In the foreword to The Fellowship of the Ring, J.R.R. Tolkien
addresses the issue of allegory: “I cordially dislike allegory
in all its manifestations, and always have done so since I grew
old and wary enough to detect its presence. I much prefer
history, true or feigned, with its varied applicability to the
thought and experience of the reader. I think that many confuse
‘applicability’ with ‘allegory’; but the one resides in the
freedom of the reader, and the other in the purposed domination
of the author” (Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings xvii). All the
same, years of research and speculation have laid allegory onto
The Lord of the Rings, including political, historical, and
religious allegory. In terms of religious allegory, the
characters of Christ, Mary, and the apostles have been projected
into the narrative of The Lord of the Rings, but these
interpretations are no more than individual readings that do not
relate to the author’s intent. Nevertheless, Middle-earth is
composed of faith and divinity, and be