The Chronicles of War Repercussions in J. R. R. Tolkien and C. S. Lewis’s Life and Work
Open AccessThis dissertation examines the influence of the Great War on the lives and fantasy works of J. R. R. Tolkien and C. S. Lewis. By situating the influence of the Great War on these fantasy writers, along with the longstanding popularity of their works, I place them on the forefront of post-war studies. Ultimately, I examine moments of personal and fictional responses to war to argue that Tolkien and Lewis generated reparative fantasies to respond to the horrors they witnessed. They did so by embracing the threats of war as necessities in the epic battles of good versus evil, and such responses helped them find meaning in the chaos of war.My first chapter examines the historical and biographical accounts of Tolkien’s experiences in World War I, where I argue he uses fantasy fiction to represent horrifying experiences rooted in his times in the trenches. The second chapter analyzes The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings to contend that Tolkien uses the fantasy genre as an avenue to express his frustrations with war, particularly military technology and post-war national memory. The third chapter traces Lewis’s similar war experiences, where I argue both writers used the fantasy genre as a unique refraction to articulate their war frustrations. The fourth chapter analyzes The Chronicles of Narnia to argue that Lewis represents his war frustrations in the way he addresses familial loss, governmental ascendancy, and traditional patriotic war portrayals. The coda presents a plethora of ideas for prospective biographical and analytical advances that show how a single war can generate many studies on the influence of war on Tolkien, Lewis, and other fantasy writers of the twentieth century.
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