The Hobbit J.R.R. Tolkien

Norse mythology

Tolkien's works show many influences from Norse mythology, reflecting his lifelong passion for those stories and his academic interest in Germanic philology.[52] The Hobbit is no exception to this; the work shows influences from northern European literature, myths and languages,[46] especially from the Poetic Edda and the Prose Edda. Examples include the names of the dwarves,[53] Fili, Kili, Oin, Gloin, Bifur, Bofur, Bombur, Dori, Nori, Dwalin, Balin, Dain, Nain, and Thorin Oakenshield, along with Gandalf which was a dwarf-name in the Norse.[a][55] But while their names are Norse, the characters of the dwarves are based on fairy tales such as Snow White and Snow-White and Rose-Red as collected by the Brothers Grimm, while the latter tale may have influenced the character of Beorn.[56]

Tolkien's use of descriptive names such as Misty Mountains and Bag End echoes the names used in Old Norse sagas.[57] The names of the dwarf-friendly ravens, such as Roäc, are derived from the Old Norse words for "raven" and "rook",[58] but their peaceful characters are unlike the typical carrion birds from Old Norse and Old English literature.[59] Tolkien is not simply skimming historical sources for effect: the juxtaposition of old and new styles of expression is seen by the Tolkien scholar Tom Shippey as one of the major themes explored in The Hobbit.[60] Maps figure in both saga literature and The Hobbit.[57]

Old English literature

Themes from Old English literature, especially from Beowulf, shape the ancient world which Bilbo stepped into. Tolkien, a scholar of Beowulf, counted the epic among his "most valued sources" for The Hobbit.[61] Tolkien was one of the first critics to treat Beowulf as a literary work with value beyond the merely historical, with his 1936 lecture Beowulf: the Monsters and the Critics. Tolkien borrowed several elements from Beowulf, including a monstrous, intelligent dragon.[62] Certain descriptions in The Hobbit seem to have been lifted straight out of Beowulf with some minor rewording, such as when the dragon stretches its neck out to sniff for intruders.[63] Likewise, Tolkien's descriptions of the lair as accessed through a secret passage mirror those in Beowulf. Other specific plot elements and features in The Hobbit that show similarities to Beowulf include the title of thief, as Bilbo is called by Gollum and later by Smaug, and Smaug's personality, which leads to the destruction of Lake-town.[64] Tolkien refines parts of Beowulf's plot that he appears to have found less than satisfactorily described, such as details about the cup-thief and the dragon's intellect and personality.[65]

Named swords of renown, adorned with runes, similarly have Old English connections. In using his elf-sword, Bilbo finally takes his first independent heroic action. By his naming the sword "Sting" we see Bilbo's acceptance of the kinds of cultural and linguistic practices found in Beowulf, signifying his entrance into the ancient world in which he found himself.[66] This progression culminates in Bilbo stealing a cup from the dragon's hoard, rousing him to wrath—an incident directly mirroring Beowulf and an action entirely determined by traditional narrative patterns. As Tolkien wrote, "The episode of the theft arose naturally (and almost inevitably) from the circumstances. It is difficult to think of any other way of conducting the story at this point. I fancy the author of Beowulf would say much the same."[61] The name of the wizard Radagast is taken from the name of the Slavic deity Radogost.[67]

Medieval and mythological sources

The representation of the dwarves in The Hobbit was influenced by his own selective reading of medieval texts regarding the Jewish people and their history.[69] The dwarves' characteristics of being dispossessed of their ancient homeland at the Lonely Mountain, and living among other groups whilst retaining their own culture are all derived from the medieval image of Jews,[69][70] whilst their warlike nature stems from accounts in the Hebrew Bible.[69] The Dwarvish calendar invented for The Hobbit reflects the Jewish calendar which begins in late autumn.[69] And although Tolkien denied that he used allegory, the dwarves taking Bilbo out of his complacent existence has been seen as an eloquent metaphor for the "impoverishment of Western society without Jews."[70]

The scholar of literature James L. Hodge describes the story as picaresque, a genre of fiction in which a hero relies on his wits to survive a series of risky episodes. Hodge further likens Bilbo's admittedly unheroic business of burglary to the trickster role of some pagan gods and mythical figures: Hermes steals cattle from Apollo, Prometheus and Coyote steal fire, Odin steals the mead of poetry, and so on. Hodge quotes the psychiatrist Carl Jung as saying that the figure of the trickster occurs in every age, whether in sacred rites or picaresque stories.[68]

19th century fiction

Tolkien wished to imitate the prose and poetry romances of the 19th-century Arts and Crafts polymath William Morris[72] in style and approach. The Desolation of Smaug, portraying dragons as detrimental to landscape, is a motif explicitly borrowed from Morris.[73] The Tolkien scholar Marjorie Burns writes that Bilbo's character and adventures match many details of Morris's expedition in Iceland. She comments, for instance, that the humorous drawings of Morris riding through the wilds of Iceland by his friend the artist Edward Burne-Jones can serve well as models for Bilbo on his adventures.[71]

Tolkien wrote of being impressed as a boy by Samuel Rutherford Crockett's historical novel The Black Douglas and of basing the Necromancer—Sauron—on its villain, Gilles de Retz.[74] Incidents in both The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings are similar in narrative and style to the novel,[75] and its overall style and imagery have been suggested as having had an influence on Tolkien.[76]

The Tolkien scholar Mark T. Hooker has catalogued a lengthy series of parallels between The Hobbit and Jules Verne's 1864 Journey to the Center of the Earth. These include, among other things, a hidden runic message and a celestial alignment that direct the adventurers to the goals of their quests.[77]

Tolkien's portrayal of goblins in The Hobbit was particularly influenced by George MacDonald's The Princess and the Goblin.[78] However, MacDonald's influence on Tolkien was more profound than the shaping of individual characters and episodes; his works helped Tolkien form his whole thinking on the role of fantasy within his Christian faith.[79]