The Catholic Imaginations of Wilde and Tolkien: Presentation at the I19 Conference, 2023
This is a recording of a presentation I gave at the “Incredible Nineteenth Century” literary conference (the “I19”) hosted by Middle Tennessee State University. My paper explores the writings of J. R. R. Tolkien and Oscar Wilde, revealing how the Catholic worldview impacted the literary output and political views of both British authors. Terminology derived from The Catholic Imagination by sociologist Andrew Greeley frames this paper. In his book, Greeley presents multiple survey findings that indicate Catholics possess a unique worldview: they see metaphors for the transcendent in matter; they value community within a well-ordered hierarchy; and they grasp the meaning of suffering. The writings of Tolkien and Wilde abound with evidence for such a worldview. On the surface, Tolkien and Wilde differed in their involvement with the Catholic Church, but a closer study of their work reveals the extent to which the Catholic worldview led them to similar conclusions about the importance of art and Beauty. To date, only two scholarly articles compare Wilde and Tolkien, both of which were published within the last two years. Thus, while the critical conversation surrounding the similarities between both authors is small, scholars are beginning to notice how the writings of these literary giants shed light on one another, each writer voicing what the other strove to express.
This is a recording of a presentation I gave at the “Incredible Nineteenth Century” literary conference (the “I19”) hosted by Middle Tennessee State University. My paper explores the writings of J. R. R. Tolkien and Oscar Wilde, revealing how the Catholic worldview impacted the literary output and political views of both British authors. Terminology derived from The Catholic Imagination by sociologist Andrew Greeley frames this paper. In his book, Greeley presents multiple survey findings that indicate Catholics possess a unique worldview: they see metaphors for the transcendent in matter; they value community within a well-ordered hierarchy; and they grasp the meaning of suffering. The writings of Tolkien and Wilde abound with evidence for such a worldview. On the surface, Tolkien and Wilde differed in their involvement with the Catholic Church, but a closer study of their work reveals the extent to which the Catholic worldview led them to similar conclusions about the importance of art and Beauty. To date, only two scholarly articles compare Wilde and Tolkien, both of which were published within the last two years. Thus, while the critical conversation surrounding the similarities between both authors is small, scholars are beginning to notice how the writings of these literary giants shed light on one another, each writer voicing what the other strove to express.