| In "On Fairy Stories" J.R.R. Tolkien writes that joy is the "mark of the true fairy-story." Tolkien believed that joy was the defining characteristic of the genre. This joy is not just apparent in the happy ending of the fairy tale, but also in the manner in which the plot and characters show theories of joy, and the way the text itself creates joy in the reader. This paper will explore Tolkien's creation of brightness, hope, and wonder, and how these instances express a theory of joy. First I will look at the different types of joy in Tolkien's work, then the more general theories that these types express, and finally the effect the joy in the story has on the reader. |
