Abstract
The sea journey into the West is a multi-faceted symbol-system in Tolkien’s works. It is connected with healing, loss, and the numinous. A character may sail to find peace, to lay down burdens, or to challenge the gods or to beg their help. I will be considering both Tolkien’s literary inspirations in medieval and Arthurian literature, and the personal resonances arising from the significant sea voyages (to England as a young child, and to and from France during the Great War) which twice upended his life.
Recommended Citation
Croft, Janet Brennan
(2025)
"“What Ship Will Bear Me Ever Back”: Woundedness and the Western Sea,"
Journal of Tolkien Research: Vol. 21:
Iss.
1, Article 11.
Available at:
https://scholar.valpo.edu/journaloftolkienresearch/vol21/iss1/11
Comments
Closing Keynote at the Tolkien Society’s Westmoot, Kansas City MO, USA, May 9-11, 2025.