What a tale we have been in
Emplotment and the Exemplar Characters in The Lord of the Rings and the Harry Potter Series
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 5800773 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Alison Milbank (Department of Theology and Religious Studies University of Nottingham, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2023 |
| Volume | 73 |
| Issue | 5 |
| Pages | 782-796 |
| Publication date | 2023-10-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Educational Theory (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0013-2004 • E-ISSN: 1741-5446 |
| Publisher | Wiley (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1111/edth.12601 |
| OpenAlex | W4389395607 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 2 |
| References cited | 1 |
Linda Zagzebski's theory of moral exemplarity emphasizes the importance of admiration in developing ethical behavior. This essay argues that admiration involves wonder and distance and is best evoked by mixed or flawed characters; it demonstrates this through discussion of the characters in J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings and J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter series. Using Paul Ricoeur's taxonomy of prefiguration, configuration, and refiguration in narrative work, it discerns a self-reflexivity in the protagonists of these fantasy novels, which is echoed by that of the readers, who are brought to realize their own emplotment in larger narratives. Features in Tolkien and Rowling that aid this exploratory reading include the length and depth of the novels, the decentering of the reader's own reality, and their open endings, which offer an invitational role to further interpretation. Virtue is viewed more teleologically than in Zagzebski, for moral realism is woven into the metaphysics of these novels, which allows mimesis of flawed characters to be ethically productive
Admiration · Wonder · Hermeneutics and Narrative Identity · Themes in Literature Analysis · Values and Moral Education
| Citations per year | 2 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2025 - 2025 (1) |
| Highly cited | No |