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As a part of a series of interviews with a number of prominent bloggers, artists, writers and others who love J.R.R. Tolkien and the realm he “sub-created,” Mr. Joseph Pearce was gracious enough to take time out of his day to answer a few questions on Tolkien and even offer a few comments on the recent film adaptations by Peter Jackson. Before we get into the interview, here is a little bit of background on Mr. Pearce:
A native of England, Joseph Pearce is writer in residence and visiting fellow at Thomas More College in New Hampshire. He is editor of the St. Austin Review, an international review of Catholic culture, series editor of the Ignatius Critical Editions, and executive director of Catholic Courses.
The internationally acclaimed author of many books, which include bestsellers such as The Quest for Shakespeare, Tolkien: Man and Myth, The Unmasking of Oscar Wilde,C. S. Lewis and The Catholic Church, Literary Converts, Wisdom and Innocence: A Life of G.K. Chesterton, Solzhenitsyn: A Soul in Exile and Old Thunder: A Life of Hilaire Belloc, Joseph Pearce is a world-recognized biographer of modern Christian literary figures. His books have been published and translated into Spanish, Portuguese, French, Dutch, Italian, Korean, Mandarin and Polish.
Pearce has hosted two 13-part television series about Shakespeare on EWTN, and has also written and presented documentaries on EWTN on the Catholicism of The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit.
Mr. Pearce, you have written extensively on a range of such classic British authors as Shakespeare, Oscar Wilde, Hilaire Belloc and G.K. Chesterton. At the same time, you have written books about J.R.R. Tolkien and even taught a course on The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit for Catholic Courses. What is it that puts Tolkien in the mix with these great literary figures even though he is a fantasy writer?
Much of my work has focused on leading figures in the Catholic Literary Revival, which can be said to have started with the conversion of John Henry Newman in 1845. There is no doubt that Tolkien is a major figure in this revival. He described The Lord of the Rings as “a fundamentally religious and Catholic work” and, as such, it stands alongside the other great works of the revival. Tolkien was also influenced by other figures in this revival, such as Newman and Chesterton.
Have you always had an esteem for Tolkien as an author? What was it that led you to delve more deeply into his world of Middle-Earth?
I was always aware of Tolkien’s presence as one of the true giants of twentieth century literature but I never actually got round to reading The Lord of the Rings until I was in my mid-twenties. It had a profound effect upon me but I was not aware, at the time, of the Christian dimension. Later, after my own reception into the Catholic Church, I became more interested in the spiritual dimension of Tolkien’s work. I began to study his works more systematically and thoroughly when researching my book, Tolkien: Man & Myth.
With the blockbuster success of the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit trilogies, a whole new generation has become fascinated with Tolkien’s world; can you offer any insight into why Tolkien’s characters, stories and landscapes have captured the attention of the modern world?
Although the modern world does not realize it, the fascination and attraction of Middle-earth is rooted in the Catholic moral philosophy that underpins Tolkien’s work. The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings are indeed, as Tolkien insisted, “fundamentally religious and Catholic” and it is this which animates the stories that Tolkien weaves.
Mr. Pearce, going back to the successful movies by Peter Jackson, the recent release of The Desolation of Smaug has been quite controversial among Tolkien fans; what is different about the Hobbit movies (compared to the Lord of the Rings films) that make them less popular among devout Tolkien readers? How faithful is Peter Jackson to the “spirit” of Tolkien?
The latest adaptation of The Hobbit has been misnamed. It should have been called “The Desolation of Peter Jackson”. It is a sad but sorry fact that Jackson has been infected with the dragon sickness. He has betrayed the truth and spirit of Tolkien in order to add to his own horde of gold.
It is hard to know where to start in listing the ways in which Jackson has vandalized The Hobbit. One example will suffice as being representative of the way in which Jackson’s spirit can be seen to be at war with Tolkien’s. In Tolkien’s work, Radagast the Brown is a Franciscan presence, living in harmony with Creation and loving it with his whole being; in Jackson’s version he becomes Radaghastly the Ridiculous, addling his mind with dope and toxic mushrooms and being dragged around like a demented hippy Santa Claus by a team of disneyfied Bugs Bunny lookalikes!
Lastly, what do you hope will result from this new found interest in J.R.R. Tolkien? In other words, what good will come from the modern world reading and immersing themselves in Tolkien’s world?
Everyone who reads Tolkien’s work is being nudged closer to God. Insofar as Jackson’s films lead people to read or re-read The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings they will be positively impacting the culture. This does not exonerate Jackson for his betrayal of Tolkien but it does prove that God can and does bring good from evil.
