My love for Tolkien and his writings have lead to me to read many books about both him and his wonderful works. Perhaps it is because I am a mother, but the more I read about Tolkien, the more I find myself drawn to and inspired by his mother, Mabel.
I believe she can serve as a beautiful source of encouragement for Catholic mothers, single mothers, and homeschooling mothers.
Mabel, the single mother.
Mabel and her husband, Arthur, were living in South Africa when J.R.R. Tolkien and his younger brother, Hilary, were born. Mabel never liked living in South African and, shortly after Tolkien's 3rd birthday, she returned to England with her two boys. Arthur had to stay in South Africa because of his job, but he intended to return to his family in England as soon as he could. Unfortunately, he was never able to because he contracted rheumatic fever. As his condition worsened, Mabel made plans to return to South Africa to care for him. That never happened either, because Arthur Tolkien died, thousands of miles away from his family. Mabel Tolkien was a widow and a single-mother to her two sons.
Mabel had no intention of living with her parents for the long-term, so despite their meager resources she managed to live independently in a small cottage with her children. Tolkien described his four years spent in this humble cottage as the most formative of his life.
Mabel, the homeschooling mother.
Mabel was unable to afford the tuition fees to send her boys to school, so she took their education into her own hands. Mabel took great pains to see that her sons received a proper education, and she did not disappoint. She had knowledge of Latin, French, and German. She could also paint, sketch, and play the piano. It is said that Tolkien's favorite subject was Latin. He was fascinated with languages, and Mabel took notice. She also ensured that her boys had plenty of good books to read to fuel their imagination.
Authors Philip and Carol Zaleski wrote this about Tolkien's education in their book, The Fellowship:
Mabel, the convert.
For some time, Mabel had been considering conversion to Catholicism. Eventually she left her high Anglican church and began attending a Catholic church called St. Anne's. In the spring of 1900, she received instruction and came into the Church at St. Anne's. Her sister, May, did so with her... however, May's husband, Walter, persuaded her to return to the Anglican church. Walter put pressure on Mabel to do the same, but she was unwavering. As a result, Walter took away the financial assistance he had been giving to Mabel - all on account of her conversion to the Catholic faith. In fact, after her conversion, Mabel incurred anger, opposition, and hostility from both sides of her family. Despite the fact that this caused her great emotional strain to the point of negatively impacting her physical health, Mabel remained true to what she believed. She professed the Catholic faith loyally and began to instruct her sons in Catholicism.
Eventually, Tolkien was accepted into a school, and he was able to attend thanks to an uncle who remained charitable to the family despite their conversion. In order for Tolkien to attend this school, Mabel would have to move her family into the city. The first house they moved into was marked for demolition, so they quickly had to move again. This time, Mabel chose a house that was on the same road as a new Catholic church. Although their stay in this house was also short-lived, the fact that Mabel chose a house close to a church showed where her priorities were. It was important for her and her boys to have close access to a Catholic church.
The family moved for a third time. This time, their house was in close proximity to the Birmingham Oratory, a Catholic religious community founded by John Henry Newman. Her new parish priest, Fr. Morgan, became her good friend.
Unfortunately, Mabel's health continued to decline. She had diabetes, and insulin had not been discovered yet. In 1904, at the age of 34 and after a hard life of suffering, Mabel died.
In her will, Mabel left guardianship of her boys to Fr. Morgan. This is another important decision that shows where Mabel's priorities were - rather than entrusting her boys to her anti-Catholic family, she wished them to be cared for by someone who would respect and nurture their Catholic faith. No doubt, her sons remaining Catholic was a high priority for her. Her decision proved to be a good one: Fr. Morgan cared for the boys with love and kindness. He arranged for them to live with an aunt near the Oratory, but the boys received little affection from this aunt and the orphaned boys considered the Oratory their real home. In the morning they would serve Mass at the side altar with Fr. Morgan and eat breakfast in the rectory before going off to school.
Tolkien described Fr. Morgan as: "a guardian who had been a father to me" and he described the Oratory house as a "good Catholic home." According to Tolkien's biographer, Charles A Coulombe, Tolkien experienced a living example of Catholic culture at the Oratory.
Mabel, the example.
Tolkien never forgot his mother's sacrifices for her faith. He even considered her a martyr for the faith.
Nine years after her death, Tolkien wrote:
Tolkien considered his mother to be a heroic witness of the faith. And thanks in large part to his mother, Tolkien remained a devout Catholic the rest of his life. Joseph Pearce said in his book, Tolkien: Man and Myth, A Literary Life:
I believe she can serve as a beautiful source of encouragement for Catholic mothers, single mothers, and homeschooling mothers.
Mabel and her husband, Arthur, were living in South Africa when J.R.R. Tolkien and his younger brother, Hilary, were born. Mabel never liked living in South African and, shortly after Tolkien's 3rd birthday, she returned to England with her two boys. Arthur had to stay in South Africa because of his job, but he intended to return to his family in England as soon as he could. Unfortunately, he was never able to because he contracted rheumatic fever. As his condition worsened, Mabel made plans to return to South Africa to care for him. That never happened either, because Arthur Tolkien died, thousands of miles away from his family. Mabel Tolkien was a widow and a single-mother to her two sons.
Mabel had no intention of living with her parents for the long-term, so despite their meager resources she managed to live independently in a small cottage with her children. Tolkien described his four years spent in this humble cottage as the most formative of his life.
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| The Young Governess Jean-Baptiste-Simeon Chardin - 1739 |
Mabel was unable to afford the tuition fees to send her boys to school, so she took their education into her own hands. Mabel took great pains to see that her sons received a proper education, and she did not disappoint. She had knowledge of Latin, French, and German. She could also paint, sketch, and play the piano. It is said that Tolkien's favorite subject was Latin. He was fascinated with languages, and Mabel took notice. She also ensured that her boys had plenty of good books to read to fuel their imagination.
Authors Philip and Carol Zaleski wrote this about Tolkien's education in their book, The Fellowship:
"Mabel gave Ronald more than a lovely world in which to grow up; she gave him an array of fascinating tools to explore and interpret it. We know little of her own education, but she clearly valued learning and vigorously set about transmitting what she knew to Ronald. She instructed him in Latin, French, German, and the rudiments of linguistics, awakening in him a lifelong thirst for languages, alphabets, and etymologies. She taught him to draw and to paint, arts in which he would develop his own unmistakable style, primitive and compelling, Rousseau with a dash of Roerich. She passed on to him her peculiar calligraphy; he would later master traditional forms and invent his own."
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| Painting by Jose Gallegos y Arnosa |
For some time, Mabel had been considering conversion to Catholicism. Eventually she left her high Anglican church and began attending a Catholic church called St. Anne's. In the spring of 1900, she received instruction and came into the Church at St. Anne's. Her sister, May, did so with her... however, May's husband, Walter, persuaded her to return to the Anglican church. Walter put pressure on Mabel to do the same, but she was unwavering. As a result, Walter took away the financial assistance he had been giving to Mabel - all on account of her conversion to the Catholic faith. In fact, after her conversion, Mabel incurred anger, opposition, and hostility from both sides of her family. Despite the fact that this caused her great emotional strain to the point of negatively impacting her physical health, Mabel remained true to what she believed. She professed the Catholic faith loyally and began to instruct her sons in Catholicism.
Eventually, Tolkien was accepted into a school, and he was able to attend thanks to an uncle who remained charitable to the family despite their conversion. In order for Tolkien to attend this school, Mabel would have to move her family into the city. The first house they moved into was marked for demolition, so they quickly had to move again. This time, Mabel chose a house that was on the same road as a new Catholic church. Although their stay in this house was also short-lived, the fact that Mabel chose a house close to a church showed where her priorities were. It was important for her and her boys to have close access to a Catholic church.
The family moved for a third time. This time, their house was in close proximity to the Birmingham Oratory, a Catholic religious community founded by John Henry Newman. Her new parish priest, Fr. Morgan, became her good friend.
Unfortunately, Mabel's health continued to decline. She had diabetes, and insulin had not been discovered yet. In 1904, at the age of 34 and after a hard life of suffering, Mabel died.
In her will, Mabel left guardianship of her boys to Fr. Morgan. This is another important decision that shows where Mabel's priorities were - rather than entrusting her boys to her anti-Catholic family, she wished them to be cared for by someone who would respect and nurture their Catholic faith. No doubt, her sons remaining Catholic was a high priority for her. Her decision proved to be a good one: Fr. Morgan cared for the boys with love and kindness. He arranged for them to live with an aunt near the Oratory, but the boys received little affection from this aunt and the orphaned boys considered the Oratory their real home. In the morning they would serve Mass at the side altar with Fr. Morgan and eat breakfast in the rectory before going off to school.
Tolkien described Fr. Morgan as: "a guardian who had been a father to me" and he described the Oratory house as a "good Catholic home." According to Tolkien's biographer, Charles A Coulombe, Tolkien experienced a living example of Catholic culture at the Oratory.
Tolkien never forgot his mother's sacrifices for her faith. He even considered her a martyr for the faith.
Nine years after her death, Tolkien wrote:
"My own dear mother was a martyr indeed, and it was not to everybody that God grants so easy a way to his great gifts as he did to Hilary and myself, giving us a mother who killed herself with labour and trouble to ensure us keeping in the faith."Sixty years later, in a letter, Tolkien also wrote:
When I think of my mother's death ... worn out with persecution, poverty, and, largely consequent, disease, in the effort to hand on to us small boys the Faith, and remember the tiny bedroom she shared with us in rented rooms in a postman's cottage in Rednal, where she died alone, too ill for viaticum, I find it very hard and bitter, when my children stray away."It is evident that Mabel Tolkien had a great influence on the man that Tolkien became. He not only owed his physical life to her, but also his faith. Mabel was a strong woman who endured her suffering with faith. She was a brave woman dedicated to her beliefs, doing the right thing even when it was the hard thing. She was an intelligent woman who stepped up with capability to the task of raising her boys alone, and educating them.
Tolkien considered his mother to be a heroic witness of the faith. And thanks in large part to his mother, Tolkien remained a devout Catholic the rest of his life. Joseph Pearce said in his book, Tolkien: Man and Myth, A Literary Life:
"For Tolkien, Catholicism was not an opinion to which one subscribed but a reality to which one submitted. ...Tolkien remained a Catholic for the simple if disarming reason that he believed Catholicism was true."
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