Tolkien's Hidden Pictures: Anthroposophy and Middle-Earth

Rediscovered by each new generation, this story has proved captivating ever since its publication in 1954. It's a good story, to be sure, but is there something more—a profound aspect that we recognize or sense, speaking directly to something deeper and hidden within us? Many scholars and commentators have attempted to address this and similar questions. Tolkien scholarship has achieved remarkable insights into his unique use of language, his deep knowledge of storytelling aesthetics in our human heritage of myths, and his ability to weave together an exploration of myriad themes into one story. Nevertheless, few if any scholars have approached the profoundest aspects of Tolkien's work with the esoteric spiritual insights of Rudolf Steiner's anthroposophy as the basis for illuminating their studies. With Tolkien's Hidden Pictures, Mark McGivern does exactly this, while also building upon the work of scholars such as Verlyn Flieger, whose open-hearted and serious studies, born of love and appreciation for Tolkien's masterpiece, already suggest the depths, the "hidden pictures," and the lessons for life and human possibilities contained in The Lord of the Rings.Those who know and love J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings trilogy know that it is not only an inexhaustible source of wonder, delight, and excitement, but also a profound tale relevant to our time and to the vital question: What does it mean to be a human being? Table of Contents:Introduction Part 1. The Great Escape1a. Escapism as Response1b. A New Approach Emerges1c. Limitations of the Christian Perspective Part 2. The Discovery of Hidden Pictures2a. Patrick Curry's Concentric Circles2b. A Jungian Architecture of Archetypes2c. Verlyn Flieger's Barfieldian Blueprint Part 3. An Indirect Orientation to Rudolf Steiner's Anthroposophy3a. A Comparison of Jung and Steiner on Myth and the Human Being3b. Images of the Threefold Soul in Modern Storytelling Part 4. The Hidden Picture of Spiritual Initiation Revealed through Rudolf Steiner's Anthroposophy4a. The Fellowship of the Ring4b. The Road to Rivendell: From Atavistic to Historical to Transformational Consciousness4c. The Road to Mordor: The Initiatory Experiences of Gandalf, Aragorn, and Frodo4d. The Road to the Shire: A Conscious Life of Soul4e. A Summary of the Hidden Picture of Spiritual Initiation Part 5: Inner Forms, Enchantment, and Meaning5a. Commonalities Among the Inner Forms5b. The Enchantments of Place, Authenticity, Integral Meaning, and Transformation5c. The Most Comprehensive Inner Form5d. The One Ring and Evil: Shadow of the Developing Consciousness Soul Part 6. The "Secret of the Whole"6a. Image Over Narrative6b. Tolkien's Personal Images Part 7. The Value of The Lord of the Rings as a Modern MythConclusionBibliographyEndnotesMark McGivern (19xx-Present), is an educator, former Waldorf class teacher, editor, and writer, with a strong interest in the experience of mythic imagery. He is the co-founder of the educational initiative Ubuntu Learning: Practical Studies in Anthroposophy. Mark is also the editor of Perspectives and a mentor in the Rudolf Steiner College Foundations Program. He lives in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.