《魔戒》的救赎主题

Redemption: One of the Themes of The Lord of the Rings

托尔金的《魔戒》作为一部奇幻神话作品满足了现代人的巨大心灵需要,他为现代人创造了神话,并且通过神话为人类救赎提供了三条路径:一是克制欲望的横行泛滥,说明机器大工业带来物质丰富的同时也放大了人类的占有欲,欲望正是堕落的根源。二是回归并尊重自然,说明与自然和谐才能达到自我救赎。三是英雄归来,小说塑造了更接近于人类本身的带着缺点的英雄,通过这些英雄的成功表达出现代人在经历创伤之后完全有自我救赎的可能。

Tolkien＇s fantasy novel, The Lord of the Rings, meets modern people＇s psychological needs for it creates a myth for them and provides three roads for human salvation. The first road is to restrain rampant desires as the industrial age does not only bring people much material wealth, but at the same time unbridles their greediness which is the root of depravity. The second one is to respect and return to nature for human＇s harmonious existence with nature is the only way to self-salvation. The third is to call for the returning of heroes, who, described in the novel, have their weaknesses like those of human beings＇, but finally have achieved their success which indicates the possibility of human＇s self-salvation after they experience pains and sufferings.