Pretty much everyone has a comfort food – for me, it’s usually mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese, or tuna casserole. And during cold, grey weather, it’s comforting to close the drapes and have the lights on – I love nothing more than to curl up in a chair and read; comfort music for me is Alan Parson Project; and my comfort movie is “The Wizard of Oz”.
A couple weeks ago, I was in dire need of some comfort reading. There was absolutely no hesitation – I went to the bookshelf and picked up “The Fellowship of the Ring”. Even though I have read it dozens of times, I never get tired of reading the Lord of the Rings.
My first time was somewhere around 10 or 11 years old – my older brother had to read the books for his 7th grade English class, and I read the books before he did. Since then, I’ve read them at least once a year, sometimes more often.
Certainly part of the “comfort” aspect of reading it is because it was something I loved in childhood – so often, things we love from childhood don’t stand the test of time, but I have never been disappointed in re-reading LOTR. Every time I read it, I find gems that I hadn’t noticed before; new ideas about the themes and meanings of scenes come up; yet at the same time, it is familiar territory that, like visiting Grandma and Grandpa, makes you feel warm and secure in the changeless atmosphere while life throws unceasing challenges and stresses at you.
The language is one of the things that I love about LOTR. It is slightly old-fashioned, and for someone who loves 19th century books, and who studied medieval literature at university, it is a comfortable fit. Too, I love the descriptive passages – some people have told me that they skipped over those sections because they were boring, but for me it really brings the world alive and I feel as if I’m actually there.
I love the way the characters evolve – although sometimes it’s more as if the superficial layers are stripped off and what you have left is the core. Probably the most complex character, and the one who goes through the biggest change is Sam – even now, after so many visits with him, I find myself getting annoyed with him for his prejudices, casual cruelty and thoughtlessness towards Gollum; yet his loyalty, honesty, tenderness, and insight keep him from being just a bigoted bully, and he grows into a wise, calm, loving man (hobbit).
One character that I find myself conflicted over whether I prefer the book-version or the movie-version is Aragorn. In the book, he is quiet, mysterious, and regal, and gets more and more distant as his destiny approaches. He’s older, and one never really gets to know him, although you see glimpses of the person underneath his “role” (i.e., that of the king-in-hiding). I definitely fell a little bit in love with him, although I think more I wanted to *be* him, possibly more than any other character, although Faramir would have been a good choice, also.
But Viggo Mortensen! What is not to love about Aragorn in the movie? He becomes more than just a figure-head, and really fleshes out the person behind the king-mask. Being able to see someone act the character puts inflections in the voice, moods and expressions to the words written in the book that don’t come across in Tolkien’s writing. The distance is removed, and one understands how deeply Aragorn feels about his love, his friends, his history, his future; but is that better? As I say, I’m torn – and don’t get me started about the things I hate about the movies – I love them, but there are definitely parts that I don’t like. That is a whole different post.
So for three weeks, I read “comfort” books, and I cried again at the end when Frodo leaves for the West. A part of me wanted to just start right over from the beginning, because I didn’t want to leave the world – but one can’t eat mashed potatoes for every meal. . .
