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If there's one theme that runs through J.R.R. Tolkien's early life, it's friendship. Orphaned before his teens, Tolkien surrounded himself with friends throughout his life. And this theme runs through The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit as well. In this first episode on the life and writings of J.R.R. Tolkien, Cole and Terry discuss his early life and the theme of friendship in his writing.
Like all of us, Tolkien was drastically shaped by his early life. He was born in South Africa in 1892 and by the age of four, his father had died. It wasn’t long after this that his mother moved him and his brother to England. His mother became a very influential figure in his young life through her intense focus on the arts as she homeschooled her children. It was around this time she converted to Catholicism.
Tolkien met Edith through his adopted father figure, Father Morgan. Yet Father Morgan forbade this romantic relationship from the perspective of the relationship distracting Tolkien from his academics at King Edwards school, which were very rigorous.
He was intrigued by languages at a very early age. Around the age of high school, he came into contact with early gothic languages and culture which later served as a foundation for inventing languages in his future. Tolkien and his close friends formed a group called TCBS (Tea Club Barrovian Society) where they discussed their writings and languages. It was here that Tolkien developed a family and deep friendships.
Despite the deep friendship and fellowship portrayed in Lord of the Rings, the Fellowship breaks at a very early point in the story. The same was true for Tolkien and his close friends from TCBS. By the year 1918, all but one of the original four were dead.
Through Lord of the Rings, Tolkien attempts to communicate the value of friendships and fellowship. We need deep friendships and accountability.
The scene with the Council of Elrond contains this quote, “It is true that if these Hobbits understood the danger, they would not dare to go. But they would still wish to go, or wish that they dared and be shamed and unhappy. I think, Elrond, in this matter, it would be well to trust rather to their friendship than to great wisdom.”
Brittany Proffitt lives in Dallas and is a writer and content manager for So We Speak.
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