‘The Lord of the Rings’: A Catholic journey

Leonard J. DeLorenzo

There are 576,459 words in “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy — far too few to contain all that is revealed therein. In his review of the first volume of the three-volume series, C.S. Lewis likened the tale to “lightning from a clear sky … [with] beauties which pierce like swords or burn like cold iron … a book that will break your heart” (“On Stories: And Other Essays on Literature”).

We might not consider ourselves the kind of people who need any more heartbreak, let alone the kind of people who have the time to read so many words for the sake of heartbreak. And yet, the heartbreak of which Lewis speaks is healing, restorative and perhaps even necessary, especially in times such as ours.

Would it be fair to say that, in our times, the powers of the world appear ever on the rise, hope is rather scarce, those who discern patiently and exercise responsibility are few and far between, and the meek continue to be trampled underfoot? Has not a prevailing sense of gloom fallen upon our world? Do we not yearn for a happiness we have forgotten or not yet known?

As Lewis noted in his friend J.R.R. Tolkien’s masterpiece, in “The Lord of the Rings” we are plunged into a darkening world with characters submerged in anguish. But their anguish is of those who desire more than the inevitable doom thrust upon them. They set out on a journey against all odds. And yet, when we have seen them through all their travels and travails across 576,459 words, we, like them, “return to our own life not relaxed but fortified,” as Lewis wrote.

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