Polygenesis in The Silmarillion
How
authors portray the world in their own stories can give us great insight on how
they perceived the real world that was around them. It can also help give
current readers an explanation or reasoning as to why the authors made certain
choices in their writing. An instance of this occurs in J.R. Tolkien’s novels,
where current day scholars and fans are trying to understand the use of certain
racial stereotypes of characters in his novels. An example of this is the polygenesis
theory. Polygenesis theory describes the origin of different races as
independent/non-related species. The polygenesis theory has shaped folklore and
modern day racial dynamics, which of course echoes into some of our favorite author’s
works. It creates a hierarchical society where one ‘species’ dominates over the
others. This can clearly be seen in The
Silmarillion where each of the species have different origins and creators.
Their hierarchal status and racial characteristics are dependent on who their
creators are. For instance, the Men and Elves are created by the supreme being
Eru.
(http://lotr.wikia.com/wiki/Eru_Il%C3%BAvatar)
Eru is the single creator of Arda and the only one who is above the Valar
in status. Therefore, the Men and the Elves are already deemed the ‘special’
ones in Tolkien’s world because they are the literal children of god. This trope
can be seen in other fantasy novels where humans are usually portrayed as the ‘chosen
ones’ or ‘heroes’ of fantasy stories, despite clearly being the weakest of the
species. Humans are also given special rights and privileges, with the reason
being that they are the children of god.
(http://lotr.wikia.com/wiki/Men)
In the real world, before the use of
genetics, the polygenesis theory had been used to explain differences of races
for years. African Americans were deemed as socially and biologically inferior
to Caucasians because of their skin color. Caucasians reasoned that because
Jesus (the son of god) and Adam and Eve were white, whites were the chosen
people, the first born. This privileged idealism is mirrored in Tolkien’s
writing with the Elves and the Men. The elves are portrayed as beautiful beings,
who are closest to the Valar (they even get their own special place to go when
they die). This privilege is not given to other species, such as the dwarves. The dwarves were technically the first being to be brought to life on Arda,
having been created by Aulë, a Valar who was in charge of creating the
materials of which Arda was created with. He decided to create his own
children, the dwarves, because he wanted to teach them his skills. Eru
discovered Aulë’s children and told him that they must be put back to sleep
because Eru wanted his children to be born first. The dwarves then received the
stereotype of always being greedy and crafty because of Aulë’s choice and
character flaws. Such as in real world religions, creatures created by the
Valar were not born evil, that is until Morgoth and his followers swayed them
to the dark side.
(https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/144607838005474801/)
The creation of the species in Tolkien world is based upon social status which can be seen in our real world as well. I agree with your statement in how authors use the real world to create their fantasy world. Tolkien as we can see and you state uses the polygenesis theory which comes to who is the dominate species, as well as what makes them dominant. In Tolkien’s world its by who is your creator, in the real world it comes to who has more money and were you come from. This is proving that fantasy is not that far away form reality if you look closely.
ReplyDeleteInteresting point on how the polygenesis theory creates a hierarchal society, where one species dominates over another. This seems to be the viewpoint of many Christians in the past who thought that African Americans were “lesser” forms of humans and were a completely different species from Caucasian. This illogical viewpoint is what contributed to the portrayal of dark skinned people in fantasy worlds to be barbaric or wild or most of the times evil. In Tolkien’s world, the Valar as described as being super white, which makes them beautiful. On the other hand, dark elves or even orcs are described as being evil and barbaric and have inhuman qualities.
ReplyDeleteFirstly, (in no way am I speaking in a attacking tone) I would to recognized that Jesus was not caucasian he was of color. Unfortunately, due to a misconception and lack of knowledge of the fact that Jesus was not white, caucasians believed they had the right and privilege to treat African Americans in a demeaning way. The treatment of African Americans transferred into the creation of fantasy works and with the ideology that they are less that human and will not be at the equivalent hierarchy as caucasians. As you stated in you blog, in Tolkien’s work, the Valar (the white people) were treated with more praise and respect than the dark elves (African Americans) who were considered inhumane.
ReplyDelete