edoc

Sustainable Fictions – Geographical, Literary and Cultural Intersections in J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings

Habermann, Ina and Kuhn, Nikolaus. (2011) Sustainable Fictions – Geographical, Literary and Cultural Intersections in J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings. The Cartographic Journal, 48 (4). pp. 263-273.

Full text not available from this repository.

Official URL: http://edoc.unibas.ch/46267/

Downloads: Statistics Overview

Abstract

J. R. R. Tolkien s The Lord of the Rings (1954/1955), one of the founding texts of fantasy literature and the centrepiece of a number of writings about the geography, history and mythology of ‘Middle-earth’, has long become a cult phenomenon. We argue that in this influential text, Tolkien offers a fictional exploration of sustainability. Combining an application of Geographic Information System techniques with textual analysis and interpreting text and spatial data in conjunction, we show that there is a systematically varying distance between our real world and the physical features of Tolkien's ‘Secondary World’, as regards climate and vegetation patterns. There is an emphasis on land degeneration, a ‘missing forest problem’ which prompts a closer look at the role of woods and trees in Tolkien's work. It emerges that the preservation of trees is at the centre of Tolkien's sustainable fictions. For the author, it was a function of fantasy, which he sets against a dystopian and secular modernism as well as the destructive aspects of modernity, to provide (positive) ‘escape’, ‘consolation’ and ‘recovery’, which is achieved through a final vision of the successful preservation of the environment.
Faculties and Departments:04 Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences > Departement Sprach- und Literaturwissenschaften > Fachbereich Englische Sprach- und Literaturwissenschaft > English Modern Literature (Habermann)
UniBasel Contributors:Habermann, Ina and Kuhn, Nikolaus J.
Item Type:Article, refereed
Article Subtype:Research Article
Publisher:Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group
ISSN:0008-7041
e-ISSN:1743-2774
Note:Publication type according to Uni Basel Research Database: Journal article
Identification Number:
Last Modified:03 Apr 2018 10:34
Deposited On:03 Apr 2018 10:34

Repository Staff Only: item control page