Lord of the Rings - 01 - The Fellowship of the Ring

Chapter 9 — The Long Journey of a Living Legend

publié le 12 oct. 2026 · 594 mots

In the foreword to the second edition, J R R Tolkien reflects on the long and complicated process through which The Lord of the Rings developed from a proposed sequel to The Hobbit into an extensive history of Middle-earth. He began writing the story shortly after completing The Hobbit, before its publication in 1937, but initially set it aside to concentrate on the mythology and legends of the Elder Days. These ancient histories had originally been developed partly to provide a historical background for the Elvish languages he created, and Tolkien doubted that readers would be interested in such material. However, when the people whose opinions he sought showed little enthusiasm, he returned to the sequel, encouraged by readers who wanted to learn more about hobbits and their adventures. As he continued writing, references to ancient places, peoples and mysteries in The Hobbit, including Elrond, Gondolin, Moria, Gandalf and the Ring, revealed connections to a much larger history.

The narrative consequently expanded into an account of the Third Age and the War of the Ring, with the ancient world becoming increasingly central to the story.

The composition of the work stretched from 1936 to 1949, interrupted by Tolkien's teaching responsibilities, other interests and the outbreak of the Second World War. Progress was irregular, and he often wrote at night. He describes several significant stopping points, including Balin's tomb in Moria, which halted his progress for a considerable period, and the later sections involving Lothlórien, the Great River and the battles associated with Théoden. In 1944, despite his own duties connected with the war, he concentrated on Frodo's journey to Mordor, sending drafts of these chapters to his son Christopher, who was serving with the RAF in South Africa. Another five years passed before he completed the tale. Even then, the work was far from finished, as he had to revise the entire narrative, rewrite substantial portions and type the manuscript himself because professional typing was too expensive.

Tolkien presents the finished book as the product of persistent effort, interruptions and repeated reconsideration rather than a straightforward creative process.

Tolkien then addresses readers' interpretations of the book and explains that his principal motivation was the pleasure of storytelling. He wanted to create a long narrative that would entertain, delight, excite and sometimes deeply move its audience. He accepts that readers will disagree about its merits, noting that passages some consider weaknesses are especially appreciated by others. He firmly rejects the idea that the work was intended as an allegory or commentary on contemporary events. Although the Ring established the central connection with The Hobbit, the story developed organically from ideas and histories that had occupied his imagination for many years. Tolkien argues that the Second World War did not determine the narrative's direction, observing that a story directly modelled on real warfare would have produced a very different outcome, with the Ring potentially being seized and used for domination rather than destroyed.

He distinguishes allegory, in which an author imposes a particular interpretation, from applicability, which allows readers to draw their own connections with personal experience. He also explains that The Scouring of the Shire was planned from the beginning and drew only indirectly on his childhood memories of the destruction of the countryside. Finally, Tolkien introduces the revised edition, which corrects errors and inconsistencies and adds explanatory material in response to readers' questions. He acknowledges that fuller linguistic information and a more comprehensive index would require further publication, while presenting the new foreword, additional notes and revised index as improvements to the existing work.