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Imitative Desire In Tolkien's Mythology: A Girardian Perspective, Hayden Head

Mythlore: A Journal of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature

Tests the theories of literary critic René Girard against selected stories from The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion and finds some interesting cases of applicability, particularly in the connected stories of Morgoth, Sauron, and Saruman, and in the various Ring-bearers, particularly Gollum. Contrasts Tom Bombadil’s lack of desire and envy.