ОБРАЗ ДЕРЕВА ЯК ВТІЛЕННЯ ФІЛОСОФСЬКИХ КОНЦЕПТІВ У ТВОРЧОСТІ ДЖ. ТОЛКІЄНА

Abstract

English linguist Tolkien is world-famous as the creator of the fantasy genre and the author of the epic novel «The Lord of the Rings» which has overgrown the measures of a novel having become a cultural phenomena. The tree is one of the universal symbols of the spiritual culture. It unites the Earth with the heaven, defines the human’s way to oneself, to spiritual summits. In the works of J. R. R. Tolkien the tree isn’t just a detail but also a character, the symbol of the eternal life circulation. Symbolizing the synthesis of heaven, earth and water, the dynamics of life, combining the worlds, the tree in the creation of Tolkien is a complex archetypal derivative that accumulates feminine as a source of life, male as a defender of the genus. Being fond of Welsh and Finnish, Scandinavian and Celtic mythology, Tolkien used the elements of the latter to build a model of his own artistic world. But being a Christian, he could not implement his ideas into the Universe without a god. God is present in the work of Tolkien, though remains invisible. The artistic world of many works is built around a tree, which is not only a biblical image, but also a part of the social subconscious, archetype. The close relationship between the creator and creation is a reflection of the ancient beliefs about man and the tree as indivisible unity, that the tree could become a friend, a «twin brother» of a man, the incarnation of his soul. The tree becomes the creating centre of the main character’s own universe, the logical conclusion of the artist's life search. Not only mastery, but the power of the author's imagination is in the focus of the writer's attention.