Customer Reviews

Frodos Quest: Living the Myth in The Lord of the Rings

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I enjoyed reading Frodo's Quest, and I am, in fact, re-reading it again to get a deeper appreciation of the depth of Tolkien's insight in Lord of the Rings (Lord). I have (only) read Lord three times. I first read Lord in college, next some years later and again last year before the first movie came out. At each of these times, at different stages in my life, Tolkien never failed to catch me up in the story and depth of his characters. I know that I am not alone in this, for its not unusual to meet someone who confesses that he or she has read it many more times than that. But I have often wondered why the book appealed to me so much.
Dr. Robert Ellwood who, according to his web page, is both a priest, retired college professor, and a teacher / scholar of world religions, helped me understand just why Tolkien's Lord moves its loyal readers so. Ellwood, with insightful extracts from Tolkien's other works, shows that Tolkien wove into his story the universal themes of mankind's spiritual quest. After reading Frodo's Quest, one can never again see Lord as a mere fantasy story, for Ellwood demonstrates its appeal is that, at its core, it is about our own personal spiritual search. Frodo's Quest makes use of references and quotes from psychological and religious sources to establish that Lord is a quest story in the highest spiritual meaning of that term. In this sense, Frodo's Quest will ring true to readers familiar with the works and viewpoints of Joseph Campbell or Carl Jung. The reader of Frodo's Quest, like Frodo himself, will come to realize, like we all must sooner or later, that we all live in a world that is much more than just that which can be seen or touched. More importantly, we all have a role in the eternal drama of life
But Frodo's Quest is not for everyone. It unabashedly presumes that its audience both knows the Lord books and also has a the insight / spiritual discernment to understand exactly what a universal myth is, and what it does, so it is going to put off some people of a more rigid religious outlook. But if that is the price of such insights, so be it. Frankly, I don't find the exercises at the end of chapters especially useful to most people, but they don't detract from the main message of the book. Frodo's Quest has shown us Tolkien's grand vision of mankind and revealed that Lord of the Rings' appeal is that it speaks to the Frodo within each of us, ala Campbell or Jung. Frodo's Quest is a book well worth reading over and over again.

Frodo's Quest takes the reader deep into the world of Middle Earth. It explores themes in The Lord of the Rings such as faithfulness and betrayal, hope and despair, and this world and other worlds, with great depth and provocative insight. For example, it examines the characters of Merry and Pippin, Frodo, and Bilbo as providing insight into the human stages of youth, middle-age, and old-age. Yet in so doing, it also asks the reader to compare aspects of the story with the various stages of his or her own life.
Robert Ellwood does not present an allegorical interpretation of The Lord of the Rings, but stays true to Tolkien's vision: Tolkien protested against his stories being taken strictly as allegories, but rather wanted them to be appreciated as stories in their own right. He preferred to say that they could have applicability to our lives. Ellwood guides the reader in doing just that. As a Christian, I found Frodo's Quest to be educational and inspiring, but it has been written with sensitivity to anyone on a spiritual quest, and is respectful of all faiths. Frodo's Quest is a refreshing gift for Tolkien enthusiasts, as well as anyone open to spiritual growth.

This book is a wonderful book for those wanting to understand how to relate to the hero's journey and incorporate this journey in their own life. Lord of the Rings, by itself, is a great story and the fact that Ellwood and his wife were great admirers of Tolkien adds interest to this book. Their own love for the creator of the masterpiece brought him into their lives in a roundabout way, so one gets the feeling that this is almost Ellwood's way of saying thank you. In turn, we are gifted with a book that helps us not only understand the intimacies of the story but also how to apply the journey of Frodo to our own lives.

Perhaps it is - among other things - the high applicability of "The Lord of the Rings" to our own world and daily living which makes this tale most precious to us. Analysing the stages of Frodo's way to fulfil his quest step by step, Robert Ellwood pulls the perpetual law of initiation and change as well as the ancient influence of myths and archetypes on our personal growth to the surface of our consciousness.

Ellwood's book is most touching. You may feel your soul respond to the written words and therefore may - whenever you are put to the test yourself - remember that your life is woven into the same cosmic pattern and that the universal life force has been dancing in its predestined rhythm since the world began.

So it remains for us to find the courage to live out of the ancient wisdom, to mine for the treasures hidden in the legends and to plait the threads of our own existence into the mythical tissue. Robert Ellwood has done a wonderful job to light up the way for us.

Frodo's Quest is a brilliant exposition of The Lord of the Rings myth from a spiritual and mystical point of view. The author, an Emeritus Professor of Religion from the University of Southern California and a longtime Tolkien enthusiast, is eminently qualified to interpret LOTR in a fresh new way as a universal myth that speaks to readers all over the world, regardless of their cultural background or religious convictions. Frodo's Quest is presented here as every person's quest for personal transformation and discovery. The book, stunningly illustrated, is an "application" (as Tolkien called it) of The Lord of the Rings for the open-minded reader and as a guidebook for one's own quest to destroy the Ring of dominance and sectarian limitation and to find the Undying West of peace and understanding among all peoples.

A true disappointment. What I had hoped would be a many faceted and critical look at the mythic elements in Tolkien turned out to be a fairly narrow sectarian presentation. Middle Earth is used here as a thoroughgoing allegory for Theosophy, very surprising indeed, given Tolkien's antipathy to allegorical interpretations. The writing style is grating, too, with the reader constantly addressed in the second person. Readers interested in the Lord of the Rings would better look elsewhere.

Ellwood analyzes the general spiritual character of Tolkien's plot and characters, and uses them as starting points for meditation exercises. Whether you agree with his approach or not, he at least grasps the book well.

A total waste of [$$$] --- couldn't even finish an entire chapter. No wonder there are so many used books available for sale. The author writes in such a wordy prose with religious and preachy undertones that I couldn't even get interested in the book. The topic and title suggested something interesting with relevant ties between the movie/book and human psychology. Instead, I found it to be tedious and boring. The author rambles on with too much new-age babble and never says much of anything. Save your money and pick one of several other similar books.

Imagine my surprise after I bought "Frodo's Quest" to find that it was published by the Theosophical Society! Stated purposes of this book include: to use "Lord of the Rings" (hereafter LOTR) as a tool to "slip LOTR into several of the various levels of reality within which we live..." (p. 12), and to examine LOTR "in the light of the Ancient Wisdom and Theosophy" (p.13)

Questions subsequently answered include 1) how to meet your guide (unseen guardians - p.36); and 2) and to discover how the victories of the hobbits "brings a vision of the esoteric meaning of one or more the planes of reality as understood by Theosophy" (p.65).

Ironically, the publishing house of the Theosophical Society is "Quest Books". But the quest they want to send us on is not the quest of which Tolkien wrote, but one bent to their own means.

Be aware that this book is contrary to the general teaching of Christianity, and does not square with the teachings in two excellent books that can be purchased on Amazon, "Finding God in the Lord of the Rings" and "Tolkien's Ordinary Virtues" (subtitled Exploring the Spiritual Themes of the Lord of the Rings).

Professor Elwood has written elsewhere on the mythmakers of the twentieth century, so I looked forward to reading his interpretation of Tolkien.

I was expecting a discussion of the anti modernism theme of Tolkiens' work.

Instead I found a book promoting theosophical theology disguised as a book of mythology.

This is deliberate, since the essays expound the ""divine master within" and our "higher self", and at the end of each essay we find meditations so that we get deeper into "finding our wizard" or "scanning the different planes within".

Ironically, one wishes a "professor of religion" would see that one theme of Tolkien (as opposed to Harry Potter) is that wholesomeness/holiness is found in humility, not in expanding one's powers, even one's "spiritual" powers. Tolkien's theme is similar to the Hindu tale where a guru wished to see the holiest person on earth, and Krishna took him to a poor farmer's family hut...the implication that the duties of one's daily life can make saints better than mental exercizes in private...

Those who wish to be initiated into a higher mental plane might be interested in this type of book. For the rest of us, I would not recommend this book, whose preachiness alone makes it a more obnoxious addition to the library of Tolkien literature.