Unlike his friend, contemporary and fellow Inkling C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien did not approve of nor employ direct allegory. That means that, for example, none of his Christ figures are perfect representations of Christ. This is most clearly represented in Frodo, who ultimately falls to the power of the Ring (despite resisting far longer than any Ring Bearer before him) and fails in his mission to destroy it. Additionally, in The Lord of the Rings, there is not just one character who is analogous to a figure in salvation history.
In addition to Frodo, the characters of Aragorn and Gandalf are also Christ-figures. Aragorn, living a hidden life in exile before ascending to the throne of his ancestors, is obviously Christ as King. Gandalf, warning of the growing power of the Enemy, is Christ as Prophet. And Frodo, who bears a burden of evil that is not his up a mountain so that it may be destroyed, is Christ as Priest. The sacrificial nature of the Passion connects it to the priestly aspect of Christ. Thus, Frodo suffers greatly in his body. Besides being stabbed by the Witch-King and stung by the Shelob, he is wounded in his hand and bears the mark of his suffering there for the rest of his life.
Tolkien employs this threefold typology in regards to figures representing Our Lady, the Blessed Mother, as well. Three characters personify different aspects of Our Lady: Galadriel, Arwen and Éowyn.
Galadriel
Galadriel is the “Lady of Light” who represents Mary as Queen. In addition to being one of the oldest elves, she is also the most powerful and most beautiful. The beauty of the Elves in Tolkien’s legendarium can easily be seen as a metaphor for divine grace.
The Marian nature of Galadriel is most clearly seen in The Fellowship of the Ring, when the bruised and battered Fellowship reach Lothlorien. When the first arrive, Gimli goes so far as to refer to Galadriel as an “elf witch” and that his companions should beware her spell. Here, he sounds very much like a Protestant who does not understand the importance of and role played by Our Lady in Catholicism, and equates it with idolatry.
Thus, it is quite poignant that Gimli, when he finally comes face to face with the beauty and grace of Galadriel, becomes utterly devoted to her. He asks her for the gift of only a strand of her golden hair, and she grants him three. Like Galadriel, Our Lady always gives us more than we ask from the abundance of her own grace.
Her hair is but one of the many gifts she gives to each member of the Fellowship. As Our Lady is the Mediatrix of All Graces, these gifts can be seen as metaphors for graces. Like Our Lady, Galadriel gives each member of the Fellowship a different gift, based on his needs. It is from Galadriel that the Fellowship receive the lembas bread to sustain them on the journey, which is of course a metaphor for Eucharist. The Body and Blood of Christ that we receive in communion, He Himself received from Our Lady, His Mother. Most notably, however, is phial that Galadriel gives to Frodo that contains the light of Eärendil. When she gives it to Frodo, Galadirel offers a quasi-blessing “May it be a light to you in dark places, when all other lights go out.” This would be an apt description of the grace and intercession of Our Lady, especially because the light is used as a powerful weapon to ward off evil, by Samwise against Shelob and (in the film adaptation) by Galadriel herself against Sauron at Dol Guldur.
Arwen
Galadriel’s granddaughter Arewn, represents Our Lady as Mother, particularly as a Sorrowful Mother. Arwen marries Aragorn and bears his son. In the films, she is about to leave for the Grey Havens, having been convinced by her father Elrond that staying out of love for Aragorn will led to her great sorrow when he, being mortal, inevitably dies. However, she turns back when she has a vision of her own, in which she sees Aragorn with their son.
Thus, Arwen says “yes” to being a mother, knowing that despite the joy of having a son, she will be filled with sorrow when he and his father die. Our Lady, while perhaps not fully aware of everything that would occur to her Son, still continued to give her fiat throughout her life. It is worth noting that when Our Lord tells His Mother at Cana that His “hour” had not yet come, He is reminding that revealing Himself with a public miracle will start the chain of events that will lead to His Passion and Death. Having heard the prophecy of Simeon when she and St. Joseph presented Our Lord in the Temple, Our Lady would have known that great sorrow was in store for her, yet she nevertheless told the servers, “Do whatever He tells you.” Like Our Lady, Arwen’s motherhood leads to great sorrow.
Éowyn
In addition to Arwen, Aragorn is also loved by Éowyn, shield maiden of Rohan. Being the niece of King Theoden, she is a princess who ably leads her people when her brother Eomer goes to war alongside their uncle. Yet, she bemoans the fact that being a woman, she will never see the glory on the battlefield that the men of Rohan live (and in many cases, die) for.
For this reason, when the Rohirrim ride to defend Minas Tirith, Éowyn disguises herself as a warrior and goes with them. Ironically, it is her being a woman that makes her the most pivotal player in the battle. When the Witch-King of Angmar mortally wounds Theoden, Éowyn rushes to defend him from being devoured by the serpentine fell beast upon which the Witch-King rides.
When the Witch-King says “Thou fool. No living man may hinder me!” Éowyn triumphantly responds, “No living man am I” and proceeds to decapitate the fell beast and, with some assistance from Merry, destroy the Witch-King as well. Here, Éowyn represents Our Lady as the Woman of the Apocalypse, prophesied in the Protoevangelium, who defeats the Serpent by crushing his head and who defends those who are fighting the Enemy against their ancient foe.
Thomas J. McIntyre
Thomas J. McIntyre is a teacher and amateur historian. He holds an MA in History from Georgia Southern University. In addition to the Voyage blog, he writes for Catholic 365 and on his personal blog "Pope Damasus and the Saints." He resides in Louisiana with his wife Nancy-Leigh and daughters Kateri and Alice.