkertradition thanto otherformsof the feat.Celtic seal woman storiesor accountsof journeys in the shape of a deer or horse (duringshamanisticquests forwisdom contained in otherforms)carrya sense of unworldlyenchantmentwhich differsfromthe morepurposeful,warlike,and carnalexperiencewe see in Beornor Kveld-Ujlfr or from the Kraki. ("little bear") Bjarki Saga ofHr6dlfr Given the saga-likequalityof his shape-changing,given his Norseman'shall, his statureand boastfulconfidenceand his pagan sense of revenge,Beornabove all seems Nordic. Rather than the fixed social order or hierarchyof the more developed English and Arthurianworld (evident and idealized elsewhere in Middle-earth)or the carefullystructuredsystembehind Tolkien's Silmarillion (with its concern for order and degree), here in Beorn we seem to have the epitome of the independent man, the exemplary, admirable pagan. Beorn remainsin our minds (in spite of some Englishmollification)the symbolof the Nordic ideal-grim, independent,expectingno good fromthe world, expecting no saving grace, loyal to those deserving,and, most tellingof all, "under no enchantmentbut his own" (103). This last, this fierceand uncompromisingselfcontainment,this masteryof his own magic and acknowledgmentof no other power,is veryNorse indeed. In the Icelandic sagas thereis a commonplacequestion and a commonplace response which Shippey, in The Road to Middle-earth(62), emphasizes to illustratethe Nordic code of independence,self-aggrandizement, and courage. The questionis: "In what do you believe?"The answer:"I believe in myself,"(Ek A his nightforagesto check on mik). Beorn,with all his trtii sjAlfan his self-madeNorse stedsuspicion, Gandalf's tale, (as in the English"homestead"),and his single-handed/single-pawed, battle represents the ideal Nordic hero and demonstrates what Tolkien refers to as the Northern "theoryof courage" ("Beowulf' 262).

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And yet thereare complicationsin the pictureof Beornthatcompromisethis ideal, complicationsthat conflictwith the image of self-relianceand Northern solitude;and thesebringBeornmore in line withTolkien'sEnglishviews. Full independence depends upon isolation; when isolation is compromised, independenceis as well. The ideal thatTolkienemphasizes in Beorn is the ideal of the lone and capable man, the hero facing life with nothingto trustbut himself.For all we know Beorn is a single example of a one memberspecies (a lusus naturae,to use the Latin term),and what could be more isolatingthansuch singularity?But, in fact,somethingis amiss. Beorn,the isolated Norseman, is neithertrulyalone nor trulyself-sufficient. He has around him an entourageof servants,easy to disregardin theirfarmanimal forms-ponies,dogs, sheep that serve him silentlyand intelligently, settingtables,carryingin food,and no doubt after meals. washingup Beornclappedhis hands,and in trotted fourbeautifulwhiteponiesand several tothemin a queerlanguagelike largelong-bodied greydogs. Beornsaid something animalnoisesturnedintotalk.Theywentoutagainand soon camebackcarrying torchesin theirmouths,whichtheylitat thefireand stuckin low brackets on the pillarsofthehallaboutthecentralhearth.Thedogscouldstandon theirhind-legs when theywished,and carrythingswiththeirfore-feet. Quicklytheygot out boardsand trestles fromthesidewallsand setthemup nearthefire.(110-11)

The question,of course,is how we oughtto judge thisformof servantlaborin context of the independent man. The ancient Norse had their serf class, descended,the storygoes, fromThrall,the lowest and least valued of Heimdall's threeearthbornsons. Ugly,twistedbut strong,Thralland his equally unattractive childrenare thepeople destinedforlabor,forthecuttingand haulingof wood, for digging,forherdinggoats and pigs, and forthe spreadingof dung in fields.But Beorn's clean, willing,animal servantsare not the pictureof thrallsbut rather somethingfarmore class orientedin a familiar,English way. They are, in fact, closer to personal or house servants,fromwhat we see, and ones of a very exceptionalkind.Like Sam, in his devotionto Frodo,theseare willingattendants, born,one feels,to theirrole and protectiveof theirposition. This is invariablythe case with Tolkien. His ideal independentfiguresare always somehowsovereign,and thesolitudetheyexperienceis stronglybound to class. Beorn is mostlyalone in the sense thathe has no equals withinhis small society.So too Tom Bombadilis called "theMaster"and Treebeardhas his ents. These are the beings who are most freein Tolkien's structuredworld, but the freedomtheyexperienceis limitedin kind. Beorn's animal servants,like all of Tolkien'smoreplentifulsubjectfolk,are not quite so freeas thosetheyare subject a privilegereservedforthe to, not quite so freeof someone else's enchantment, top.

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Tolkien's answer, of course, is knowing your place, as Beorn's animals do. a being who remainsboth Who else should be theirmasterbut thisskin-changer, in the animal world and rises above it to rule, like Adam, the creaturesof his of Beorn in his solitarygoverningrole; we are domain? We feel the fittingness and his extraordinary powers and by the abilityhe has to strength impressedby claim existence in both the human and the animal world, and it is only on reflection(a riskybusiness at times)thatwe sense more than one message here. Tolkien,forall his emphasis on Nordic independence,on freedomand freewill and the call of the open road, always returns,one way or another,to an English view of things,to all those establishedroles thatultimatelyreinforcean English beliefin class, inheritedstatus,and a sense of knowingwhereyou and yourkind belong. NOTES "inner and inallegory's aroseoutof"allegory": so,Tolkienclaims,since"romance" 1 Rightly lifemen wars,"the"goodis on onesideandvariousmodesofbadnesson theother.In real(exterior) honestmen, allianceoforcs,beasts,demons,plainnaturally areon bothsides:whichmeansa motley and angels"(Letters 82). 2 See TheLetters (144). ofJ.R. R. Tolkien 3 See Davidson'sMyths andSymbols in PaganEuropeforadditionalaccountsoftotemic withbearsorwolvesamongNordicwarriors and forsimilartraditions identification existing among theCelts(80-1). 4 Hereliesanother ofNorseand British sinceBeorn'sone-of-a-kind indirect effects mingling withall itsbleakand Nordicfeatures, is notreallyan invented term,as Gandalf's "Carrock," "rock." answersuggests, butcomesinsteadfrom a Celticwordmeaning carrecc, 5 Yulewas originally a Vikingmid-winter feast(onewhichcametobe associatedwith Christmas and thebirthof ChristafterChristianity therefore arrived).Thismid-winter gathering and pagan,beliefs. offers yetanotherexampleofhowTolkienblendsEnglishand Nordic,Christian

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TheBritish and theNorsein Tension J.R. R. Tolkien: The Fellowshipof theRing. Boston: Houghton Mifflin,1987. TheHobbit.London: Unwin Hyman, 1987. -- The LettersofJ.R. R. Tolkien.Ed. HumphreyCarpenter.Boston: Houghton Mifflin,1981. The ReturnoftheKing.Boston: Houghton Mifflin,1965. The Silmarillion.Boston: Houghton Mifflin,1977. "On Fairy-Stories."The TolkienReader.New York: Ballantine,1966. 3-84. --- The Two Towers.Boston: Houghton Mifflin,1965.

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