Masterwork Studies Series: The Hobbit

160 Pages·1994·3.949 MB·English

by  William H. Green

THE HOBBIT
A Journey into Maturity
William H. Green
TWAYNE PUBLISHERS
An Imprint ofSimon &SdlUsterMacmillan
NEWYORK
Prentice Hall International
LONDON' MEXICOCITY' NliWDEWl• SINGAPORE· SYDNEY' TORONTO
nIB HOBBIT
A Journey into Maturity
TWAYNE'S MASTERWORK STUDIES
Robert Leeker, GeneralEditor
THE HOBBIT
A Journey into Maturity
William H. Green
TWAYNE PUBLISHERS
An Imprint ofSimon &SdlUsterMacmillan
NEWYORK
Prentice Hall International
LONDON' MEXICOCITY' NliWDEWl• SINGAPORE· SYDNEY' TORONTO
Twayne'sMasterworkStudiesNo. 149
TheHobbit:AJourneyintoMaturity
WilliamH.Green
Copyright© 1995bySimon& SchusterMacmillan
All rightsreserved.Nopartofthisbook maybereproducedortransmittedinanyform
orbyanymeans,electronicormechanical.includingphotocopying,recording.orby
any informationstorageandretrievalsystem,withoutpermissioninwritingfrom the
Publisher.
TwaynePublishers
AnImprintofSimon& SchusterMacmillan
1633 Broadway
NewYork,NY10019-6785
LibraryofCongressCataloging.in~PublicationData
Green,WilliamH. (WilliamHoward)
TheHobbit: ajourneyintomaturityIWilliam H.Green.
p.cm.-(Twayne'smasterworksstudies;MWS 149)
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
ISBN0-8057-8806-9-!SBN0-8057-8807-7(pbk.)
1.Talkien,J. R. R. UohnRonald Reuel), 1893-1973.Technique. 2. Fantasticfic
tion,English-Historyandcriticism. 3.MiddleEarth (Imaginaryplace) LTitle. n.
Series.
PR6039.032H6 1994
823'.912-dc20 94-12813
ClP
AC
Thepaperusedinthispublicationmeetstheminimum requirementsofAmerican
NationalStandardfor InformationSciences-PermanenceofPaperforPrintedLibrary
Materials,ANSIZ39.48.1984.§,.
109 876
PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica.
Contents
Note on theReferencesandAcknowledgments vii
Chronology:]. R. R. Tolkien's Life andWorks ix
LITERARYAND HISTORICAL CONTEXT
1. Historical Context 3
2. The Importance ofthe Work 8
3. Critical Reception 11
4. ATheory of Fairy Stories 20
5. APsychologyofDragon Slayers 30
AREADING
6. An Adventure ofSelf-Discovery 37
7. Into the Lone-Lands 47
8. Bilbo's Adventures in Wilderland 63
9. TheTrek Through Mirkwood 82
10. Dragons Within and Without 95
11. Languages ofNaming 108
Appendix:Approachesto Teaching 125
Notes andReferences 131
Selected Bibliography 139
Index 145
v
Note on tl1e References
andAcknowledgments
The edition ofTheHobbit used throughout, unlessotherwise noted, is
the 1966 third edition published in Boston by Houghton Mifflin,
which has incorporated in later printings corrections included in the
1978 British fourth edition published by George Allen and Unwin.
Thisis a high-quality illustrated paperback, butthe sametext (with dif
ferent pagination) isavailable from the same publishers in deluxehatd
bound editions withadditional illustrations. BallantineBooks publishes
the text in asmaller format.
The illustrations of "Reorn's Hall," "LakeTown," 'IThe Front
Gate," and "The Hall at Bag-End" are from The Hobbit by J. R. R.
Tolkien. Copyright © 1966 byJ. R. R. Tolkien. Reprinted by permis
sion ofHoughton Mifflin Co. and HarperCollinsPublishers. All rights
reserved.
Thisstudy culminatesa process that began with my 1969 disser
tation, supervised by Thomas A. Kirby and typed and proofed by my
wife Katherine SobbaGreen, who hassincesupported all my scholarly
and creativeefforts as she has pursued her own. [am indebted toJean
Dugasfor help in formatting the structural table. Francelia Butler of
Children'sLiteratureandJuliet Knowles, my departmenthead atTroy
State University, must share credit for developing my interest in chil
dren's fiction as a field-a development that began with my interest in
The Hobbit in and for itself.
vii

Chronology: ]. R. R. Tolkien's
Life and Works
1891 Mabel Suffield travels to Africa to marry Arthur Tolkien,
English manager of a bank in Orange Free State, in
Bloemfontein.
1892 Their first son,John Ronald Reue! Tolkien, called Ronald,
born, 3January.
1894 Asecondson, HillaryArthur Reuel, born.
1895 Mabel and hersons return to England, partly for reason of
Ronald's healrh, live wirhSuffieldsin Birmingham.
1896 ArthurTolkiendiesofrheumaticfever inAfrica. Mabelmoves
her sons to acottage in the hamletofSacchole, a mile outside
the city. She begins to teach Ronald Latin and art, the begin
M
ning of four years he later called "the longest seeming and
most formative partofmy life."
1897 Queen VktoriacelebratesherDiamondJubilee.
1900 Mabel and her sons become Catholic. Her family withdraws
financial support, forcing her to live on a small inheritance.
Mabel movesto ahouse in Birmingham,asuburb ofMoseley.
Ronald Tolkien entersKing Edward'sSchool.
1901 She movesagain, toavillabehind King'sHeathStation.
1902 She moves again, to asuburb ofEdgbaston. Tolkien changes
schools,enrollsatSt. Philip's GrammarSchooL
1903 Tolkien is backat KingEdward's, on scholarship.
1904 ThatApril, Mabelis hospitalized, diagnosedwithdiabetes. She
retires, undersponsorship ofFatherFrancisMorgan, toarural
cottage at Rednal, Worcestershire. The boys join her inJune.
In Novembershe dies. FatherMorgan is designated the boys'
guardian.
ix
THE HOBBIT
1905 Talkien and brother live with Aunt Beatrice, an unhappy
arrangement.
ca. 1906-11 Tolkien privatelystudies Old English, OldNorse, and Gothic,
beginsto inventlanguageswith theirowngrammarsand histo
ries, and writespoems,some in invented languages.
1908 The brothers board with a Mrs. Faulkner on Duchess Road.
Edith Bratt,also an orphan, is there.
1909 That autumn Father Morgan discovers the romance between
Ronald and Edith, which he fears may lead to early marriage
and ruin Tolkien's career prospects. Talkien fails to win an
Oxfordscholarship.
1910 FatherMorgan movestheboys. Ronald is forbidden tocontact
Edith until he is twenty-one. She leaves Birmingham. Ronald
speaks Gothic and Old English in a school debate. He is
awarded a small scholarship to study classical languages at
Exeter College, Oxford.
1911 During the summer, he enjoys fellowship of clique of like
minded .studentsat King Edward's, the Tea Club. He hikes
through mountainsinSWitzerland, He enters Oxford.
1912 Beginsstudy ofcomparative philology underJoseph Wright,
joinsand campswith acavalry regiment, reads apaper on the
Kalevala (a Finnishmythological epic), writespoems,
1913 Turns twenty-one, contacts Edith Bratt. She breaks engage
mentto anorher man. He takes a Second Class in examsand
transfers from classicsto English, with emphasis in philology,
and formally studiesOld Norse.
1914 Edith becomes Catholic, and they are formally engaged.
BritaindeclareswaronGermany. Tolkiendecidestocomplete
hisdegree beforeserving.
1915 Receives First Honors on final examination, takes a commis
sion, and begins army training. Continues to write poetry in
"fairy language" and English, including the anthologized
"Goblin Feet."
1916 MarriesEdith.ShippedtoFrance,whereheservesasbattalion
signalingofficerintheSomme. Surviveshorrorsofmechanized
war, is senthome inNovemberwith trench fever.
1917 Convalescing, beginsTheBook ofLostTales, including "The
Fan of Gondolin," and spends most of the year hospitalized,
SonJohn isborn.
1918 Posted inStaffordshire, continues writingLostTales. When
x