Papers by Amy Amendt-Raduege
Death and immortality are, by Tolkien\u27s own admission, central themes in The Lord of the Rings... more Death and immortality are, by Tolkien\u27s own admission, central themes in The Lord of the Rings. This dissertation examines the interpretation of death in Tolkien\u27s work from three principle perspectives: the philosophical necessity of death, the ways in which individual characters meet their deaths, and the cultural conundrum represented by the necessity of dealing with the dead. No work, however, exists in a vacuum; thus the opening and closing chapters show how The Lord of the Rings was influenced by and exerts its influence upon the real world. The opening chapter therefore sets Tolkien\u27s work in biographical and historical context. The next three chapters discuss the interpretation of death as it is depicted in the story of Middle-earth: chapter two examines Tolkien\u27s depictions of the forms of immortality and their potential consequences for human life, while chapter three focuses on the impact of that philosophy for eight of the character deaths depicted in The Lor...
Tolkien's incorporation of 'Celtic' myths and tales into his creation of his legendarium is widel... more Tolkien's incorporation of 'Celtic' myths and tales into his creation of his legendarium is widely recognized. Yet many cultures use the motif of a voyage to the West, or overseas, to depict a journey into the afterlife. Recognition of this simple fact enriches our understanding of what Valinor is and means, particularly in its association with immortal inhabitants and perpetual beauty. This paper examines the palimpest of Tolkien's Valinor from three aspects: the Book of Revelation; the Irish immrama and the belief in fictional islands that those tales generated (like Hy Brasil and St. Brendan's Island); and finally Tolkien's belief that life itself was a voyage toward heaven.
Tolkien's beautiful depiction of death as an "escape" from the bonds of the world, a place where ... more Tolkien's beautiful depiction of death as an "escape" from the bonds of the world, a place where we shall have "joy more poignant than grief" has come to dominate our understanding of _his_ understanding of the afterlife - or at least, the his understanding of the afterlife of the mortals of Middle-earth. But it was not always so. In the beginning, mortal Men too spent their afterlife in the confines of Arda. How, then, did Tolkien describe this initial afterlife in relation to existing mythologies? More importantly, why did he portray the afterlife on Arda in the first place, and what induced him to change it? Presented at the International Medieval Congress in Leeds 2022, this paper attempts to explain why Tolkien, who originally located the afterlife of Men within the bonds of Arda, gradually changed that initially philosophy. As part of a larger project, it is only the beginning of a larger explanation, but hopefully self-sufficient enough to provide those interested in the subject with
Proceedings of the …, 1995
Antidiuretic hormone (ADH) regulates renal water excretion by altering the permeability of the co... more Antidiuretic hormone (ADH) regulates renal water excretion by altering the permeability of the collecting duct to water. ADH-responsive epithelial cells are the major cell type lining kidney tubules in the inner medulla and papilla. ADH modulates apical membrane water permeability by the insertion and removal of vesicles containing aquaporin collecting duct water channel protein (now termed AQP-2). To identify and characterize proteins responsible for trafficking of AQP-2-containing vesicles, we utilized antibody and cDNA probes to synaptobrevin b (also termed VAMP-2, for vesicleassociated membrane protein 2), a protein that mediates synaptic vesicle exocytosis in the brain and whose structural homologs are now considered to be components of a complex responsible for intracellular vesicle fusion in all cells. We now report that rat kidney inner medulla and papilla contain abundant synaptobrevin protein. Only light endosomes, one of two types of purified papillary AQP-2-containing endosomes, possess synaptobrevin. Light endosomes fuse in vitro by means of an ATP-dependent process that is significantly inhibited when endosomes are preincubated with either anti-synaptobrevin antibody or tetanus toxin. These data define a functional role for a synaptobrevin protein in the fusion of endosomes in vitro. The presence of abundant synaptobrevin proteins in endosomes containing AQP-2 water channels, as well as insulin-sensitive glucose transporters [Cain, C. C., Trimble,
Tolkien Studies, 2006
... College, Oxford, England, 17 th -24 th August 1992 to Celebrate the Centenary of the Birth of... more ... College, Oxford, England, 17 th -24 th August 1992 to Celebrate the Centenary of the Birth of Professor JRR Tolkien, Incorporating the 23 rd Mythopoeic Conference (Mythcon XXIII) and Oxenmoot 1992, edited by Patricia Reynolds and Glen H ... "Tolkien, Tom Bombadil, and the ...
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 1995
Antidiuretic hormone (ADH) regulates renal water excretion by altering the permeability of the co... more Antidiuretic hormone (ADH) regulates renal water excretion by altering the permeability of the collecting duct to water. ADH-responsive epithelial cells are the major cell type lining kidney tubules in the inner medulla and papilla. ADH modulates apical membrane water permeability by the insertion and removal of vesicles containing aquaporin collecting duct water channel protein (now termed AQP-2). To identify and characterize proteins responsible for trafficking of AQP-2-containing vesicles, we utilized antibody and cDNA probes to synaptobrevin b (also termed VAMP-2, for vesicleassociated membrane protein 2), a protein that mediates synaptic vesicle exocytosis in the brain and whose structural homologs are now considered to be components of a complex responsible for intracellular vesicle fusion in all cells. We now report that rat kidney inner medulla and papilla contain abundant synaptobrevin protein. Only light endosomes, one of two types of purified papillary AQP-2-containing endosomes, possess synaptobrevin. Light endosomes fuse in vitro by means of an ATP-dependent process that is significantly inhibited when endosomes are preincubated with either anti-synaptobrevin antibody or tetanus toxin. These data define a functional role for a synaptobrevin protein in the fusion of endosomes in vitro. The presence of abundant synaptobrevin proteins in endosomes containing AQP-2 water channels, as well as insulin-sensitive glucose transporters [Cain, C. C., Trimble,
Fastitocalon: Studies in Fantasticism Ancient to Modern 1.1, 2010
"The Mirror Crack'd"
In a 1947 letter to Sir Stanley Unwin, J.R.R. Tolkien wrote that "every romance that takes things... more In a 1947 letter to Sir Stanley Unwin, J.R.R. Tolkien wrote that "every romance that takes things seriously must have a warp of fear and horror". 1 The "romance" of which he writes is, of course, The Lord of the Rings, and the world he created within it certainly abounds in terrifying creatures. There are ghosts and spirits, werewolves and giant spiders, dragons and Balrogs. Yet one of the most frightening moments occurs fairly early in the story, in the confrontation between Frodo and the barrow-wight. This scene plays upon a number of primal fears, including the fear of being buried alive, the fear of trespassing upon the places of the dead, and, most of all, the lingering apprehension that some part of our consciousness will remain in the tomb. Although the wight gets very little stage time, it is one of the most rich and complex beings in the entire book, being rooted in the Icelandic sagas and legends, but tempered with Anglo-Saxon traditions and a little medieval ghostlore. Like a number of its medieval ancestors, the barrow-wight is ghostlike but not a ghost, living but not alive, haunting but also haunted. Far from being a simple type, the barrow-wight is a complex creature drawn from a blend of folklore, literature, and religious belief; and it embodies both medieval and modern anxiety about the dead and the places they inhabit. Barrows have long been seen as haunted places. This association makes, after all, a certain kind of sense: since the physical remains of the dead linger in the place of burial, so must the spiritual. As Theo Brown observes, "when educated men toyed with the notion that the earth in a burial ground was saturated with the virtue of dead corpses, it is hardly surprising that 1 Tolkien, J.R.R. The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien. Ed. Humphery Carpenter. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2000. p.120.
Tolkien and Alterity: Essays in Honor of Jane Chance, 2017
Lobelia Sackville-Baggins is one of the most despised and despicable characters in The Lord of th... more Lobelia Sackville-Baggins is one of the most despised and despicable characters in The Lord of the Rings. Even in The Hobbit, she is set up in direct opposition to the Bagginses of Bag-End, whose position and property she covets. Closer inspection, however, reveals that Lobelia’s character is more complicated than that. She is proud, stubborn, unwilling to settle for less than her due, and eager to display her status to society – all traits that are admired in men, but scorned in women. But heroic traits are heroic traits, even if society does not recognize them as such, and even if the heroes in question are women. In true heroic fashion, Lobelia eventually confronts a foe that seeks to deprive her of her freedom, and in so doing, becomes a figure of courage and positive social action. Like Frodo, Sam, and the others, she is a character who defends her freedom and the freedom of others. Her actions, not Frodo’s or Sam’s, end the conflict between the Bagginses and the Sackville-Bagginses. In so doing, Lobelia reveals her true nature: a generous, courageous spirit that had been too long repressed by a society that made her into an enemy. Her final act of unsolicited and unexpected generosity allows Frodo to set aside his grudges. Lobelia might begin her part of the story as an enemy of the Bagginses, but she ends as a hero even Frodo can admire.
J.R.R. Tolkien has long been accused of anti-feminist tones in his writing, though more recent critics have taken a more tolerant view (cf. Chance 2005). Despite the thousands of pages of text that constitute The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, fewer than fifteen females are named, some of them only in passing. Many of Tolkien’s women, however, remain firmly in the mind, even if their portrayals cannot easily be called positive. But despite the paucity of women in Tolkien’s text, they are all in some way remarkable. This paper will attempt to show that while Lobelia’s actions are not always admirable, they are in keeping with the heroic tradition, and once again assert Tolkien’s belief that anyone can be a hero – even if she is a woman.
"A Wilderness of Dragons": Essays in Honor of Verlyn Flieger, 2018
Tolkien’s world is positively brimming with heroes. The Lord of the Rings boasts at least twenty... more Tolkien’s world is positively brimming with heroes. The Lord of the Rings boasts at least twenty different individuals whose actions contribute to the fall of Sauron, and that does not include the heroes mentioned in the old songs in stories, nor, indeed, those who were present when the stories were created. This surfeit of heroes is not accidental, however, nor is it the product of blind chance. Instead, it reflects Tolkien’s view of the world, which was and remains distinct among writers of his generation. In contrast to many mid-twentieth-century writers, who saw a world scarred by violence and characterized by the loss of hope, Tolkien saw a world full of heroes. Thus, in addition to the obvious heroes of Frodo and Sam and Aragorn, we are given heroes on a more human scale, particularly in the comic figures of Merry and Pippin.
I contend that these “little hobbits” play a role every bit as vital as that of Frodo and Sam, not because the Enemy could not have been defeated without them, but because without them there would have been no point in the Enemy’s defeat. To paraphrase Edmund Burke, all that is necessary for evil to conquer is that good people do nothing, and while Frodo and Sam bear the heaviest burden, ordinary heroes also need to stand up against evil. If Frodo is the Arthurian hero and Aragorn is the epic hero, then perhaps Merry and Pippin each represent a different sort of “Everyman Hero”: those small, ordinary people who also have their part to play. Merry does not actually slay the great Lord of the Nazgûl, but his presence is nevertheless necessary, because he wounds the Ringwraith at the critical moment. Pippin does not actually witness the fall of Sauron, but he stands bravely with the Men of Gondor in what they believe might be their last battle, slaying a troll in the process. And it is the pair of them, not Frodo or Sam, who lead the Scouring of the Shire, freeing their own people from Rules and oppression. Frodo has paid a terrible price for his victory, and perhaps it is wrong for the people of the Shire to honor Merry and Pippin more than they do the Ringbearers. Yet it is also true that Merry and Pippin remember that there is also joy in this world, in small and ordinary things, and that, too, is worth honoring.
Sometime around 1400, an anonymous monk of Byland Abbey recorded one of the strangest moments in ... more Sometime around 1400, an anonymous monk of Byland Abbey recorded one of the strangest moments in supernatural history: the story of a ghost that wasn"t there. Nowadays, there"s nothing particularly remarkable about a disembodied ghost, but in the north of medieval England, it was an event worth mentioning. In that time and place, people thought that ghosts were what we would call revenants: animated corpses that return from the dead to trouble the living. But this story is different. This story is remarkable because the long-standing tradition of living corpses seems to be giving way to something new: the idea of a ghost that can't be touched. Given the rather uninspired name of "Story V" by modern scholars, the narrative goes like this:
Conference Presentations by Amy Amendt-Raduege
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is a delightful story for us medievalists, and a wonderful way to... more Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is a delightful story for us medievalists, and a wonderful way to engage students into literature of the period. Sometimes, though, they get a little lost in translation. By comparing three different versions of Gawain's adventures - the original, Tolkien's translation, and finally Verlyn Flieger's modern language - I show how to engage students with the text in new ways. My students always end up loving the story, and, more importantly, they are no longer afraid of literature, even if the cadences and language is not quite what they are used to. Plus, it's fun.
Wyrd is a weird word. In one sense, I mean that in the most literal way possible: it is the etymo... more Wyrd is a weird word. In one sense, I mean that in the most literal way possible: it is the etymological root of the modern English word 'weird.' But if we chase the word back to its Anglo-Saxon beginnings, things become even more difficult and strange. J.R. Clark Hall's Concise Anglo-Saxon Dictionary defines it as fate, chance, fortune, destiny, Fate (with a capital F), the Fates, one of the Fates, or Providence, with secondary meanings of event, phenomenon, transaction, fact, deed, condition, pleasure, or (my personal favorite) verbosity. To this already impressive list, the Bosworth-Toller dictionary adds accident, lot, condition, and death. The word is especially slippery and elusive in Beowulf, seeming to mean something slightly different every time it is used. Typically, the word is translated as " fate, " although Bradley consistently uses " Providence, " Robert Fulk prefers " event, " and Heaney, to put not too fine a point on it, seems to do whatever the hell he wants. For the most part, Tolkien sticks with tradition, using 'fate' for wyrd for all but two instances. But, as we might expect from so dedicated a philologist, Tolkien could not be content with mere translation – he wanted to understand, as much as possible, what the word actually meant to its original audience. Of course, one cannot build all the layers of meaning found within a word into the translation itself, or one would quickly run out of friends. Of course, that is precisely what the " Commentary " is for: it gives Tolkien the space to develop ideas in greater detail than the translation alone could allow. Conveniently, he lays out four established interpretations of the word: Wyrd, he says, can be seen as an appositive for God, a tool of God, an entity acting in
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Papers by Amy Amendt-Raduege
J.R.R. Tolkien has long been accused of anti-feminist tones in his writing, though more recent critics have taken a more tolerant view (cf. Chance 2005). Despite the thousands of pages of text that constitute The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, fewer than fifteen females are named, some of them only in passing. Many of Tolkien’s women, however, remain firmly in the mind, even if their portrayals cannot easily be called positive. But despite the paucity of women in Tolkien’s text, they are all in some way remarkable. This paper will attempt to show that while Lobelia’s actions are not always admirable, they are in keeping with the heroic tradition, and once again assert Tolkien’s belief that anyone can be a hero – even if she is a woman.
I contend that these “little hobbits” play a role every bit as vital as that of Frodo and Sam, not because the Enemy could not have been defeated without them, but because without them there would have been no point in the Enemy’s defeat. To paraphrase Edmund Burke, all that is necessary for evil to conquer is that good people do nothing, and while Frodo and Sam bear the heaviest burden, ordinary heroes also need to stand up against evil. If Frodo is the Arthurian hero and Aragorn is the epic hero, then perhaps Merry and Pippin each represent a different sort of “Everyman Hero”: those small, ordinary people who also have their part to play. Merry does not actually slay the great Lord of the Nazgûl, but his presence is nevertheless necessary, because he wounds the Ringwraith at the critical moment. Pippin does not actually witness the fall of Sauron, but he stands bravely with the Men of Gondor in what they believe might be their last battle, slaying a troll in the process. And it is the pair of them, not Frodo or Sam, who lead the Scouring of the Shire, freeing their own people from Rules and oppression. Frodo has paid a terrible price for his victory, and perhaps it is wrong for the people of the Shire to honor Merry and Pippin more than they do the Ringbearers. Yet it is also true that Merry and Pippin remember that there is also joy in this world, in small and ordinary things, and that, too, is worth honoring.
Conference Presentations by Amy Amendt-Raduege
J.R.R. Tolkien has long been accused of anti-feminist tones in his writing, though more recent critics have taken a more tolerant view (cf. Chance 2005). Despite the thousands of pages of text that constitute The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, fewer than fifteen females are named, some of them only in passing. Many of Tolkien’s women, however, remain firmly in the mind, even if their portrayals cannot easily be called positive. But despite the paucity of women in Tolkien’s text, they are all in some way remarkable. This paper will attempt to show that while Lobelia’s actions are not always admirable, they are in keeping with the heroic tradition, and once again assert Tolkien’s belief that anyone can be a hero – even if she is a woman.
I contend that these “little hobbits” play a role every bit as vital as that of Frodo and Sam, not because the Enemy could not have been defeated without them, but because without them there would have been no point in the Enemy’s defeat. To paraphrase Edmund Burke, all that is necessary for evil to conquer is that good people do nothing, and while Frodo and Sam bear the heaviest burden, ordinary heroes also need to stand up against evil. If Frodo is the Arthurian hero and Aragorn is the epic hero, then perhaps Merry and Pippin each represent a different sort of “Everyman Hero”: those small, ordinary people who also have their part to play. Merry does not actually slay the great Lord of the Nazgûl, but his presence is nevertheless necessary, because he wounds the Ringwraith at the critical moment. Pippin does not actually witness the fall of Sauron, but he stands bravely with the Men of Gondor in what they believe might be their last battle, slaying a troll in the process. And it is the pair of them, not Frodo or Sam, who lead the Scouring of the Shire, freeing their own people from Rules and oppression. Frodo has paid a terrible price for his victory, and perhaps it is wrong for the people of the Shire to honor Merry and Pippin more than they do the Ringbearers. Yet it is also true that Merry and Pippin remember that there is also joy in this world, in small and ordinary things, and that, too, is worth honoring.