“Nonetheless They Will Have Need of Wood”: Aesthetic and Utilitarian Approaches to Trees in The Silmarillion and Unfinished Tales

Abstract

Abstract A common assumption about J.R.R. Tolkien’s works is that they are escapist, only dealing obliquely with issues related to the real world. This has been addressed in the field of literary studies by linking Tolkien’s literary output with twentieth-century concerns such as modernist practices and, in recent times, by reading his tales against the backdrop of ecocriticism. However, scholars in the latter field, such as Dickerson, Evans, and Campbell, frequently over-emphasize wonder and the spiritual connection with the natural world as the intended response of readers, which undermines the potential implications and relevance of Tolkien’s works for the real world. In this article I wish to show that Tolkien’s cosmological vision is not only premised on the idea of appreciating the wonder-inciting qualities of the world but that it also entails a certain amount of utilitarianism, and the need to combine both is related to the ethical theory of ideal utilitarianism as outlined by G.E. Moore. Moreover, in several early episodes of The Silmarillion, the combined approach to the natural world is represented by trees, setting a mythical precedent for later works. Of the latter, I will be looking mainly at “Aldarion and Erendis” in Unfinished Tales and “The Downfall of Númenor” in The Silmarillion.