Comparative Piece on Milton, Blake and Genesis

Within the narrative found in Genesis is a section sometimes referred to as the "Fall of Man," wherein the "original sin" (as St. Augustine of Hippo termed it) transpired. This account has been interpreted and retold by many, many different individuals, including authors John Milton and William Blake. Milton and Blake have both helped to shaped popular belief concerning the text, and expounded upon and re-interpreted the Fall of Satan and the Fall of Man. These differing interpretations are entertaining and allow the reader to examine other views of these events found in the Bible. In what ways did they utilize the Genesis narrative? In what ways did they change or add to it?

Milton was an author and poet who lived in the 17th century - raised in the Church of England, although some of his theological views on the Trinity bordered on Arianism, and he later grew fond of the Quaker tradition. In 1667, Milton wrote the infamous poem, Paradise Lost. The poem is twelve books on the subject of man's original sin and after-effects of the Fall of Satan. Milton portrays Lucifer (Satan) in a bit of a sympathetic way, while portraying God as a sort of tyrant. In this way, Milton forms an image to which his audience may sympathize. Lucifer disobeyed, and was cast out. William Blake, another poet, paid tribute to Milton's Paradise Lost with an account of the Fall of Lucifer in the first part of his poem, "Milton". However, ironically, Blake's portrayal of Lucifer differed from Milton's. Blake pointed out that Milton's interpretation, and the way he seems to create sympathy for him, shows that "Milton was of the devil's party without knowing it."

Put simply, it is easier to determine the differences in interpretations and basis once groundwork can be laid from the original source. The Fall of Man narrative is found in Genesis 3, and it is traditionally taught that the Fall of Lucifer is found in Isaiah 14 and Ezekiel 28 - though scholarly dispute remains. Isaiah 14:12-15 says, "How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High. Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit." (KJV) If this text refers to Satan, it can be gleaned that he fell from the same Heaven where he believed he could overthrow God and rule the universe himself, but he was cast out of Heaven instead, for his rebellion.

Now, the text of Ezekiel 28:11-17 conveys, "Moreover the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Son of man, take up a lamentation upon the king of Tyrus, and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord God; Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty. Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created. Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire. Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee. By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned: therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire. Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee." (TNIV)

If Ezekiel 28 refers to Satan, we can understand that he was once a "guardian cherub" - an angel with authority, with a position, with a rank. Within the Christian tradition, Lucifer was second in power only to God. He was once pure until, with free will given to him, he became proud, gathered many angels, rebelled against God, and was cast out of Heaven. He was henceforth called Satan (meaning "adversary") - so goes the tradition. It is from these two passages that Milton and Blake appear to derive their information, although Blake also drew from Milton.

Finally, Genesis 3 (from the King James Version) reads, "Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, 'Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?' The woman said to the serpent, 'We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, 'You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.' 'You will not certainly die,' the serpent said to the woman. 'For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.' When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves. Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. But the Lord God called to the man, ‘Where are you?’”

Verses 10-15 continue, "He answered, 'I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.' And he said, ‘Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?' The man said, 'The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.' Then the Lord God said to the woman, 'What is this you have done?' The woman said, 'The serpent deceived me, and I ate.' So the Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, “Cursed are you above all livestock and all wild animals! You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life. And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.”

Verses 16-24 conclude, "To the woman He said, 'I will make your pains in childbearing very severe; with painful labor you will give birth to children. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.” To Adam he said, “Because you listened to your wife and ate fruit from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat from it,’ ‘Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat food from it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.” Adam named his wife Eve, because she would become the mother of all the living. The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them. And the Lord God said, “The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.” So the Lord God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side[e] of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.” (NIV)

Bearing in mind the Genesis narrative as well as the texts from Isaiah and Ezekiel, Milton begins his poem by starting off directly after the events of Satan's rebellion, and the angels have been cast out into Hell. After devising a plan to “get back” at Heaven, Satan leaves to journey to the edge of the Universe to his final destination: the newly crafted Earth. Satan enters the Garden of Eden but is cast out by angels guarding Adam and Eve, so in the night Satan enters into the body of a sleeping serpent. He tempts Eve, who disobeys God, eating of the fruit, and in turn, Adam also eats, fearing that she would die and he would be left alone. Adam and Eve are overcome by lust and engage in intercourse. Afterwards they are repentant, and Michael the archangel proceeds to show Adam the future: Noah and the Flood, Moses, finally revealing God’s plan of salvation through the Son of God. Adam and Eve are expelled from the Garden, but not without knowledge of God’s plan of saving all of mankind. Satan has fulfilled his original purpose, and returns to his former state. From early in the Christian tradition, Genesis 3:15 -  “… I will put enmity between you [Satan] and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel” - most believed that the “he” who is referenced is Jesus, and the serpent was Satan (identified with the serpent in the Apocalypse of John 12). Milton may have used this as a partial influence to the vision shown to Adam.

Blake's portrayal of Satan and the Fall of Man certainly pays tribute to Milton's "Paradise Lost," but in some aspects is radically different. Blake wrote a poem, "Milton", which is a re-imagining of Milton’s work. For example, the Fall of Lucifer and the Fall of Man are portrayed in a different way. Essentially, Blake changes most of these events to fit his poetic narrative. Another of Blake’s works, “The Marriage of Heaven and Hell,” is a poem in which he postulates that the material world and physical desires are part of the divine order, thus, the marriage of heaven and hell. In Blake's The Voice of The Devil (Plate 4), Satan says, "All Bibles or sacred codes, have been the causes of the following Errors. 1. That Man has two real existing principles Vis: a Body & a Soul. 2. That Energy, call’d Evil, is alone from the Body, & that Reason, call’d Good, is alone from the Soul. 3. That God will torment Man in Eternity for following his Energies. But the following Contraries to these are True. 1. Man has no Body distinct from his Soul; for that call'd Body is a portion of Soul discern'd by the five Senses, the chief inlets of Soul in this age. 2. Energy is the only life and is from the Body and Reason is the bound or outward circumference of Energy. 3. Energy is Eternal Delight."

Blake notes in Plate 6 of the "Marriage of Heaven and Hell", "The reason Milton wrote in fetters when he wrote of Angels & God, and at liberty when of Devils Hell, is because he was a true Poet and of the Devils party without knowing it." Blake's perceptive criticism of Paradise Lost clearly illustrates his continuing passion which resulted in his poem, "Milton", one of the most difficult poems of the time, as well as several illustrations of certain occurrences in Paradise Lost. Milton arguably influenced and inspired Blake more than any other author. It is because of this that, though Blake was a prolific writer and inspired poet, he did not derive his material regarding the Fall of Satan from the Genesis narrative directly, but from Milton, who had already made changes to the account.

Blake, in the First Book of Urzien and The Book of Los, describes how the "eternal prophet" Los (who represents creativity) binds Urzien. Urzien is the deity of law and reason. In these works we also find Los' female companion (Enitharmon) and the birth of her children. Unlike Genesis and Paradise Lost, Blake identifies Satan (Lucifer) as Enitharmon's last child. Pre-fall, Satan is called the "Prince of the Starry Wheels." At first, Blake's Satan lacks the pride that caused him to fall, yet he does refuse to "form," instead trying to remain a part of the infinite rather than be a part of the material realm. The Book of Los describes Los' fall, originally having been in a divine state and was identified as Urthona. Milton makes reference to this, but does not expound. Satan's refusal is in vain, as he was created as a material being. Satan is under the impression that there is nothing beyond the material world and the physical senses. Paul Brown conveys, "Los refuses to allow Satan to reply, and denies him eternal life because his 'Work is Eternal Death.' This separation of Satan from the infinite recalls the way Urizen became isolated from eternity in The First Book of Urizen, and Blake draws a closer association between the two figures later in Milton” (Brown).

Los' son, Palamabron, "returnd with labour wearied every evening," and Satan, feeling pity for him, sought to perform his work for him. Los granted Satan one day to take up this work, but Palamabron does not trust him. Satan conveys a false version of events to Los, blaming Palamabron for the issues throughout the day. Los accepts the blame, and Satan kills Thulloh, one of Enitharmon’s children. An assembly is called, and it is determined that Satan is to be judged. Lethua, a female, declares to the assembly that it was her jealousy of Elynittria (Palamabron's lover) that led to her entering Satan's mind and deluding it. Judgment falls upon Rintrah, who inspired Satan’s rage and is now merged with Satan. Satan proclaims himself to be God, creates the seven deadly sins, and begins his goal to “pervert the Divine voice in its entrance to the earth.” Thus falls Satan. Blake presents his view that religion has misinterpreted the voice of God, and that it is actually Satan.

Milton and Blake have many similarities within their views of Satan and the Fall. Both poets cast Satan as the central figure. Blake and Milton refer to God (in Blake’s case, Los) and the Son of God (in Blake’s case, Palamabron). It is evident from a clear reading from each of the texts that Milton drew heavily from sources such as Genesis 3, Isaiah 14 and Ezekiel 28, while Blake certainly drew from these sources – but more so from Milton. There are also several differences between Milton and Blake's interpretation. Milton, as aforementioned, drew heavily from the Scriptural corpus, whereas Blake - not as much. In fact, of note, Blake’s version of the Fall of Lucifer contains no Garden of Eden, no Adam and Eve, nor the tree of knowledge of Good and Evil. It excluded several major biblical doctrines that involved both the Fall of Satan and the Fall of Man. Milton did not illustrate Satan as having been influenced by a woman nor did he seek to take on the work of the Son of God.

In comparison between Milton, Blake, and the Bible, there are several points to be made. One such similarity is Milton’s usage of the Fall of Lucifer, Satan entering Eden and tempting Eve who in turn tempted Adam, which led to the Fall of Man. Blake includes a god and the son of god, but not necessarily Jesus. Both Milton and Blake place Satan as one of the head creations, with Satan seeking higher power than he has. This desire ultimately leads to his downfall. However, there are various differences between the Biblical texts and the views of Blake and Milton. For example, Milton includes angels in the Garden of Eden. Raphael warns Adam and Eve of Satan, yet in Genesis, there is no such warning. The only canonical book that Raphael appears in is Tobit. Also, in Paradise Lost, Adam and Eve after succumbing to sin are overcome by lust and engage in sexual intercourse, the event of which is not found in Genesis.  Further, as aforementioned, Milton shows Adam an overview of the future, part of this involving the Flood and the redemption of Man via the death and resurrection of the Son of God. In the Genesis narrative, Michael did not show Adam the future.

Blake differs highly from the biblical texts. As noted, Blake excludes the Fall of Man, particularly Adam and Eve. Without the inclusion of the Fall of Man, Blake avoids the corruption and sin of mankind altogether. He also portrays Satan as having fallen not due to pride, but due to pity. In Blake’s version, Satan pities Palamabron, which ultimately leads to his downfall. Both Blake and Milton portray Satan in such a way that while in Heaven, he does not realize his deceptiveness. This is contrary to the biblical texts, as Isaiah 14 and Ezekiel 28 clearly indicate that Satan was well-aware of his deceptive nature. On another note, Philip Pullman, author of the His Dark Materials trilogy, also derived much of his material from Milton's Paradise Lost. In his trilogy, the girl Lystra represents Eve, Will represents Adam, and Mary Malone represents the serpent. According to Jane Craske, in her work In Conversation with… Philip Pullman, “Many reviewers have noted that one of the things Pullman does is rewrite Milton’s Paradise Lost. In doing that, he [re-imagines]… the early chapters of Genesis, particularly the story of ‘The Fall’” (69).

Christians of various denominations have been up in arms about Pullman's trilogy since its inception, but regardless, it continues to have a large impact upon society, much like Milton and Blake's interpretation of "The Fall." Milton derived his interpretation from the Bible, and both Blake and Pullman derived their material from Milton. Notably, the title of Pullman’s trilogy, His Dark Materials, is actually a phrase found in Paradise Lost, referring to God’s creation. Needless to say, there are a myriad of interpretations of the Genesis narrative. In summation, we have determined that there are a number of similarities - as well as differences - between the interpretations of Blake and Milton found in their poetic works. Regardless of how radically different interpretations may deviate from the original, the works of both Milton and Blake will continue to fascinate and entertain for generations to come.

Care for Creation: Aldo Leopold and the Land Ethic

The film Green Fire: Aldo Leopold and a Land Ethic for our Time helpfully lays out the life and times of Aldo Leopold, a forester, scientist, teacher and observer who is responsible for the notion of the “land ethic.” Born in 1887 in Burlington, Iowa, his parents encouraged him to use his youthful imagination, so Leopold borrowed his mother’s binoculars to watch the birds, and his father Carl was a proto-conservationist. He taught Leopold that what you do in the outdoors reflect your personal ethics. This ethic grew into what we now call the “land ethic.” As the conservation movement grew to maturity, he came of age, and got involved - but at that point in history, Forestry was the only related field you could enter into. At the very start of his career, he shot a wolf, and he saw a “fierce, green fire” in its eyes. He came out of the experience not fully understanding this moment for another 35 years. The passing of the wolf later came to symbolize the deep history of the mountain and the fullness of its community of life. The encounter with the wolf was an early turning point and he followed this until it led him to his land ethic.

Leopold began to see the connection between his job and the health of the land. This shift in perspective would make all the difference, as he realized that conservation is also about our own communities and cultures. He developed ideas of ecological restoration - helping to rebuild forests, prairies and such that were destroyed when the Europeans came. Leopold and colleagues worked to heal the land in Coon Valley,Wisconsin. It was here that the conservation movement began. Farmers joined, and together, they created the first watershed project in the nation. Leopold started on the public land but came to realize the importance of private land. In fact, most of the productive land is on private lands. Out of this came the idea that to protect the environment, we would have to do it with the private land owner in order to conserve the public interest. Land to Leopold was more than just soil - it included water, wildlife and humans. It was a community of relational systems.

What does one make of this documentary film? As Leopold once said, we abuse land because we regard it as a commodity to us - but we need to see it as a community. He sought to understand the interrelationships of the natural system. More to the point, you cannot solve any conservation problem if you do not address human relationships and the relationship of people to the land. The science of ecology helped him to bring us back to the notion of community and why community is important. But in order for the community to be concerned for the environment, it must begin with the individual. Thus the film convictingly asks: does one need a lot of material goods to be happy? In other words, is a higher standard of living worth the environmental cost? Further, it asks me, what can I do in my own life to be more eco-friendly and environmentally conscious?

Leopol's seminal work (1949)

The Franciscan ethic would say that we can find absolute happiness with the least amount of things. St. Francis realized this, and what he lacked in possessions he made up for in love. Matthew’s gospel says, “blessed are the poor in spirit,” and Luke’s says, “blessed are the poor.” Francis would fit both of these beatitudes. The care for creation espoused in the Catholic Social Teaching on the environment calls us to protect creation and tend to it, but one way of doing this is living simply and mindfully. In living simply, one can grow into a greater appreciation of the environment around us and be more attentive to the forests, the soil, the wetlands, the rivers, the creatures, and the many other pieces that make up the mosaic of creation. Now, most people live on less than $2 a day. Some of these individuals voluntarily live like this in order to be in solidarity with others, while yet others live in involuntary poverty.

One must also think on how living simply and caring for creation can be done. What are some good real-life examples of how to get involved in this? It begins with awareness, so that the more we become aware of the world around us, its intricacies and complexities, we can also come to have a better understanding of how we fit in and our responsibility to the environment. One step that I intend on taking is to read A Sand County Almanac, Leopold’s seminal work that has essentially become the Bible of the conservationist movement. As many individuals testified in the documentary film, this book helped them to think in new ways and live in new ways. One of the major ways in which we can become more eco-friendly is to recycle. You may recycle batteries in a battery bin, recycle old school papers that otherwise would be thrown into the garbage, recycle plastic bags and paper bags, and by taking steps such as this, we can slowly but steadily help to decrease the amount of pollution and landfill.

Another way we can help is by composting the food we would normally throw in the trash. We often speak of how Americans eat a lot of food, but we rarely talk about how much food we don’t eat. In the United States, we throw out about 40% of our food every year, and the amount of global food waste every year is more than enough to feed the nearly 1 billion hungry people in the world.1 This food usually ends up in landfills, which turns into methane gas. As such, composting food would take up less space in the landfills, and can often be food as fertilizer, because you are giving back to the earth. Yet another point about trash - if I started keeping a weekly log of every item of food I throw into the garbage, I can begin to notice the patterns, and by picking up on these patterns can begin to not only adjust my shopping habits, but use this information to figure out better ways to reuse or cut down on these products.

A few other things some may begin implementing in their lives is recycling old cell phones - which usually gone into landfills. Unfortunately, this introduces toxins into our atmosphere, which will contribute to global warming. However, there exist a good number of programs that allow you to recycle your cell phones, and some of these programs actually help out good causes simply by your donation.2 Two final ways that you could contribute is by recycling unwanted wire hangers and also not using the coffee stirrer. Since many wire hangers are made of steel, recycling programs do not generally accept them. As such, many dry cleaners would be worth looking into - accept these to reuse or recycle on their own.3 As for coffee stirrers, every year Americans “throw away 138 billion straws and stirrers. But skipping the stirrer doesn't mean drinking your coffee black. Simply put your sugar and cream in first, and then pour in the coffee, and it should be well mixed.”4

By being mindful and aware of how we influence the environment and how the environment influences us, we can continue to develop a land ethic. This land ethic can create a mentality of care-taking, of preservation and conservation. This mindfulness - which also may remind us of Buddhist practices of mindfulness and their concern for all beings - is what we need. This increasingly globalized world also continues to become, unfortunately, an increasingly apathetic and individualistic world. In order to break out of this, we need to find ways to contribute to the care of creation, such as those suggested: recycling various items, composting, and so forth. Leopold’s life work was the land ethic. Today, as the film points out, more than one million organizations are working on some aspect of conservation and restoration of the environment. The film concludes by saying that this is “a veritable green fire - Aldo Leopold’s living legacy. He said that the oldest task in human history is to live on a piece of land that is unspoiled. A land ethic is not meant to be doctrine, but a guiding light to find the way forward.” I pray that I can also find the green fire, and join in the grand community of life around me.

Endnotes

[1] http://greatist.com/happiness/ways-help-environment 40 Unexpected Ways You Can Help the Environment Right Now

[2] http://www.50waystohelp.com/

[3] Ibid.

[4] Ibid.

Gollum/Sméagol: Psychology of a Corrupted Stoor Hobbit

The creature Gollum is featured in several films across two trilogies based on Professor J.R.R. Tolkien’s famous The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings series of books, as well is in several of his Unfinished Tales (such as "The Hunt for Gollum"). The character Gollum is famous for his obsession with “The One Ring” created by the Dark Lord Sauron several thousand years prior to Gollum’s birth, and his second personality developed as a result. In order to truly understand Gollum as a character and determine what psychological disorders he can be diagnosed with, it is necessary to provide a bit of in-universe background and story from the Middle Earth saga. According to the prologue from the first Lord of the Rings film, after several rings of power were given to various races to govern Middle Earth, “another ring was made… the Dark Lord Sauron forged in secret a master ring to control all others. And into this ring, he poured his cruelty, his malice, and his will to dominate all life. One ring to rule them all.” The prologue portrays the defeat of Sauron by the cutting of the ring from his finger, destroying his body but not his spirit. This ring passes into the hands of men – a king, who is corrupted by the One Ring, and is ambushed by servants of Sauron. While trying to escape, he goes into a river where he is shot by an arrow. The ring then settles on the bottom of the river for several centuries, until (as the film prologue relays) “when chance came, it ensnared a new bearer… The ring passed to the creature Gollum, who took it deep into the tunnels of the Misty Mountains. And there, it consumed him… The ring brought to Gollum unnatural long life. For five hundred years it poisoned his mind. And in the gloom of Gollum’s cave, it waited.”

The prologue to the first Lord of the Rings film – which enables the reader to better understand Gollum and his disorders – continues to convey that Sauron’s presence came back into the world and grew in power, and the ring sensed this and “abandoned Gollum. But something happened then the ring did not intend. It was picked up by the most unlikely creature imaginable. A hobbit – Bilbo Baggins of the Shire.” In-story, Bilbo finds this One Ring by chance during the events of The Hobbit, and once Gollum realizes that it has been taken, vows to always hate “Bagginses.” Sixty years later, the creature leaves his mountain cave and ventures into the world where he is captured by Sauron and tortured for information on the ring. After being released, he hunts down Frodo Baggins (Bilbo’s nephew) and Samwise Gamgee, Frodo’s companion. In the The Two Towers, Gollum finally finds Frodo and Sam and is captured and made part of their company, and forced to show them the way to Sauron’s kingdom where they intend to destroy the ring. They go through many obstacles and trials but eventually by The Return of the King, all three characters end up at their destination, where Gollum accidentally falls off the ledge of a volcano with ring in hand – his desire to have it back finally fulfilled, he then dies as he and the ring fall into the lava. Interestingly, even while Gollum dies quickly, he keeps his eyes on the ring in his hand demonstrating his disconnect from reality and complete obsession with the ring – possibly suggesting OCD.

Fictional history-wise, Gollum (named due to the horrid sound made by his throat after many years of corruption) was born as the Stoor Hobbit named Sméagol. He was raised near rivers and thus learned to swim and fish at a young age – useful for his later years of solitude in the caves. It has long been thought that Sméagol (as written by Tolkien) has a psychological disorder. In 2004, BMJ did a psychological study on Gollum in which 30 randomly selected medical students were asked if they thought he had a mental disorder and if so, what he had. According to the researchers, “Sméagol… is a single, 587 year old, hobbit-like male of no fixed abode. He has presented… antisocial behaviour, increasing aggression, and preoccupation with the ‘one ring.’” Gollum as portrayed in the books and films (specifically The Two Towers) is shown to have two distinct personalities created by his isolation in the caves and his corruption by the ring. The researchers note that Gollum “was spiteful to others and had only one friend, Deagol, whom he later murdered after stealing the ring from him [as Deagol found the ring first]. For Sméagol this was an important life event; the ring enabled him to [become invisible] and listen secretly to conversations. His family and community, appalled by his actions and believing he was a thief and murderer, banished him to a solitary life in the misty mountains.”

Researchers continue, “He lived for many years with the ring as his only friend and began to detest the outside world—loathing the sun, moon, and wind… [eating] only live animals or raw fish. Eventually Sméagol created Gollum, the outsider, who had a more violent personality. Since [the ring was taken by Bilbo] Gollum has had obsessional thoughts and has dedicated his life to reacquiring it, sometimes with violence.” Indeed, although Gollum does not show signs of having a depressive disorder he does show anxiety and anger toward himself as well as his obsession with having reacquiring the One Ring. This suggests that Gollum suffers from a disconnect with reality, particularly seen through his death. As aforementioned, as he dies in the volcano he shows no concern for his physical well being, but concern only for his obsession – the ring. The researchers at BMJ noted that “Objectively, he is emotionally labile and becomes jittery and nervous when discussing the ring. His speech is abnormal and he repeats phrases and noises—for example, ‘Yes, yes, yes’ and ‘Gollum, Gollum,’” and usually says things such as “My precious, my love.”

Also, it is worth noting that Gollum speaks in neologisms (a word coined by an often “psychotic” individual), using words such as “triksy,” “pocketses,” “hobbitses,” and so forth. He also speaks in the plural more often than not – “We wants it, it’s ours” yet will then say phrases such as “it came to me, my own” in the singular. This suggests that more than one personality exists in this individual. Research shows that Gollum “is preoccupied with, and deeply desires, the ring. He has obsessive thoughts but no compulsions, though he would do anything for the ring. He is hostile towards Frodo, the current owner of the ring. He has paranoid ideation about Sauron (‘the eye is always watching’) and about Samwise Gamgee (‘the fat hobbit... he knows’). Gollum has difficulty controlling his thoughts and actions, exacerbated by prolonged contact with the ring.” Other characters – Isildur, Bilbo, Gandalf and Frodo all have similar symptoms when the ring is near or touched, so the difficulty in controlling thoughts and actions can be attributed to the One Ring. Concerning his personality, research notes that “There are features of dissociation. Sméagol has separated his personality and is now Gollum as well. He shows no evidence of any cognitive impairment. He has poor insight into his condition but he is aware of the Gollum-Sméagol dissociation.”

With all of this in mind, although there is a large amount of background information on Gollum cut for the sake of relevancy and space, it is pertinent to determine his diagnosis. The BMJ continues, “Several [different] diagnoses need to be considered, and we should exclude organic causes for his symptoms [due to the magic nature of the ring]… Gollum's diet is extremely limited, consisting only of raw fish. Vitamin B-12 deficiency may cause irritability, delusions, and paranoia. His reduced appetite and loss of hair and weight may be associated with iron deficiency anemia.” His time in the caves is also why his eyes are large and bulbous, since the five centuries of little light strained his eyesight, and his “dislike of sunlight may be due to the photosensitivity of porphyria. Attacks may be induced by starvation and accompanied by paranoid psychosis.” Now, in the study that was done, of the 30 medical students who were interviewed, “Schizophrenia was the most common diagnosis (25 students), followed by multiple personality disorder (three). On initial consideration schizophrenia seems a reasonable diagnosis. However, in the context of the culture at the time it is unlikely. Delusions are false, unshakable beliefs, not in keeping with the patient's culture. In Middle Earth, the power of the ring is a reality. The passivity phenomena Gollum experiences are caused by the ring, and these symptoms occur in all ring bearers. Gollum does not fulfil the ICD-10 criteria for the diagnosis of schizophrenia.”

However, it has often been noted that the two distinct personalities that come out – “Gollum and Sméagol, raises the possibility of multiple personality disorder. In this diagnosis one personality is suppressed by the other and the two personalities are always unaware of each other's existence. In this case, Gollum and Sméagol occur together, have conversations simultaneously, and are aware of each other's existence” (BMJ). It is not always the case with those who have this disorder that the personalities are unaware of each other – they may be informed by another individual, and in Gollum’s case this is possible though unlikely. His frequent usage of “we” and “our,” however, lends further credence to the notion that he has multiple personality disorder. The students who were surveyed said that “He fulfills seven of the nine criteria for schizoid personality disorder (ICD F60.1), and, if we must label Gollum's problems, we believe that this is the most likely diagnosis.” However, though these individuals hold this to be true, it is also likely the case that Gollum suffers from some form of multiple personality disorder, as the symptoms will show.

While he can have conversations with himself as evidenced by three of the four films he is in, there are occasions where his stress level becomes too much and the Gollum personality takes over. Also, there is a scene in The Two Towers when Sam and Frodo are sleeping and Gollum is talking to Sméagol. By the end of this conversation, Sméagol successfully (for part of the movie) suppresses or fights off the Gollum personality. The host identity (Sméagol) is suppressed for the majority of the 500 years that he was in the cave while the alter identity (Gollum) took over, but it was briefly shown to come out in his interaction with Bilbo, though he was not named nor recognized himself as a distinct individual in that conversation. It was not until Frodo called Gollum by his birth name that he remembered who he was, and the Sméagol personality become more self-aware and tried to take control.

If we utilize the definition of multiple personality disorder (known now as dissociative identity disorder or DID) from the Abnormal Psychology textbook, “According to DSM-IV-TR, dissociative identity disorder… is a dramatic dissociative disorder in which a patient manifests two or more distinct identities that alternate in some way in taking control of behavior. There is also an inability to recall important personal information that cannot be explained by ordinary forgetting.” Gollum fulfills the DSM-IV criteria. Also, “Additional symptoms of DID include depression, self-mutilation, frequent suicidal ideation and attempts, erratic behavior, headaches, hallucinations, posttraumatic stress symptoms, and other amnesic and fugue symptoms.” Although he does not fulfill all of the additional symptoms, the primary symptoms necessary to be diagnosed with DID are present.

Finally, it is worth noting that although Gollum is a fictional character created by Professor Tolkien, he has indeed become a cultural icon and is also a wonderful test study for psychology students. Although an exact diagnosis may be impossible due to the usage of magic in the tale, it is very likely that Gollum/Sméagol has a combination of Schizophrenia, Dissociative Identity Disorder and possibly a small degree of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. This is supported by the various things seen in his personality, his history, his life and death, and the manner in which his life was prolonged as well as the split personalities, disconnect from reality and obsession with the One Ring. Ironically, the thing he desired most was finally his, and it was by his hand that both he and it came to an end.

References

Associated Newspapers Ltd. Gollum diagnosed with mental illness. (2004, Dec. 17). Mail Online.

Butcher, J., Mineka, S., & Hooley, J. (2013). Abnormal psychology. (15 ed., pp. 285-287). Boston: Pearson Education.

Cunningham, C., Jackson, P., Walsh, F. (Producers) & Jackson, P. (Director). (2013). The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey [DVD]. United States: New Line Home Entertainment.

Gollum. (2013, March 11). Retrieved from http://tolkiengateway.net/wiki/Gollum.

Jackson, P., Walsh, F. (Producers) & Jackson, P. (Director). (2002). The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring [DVD]. United States: New Line Home Entertainment.

Jackson, P., Walsh, F. (Producers) & Jackson, P. (Director). (2003). The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers [DVD]. United States: New Line Home Entertainment.

Jackson, P., Walsh, F. (Producers) & Jackson, P. (Director). (2004). The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King [DVD]. United States: New Line Home Entertainment.

Nadia Bashir. BMJ. A precious case from middle earth. 2004 December 18; 329(7480): 1435–1436. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC535969/