Further to Parts I and II of my series, I will continue my ongoing quest to explore and mirror Tolkien's experiences. I do believe there is some debate over what the title of the second volume in the Lord of the Rings refers to. After seeing Peter Jackson's movie adaptation, I assumed it referred to Othanc at Isengard, and Barad-dur within Mordor. But the second tower could well be Minas Morgul, where Frodo is captured.
For me, it is easy to see Tolkien's inspiration; despite there being little proof:
For me, it is easy to see Tolkien's inspiration; despite there being little proof:
Every time Tolkien went to his church of the Birmingham Oratory, he would have seen two great Victorian towers in the near distance. These were Tolkien's own 'two towers', which would have certainly dominated the skyline of 19th Century Birmingham.
The first of these, Perrott's Folly, stands nearly 100 feet tall. It was built is 1758 by John Perrott who owned the large estate within which it was enclosed. This was actually prime hunting ground, and the tower was perhaps used for spotting the animals. Thus, it helped entertain guests and provide Perrott with high esteem. Some suppose that he built it to see his wife's grave, 10 miles away. Of course, nowadays it would not be possible to see much more than buildings. Although I suspect it provides one with a great view of the Birmingham Oratory which is very nearby.During 1884-1979 it was used as a weather recording station, but has now fallen into a state of disrepair, made worse by the great Dudley earthquake of 2002 (how ironic). If anyone's interested in preserving a wonderful Tolkienesque landmark, the Perrot's Folly Company have exciting restoration plans, and with some luck (and hard-core money) I will be up there at the top soon! Unfortunately all we seem to be having at the moment is scary Pagan festivities... Tolkien would be horrified!
Beyond the first tower, to the east of a reservoir, lies Edgbaston Waterworks. This was designed in 1870 by John Henry Chamberlain and William Martin. Notice the smaller section of the tower at the top, which rises above the parapet; similar apparently to Tolkien's original sketches of Minas Morgul.Unlike the folly, which has befallen its sister tower, these waterworks are still used and now owned by Severn Trent Water. The engine house, boiler house, and chimney are Grade II listed buildings, as is Perrott's Folly.
I actually have my own 'Two Towers' which coincide with my own story: The University's clock tower and the Queen Elizabeth Hospital's clock tower, the latter overshadowing the medical school. I hope to be able to expand on my own fantasy stories which are bound up with these two towers. Watch this space my friends... you will not be disappointed...
Thanks for these interesting posts.
ReplyDeleteIt is more likely to be Orthanc and Minas Morgul I think... in The Book Tolkien hardly emphasises the link between Isengard and Mordor, which is totally overplayed in the film. Saruman is trying to get power for himself not on behalf of Sauron as is portrayed in the film. Just one of about six million more subtle nuances of the book totally missing in the Hollywood version.
I sadly have not yet read all the books, but I am working on it! If you follow the link I have provided at the top ("some debate") there is an excellent article on this subject. I think you misunderstood me though: Orthanc is certainly one of the Two Towers, but there is debate over whether the second is Minas Morgul or Barad-dur. Either way, it portrays a link between Saruman and Sauron. Read the linked article, they put it better than I could.
ReplyDeleteThe books are well worth the effort.
ReplyDeleteAs for the Isengard-Mordor link, I'm not sure that is really what the "Two Towers" are about. The first half of the book (book III) revolves around Orthanc, the second (book IV) more or less Minas Morgul. I don't think Tolkien intended us to take from this that there was a "union of the two towers" (either Orthanc and Barad-dur, or Minas Morgul) as the film puts it. It is clear in the book that Saruman has been "out of contact" with Sauron and is acting on his own initiative when he invades Rohan, whereas the film suggests he is acting on Sauron's orders. I'm probably being pedantic, but it kind of matters if you're interested in what Tolkien was saying about the nature of power and evil.
Thank you for writing this. I'm very happy that I stumbled across your blog. I was actually searching for an image of the Ent statue that is supposed to be in Birmingham, and found a link to your blog on Google search engine. I haven't found the statue yet, nor do I know if it even exists :) I will be returning and look forward to reading more.
ReplyDeleteIt's worth noting that Tolkien wasn't keen on the division of his work into three volumes. He wrote it as six books, one work.
ReplyDeleteThe three (artificial) volumes were for convenience of length rather than anything else
His original suggestion was:
TLOR: 1 The Return of the Shadow
TLOR: 2 The Shadow Lengthens
TLOR: 3 The Return of the King, but he added:
"I am not wedded to any of the subtitles and wish they could be avoided."
He then suggested the first two volume titles we know and "3 The War of the Ring (or if you still prefer it, the Return of the King)"
Turning specifically to Volume 2, he wrote: "The Two Towers gets as near as possible to finding a title to cover the widely divergent books 3 & 4; and can be left ambiguous - it might refer to Isengard and Barad-dûr, or to Minas Tirith and B; or Isengard and Cirith Ungol."
(see Letters, 139, 140)
Later he writes (143) "I am not at all happy about the title 'The Two Towers'. It must, if there is any real reference in it to Vol 2 refer to Orthanc and the Tower of Cirith Ungol. But since there is so much made of the basic opposition of the Dark Tower and Minas Tirith, that seems very misleading."
Hope that helps! (and sorry it's a couple of years late - you've probably read all the letters by now!)