Philosophy of magic
Lecture draws Lord of the Rings fans

Laura Hartman| staff writer
lhartman@smcvt.edu

The St. Michael’s College philosophy department hosted, “Philosophy of Magic in The Lord of the Rings: Tolkien’s Saints and Heroes,” a lecture hosted by University of Notre Dame professor David O’Connor on Thursday, Oct. 11 in the Hoehl Welcome Center.

Catholic, but not preachy

O’Connor chose J.R.R. Tolkien’s books for his topic because he wanted to speak to Catholic college students who are unsure about what it is to be a Catholic intellectual. Tolkien is an “exceptionally rich example” of that, and is an easy text for students to connect with, he says.

David O'Connor lectures to students and faculty in the Hoehl Welcome Center on Thursday, Oct. 11. Mary Cate Connors, photo

The Catholic undertones of "The Lord of the Rings" show through Tolkien’s portrayal of iconic scenes, like the one found in “the mirror of Galadriel," a divination pool in which the main characters look to the past, present and future, O'Connor says.

Although Middle-earth, the fictional land where "The Lord of the Rings" takes place, is pagan, its characters stand on the edge of paganism, ready to receive Christianity, he says.

According to O’Connor, Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings is a fundamentally Catholic work, but it’s not too “preachy” for its fans.

“Fans don’t want literature that is infected by morals,” O’Connor says.

Why would I want to read an elf story?

O'Connor was first assigned to read Tolkien's work as an undergraduate for a class called “The Theology of Grace.”  He avoided reading it simply because of a lack of interest, he says.

“Why would I want to read an elf story?” he says. 

Notre Dame professor David O'Connor shows movie clips from Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings. Mary Cate Connors, photo

After finally reading "The Lord of the Rings" in graduate school, he found the story more interesting and began to pick up on the philosophical elements, he says. 

O'Connor says his lecture wasn't just meant for hardcore Tolkien fans.

“There are Tolkien fans out there who know more details [about the story] than I could remember,” O'Connor says.  “There are also more casual fans of both the movies and books who might be intrigued in the topic.”

O’Connor was contacted by St. Michael's philosophy professor Lara Ostaric, a former graduate student and teaching assistant of his.

Ostaric was looking to organize a lecture with someone exciting and passionate to engage students in the realization that philosophy is not always obscure or abstract. She asked O'Connor to conduct the lecture because his topic gave examples of the power of an image in art, and its spiritual message, she says.

“My motivation was to have a speaker passionate about liberal arts in Catholic education,” Ostaric says. 

There and back again

The lecture was attended by philosophy students, St. Michael’s professors, and Lord of the Rings fans.

“I thought it was an excellent turnout,” philosophy professor Ronald Begley says.

Begley first heard about O'Connor at Notre Dame while working on a project. Begley attended a conference in which O'Connor presented a paper.  O'Connor's performance at the conference spurred Begley's interest in coming to the lecture, he says.

Begley has “the highest regard for Tolkien,” having read Tolkien's other works and learned about him through the works of C.S. Lewis, he says.

O'Connor discussed the differences between "The Lord of the Rings" movies and the original J.R.R. Tolkien books. Photo illustration by Mary Cate Connors

Junior Stephanie Daudelin attended the lecture for her religion and literature classes.

“It was better than I expected,” she says.  “It was a great topic.  I would never have picked up on how deep Tolkien's symbols were.”

Daudelin says that she was a little worried at first because she didn't know what to expect.  She had seen and liked the films, but never read the books.  It helped that O'Connor used scenes from the movies in his presentation to show how director Peter Jackson emphasized Tolkien's themes in a visual way, she says.

O’Connor hopes his lecture will bring awareness to students, he says.