Despite the wide range of worlds occupied by different fantasy series, a universal theme of the genre is the presence of evil forces working in opposition to a gang of heroes. Very often the band of heroes embarks on a mission to defeat evil and, of course, evil forces are trying to stop them. The fantasy works of Edmund Spenser's The Faerie Queene and JRR Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings are no different. Both sagas feature evil sorcerers who operate in direct opposition to the heroes: Spenser's Archimagus, an old sorcerer, and Tolkien's Saruman, the former head of the Council of Wizards. But despite this parallel, the two authors create characters who differ drastically in methods and motivations, revealing the fundamental difference in how Spenser and Tolkien view the nature and influence of evil. For Spenser, evil is the absence of righteousness and the rejection of religious obedience, while Tolkien sees evil as the corrupting influence of power and selfishness originating from within. Examining how authors write their villains and understanding the context in which they wrote provides evidence of their respective interpretations of the nature of evil. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Archimago is one of the main villains of Spenser's The Faerie Queene. He is a master of deception and disguise, relying on his magic to seduce others away from the straight and narrow path by manipulating emotions and reason. The allure of his type of evil is to abandon religious devotion and obedience, giving in instead to indulgence. We meet him in the first canto, at which point he immediately begins causing trouble for the band of heroes, consisting of the Redcrosse knight, Una the lady and a dwarf. The resulting deception exemplifies Archimago's character and methods. First, he attempts to disturb the trio's integrity by attempting Redcrosse's chastity with a lustful dream of Morpheus, God of Dreams, and a sprite imitation of Una: "Who all this while with enchantments and hidden arts, had done of that other lively a lady, and framed with liquid ayre her tender parts so lively and so like to all men's eyes, that faintest sense that might have had enchanting pleasure: the creator himself for all his wonderful spirit, he was almost deceived by such a beautiful sight: he dressed her all in white, and over it he threw a black stole, very similar in appearance to Una in form (Canto 1, p19-20) This imitation of Una will try to tempt Redcrosse to sleep with her, thus dishonoring her chastity. Note that Archimago does not rely on convincing arguments for his purposes, but instead relies on “spells and hidden arts”, that is, his magic. Of course, the imitation Una tries to convince Redcrosse to fornication, but since it is a conjured facade, we can argue that it is simply an extension of Archimago's magic. This is a great example of Archimagus using his magic to manipulate existing feelings in his targets, such as the lust he instilled in Redcrosse via Morpheus' dream. It is also interesting to note that Archimago targets chastity with his deception. Chastity was one of the most prized rules in Christian practice in Spenser's time, providing evidence that Spenser believed evil was rooted primarily in disobedience to God's law. However, Redcrosse proves too staunch in his obedience to the knight's order chivalry and the law of chastity. In his next display of deception, Archimago manipulates Redcrosse's strict obedience to divide the heroic trio by taking imitation of Una and anothergoblin disguised as a young squire and placing them "in a secret bed, covered with darkness and mean night, both together". laid down, to joy in vain delight” (Canto 2, p.24). This time the ruse is successful and Redcrosse abandons Una in anger. Again, Archimago did not need to use persuasive arguments, but instead relied on his magic to achieve his evil goals. Archimagus' methods are in stark contrast to those employed by Saruman, as seen in the latter's attempt to persuade Gandalf to join him. Gandalf traveled to Saruman's home, Isengard, seeking answers and wisdom to the rumors of the nine ringwraiths and what to do with the Ring of Power. However, it soon becomes apparent that Saruman has abandoned his good side in favor of the growing forces of evil and is intent on having Gandalf join him. The resulting encounter is noticeably tamer than Peter Jackson's film adaptation, where there's a big battle of magical powers. force involving powerful staffs and spinning wizards. Instead, the written scene involves no use of magic, as Archimagus might use, but rather a speech from Saruman. He chooses to persuade Gandalf with an intellectual argument: “The time of the Elves is over, but our time is at hand: the world of Men, which we must rule. But we must have the power, the power to order all things as we will, for that good which only the Wise can see” (p.259). The power Saruman refers to is the might of Sauron in Mordor. Sauron represents absolute evil, but Saruman is more interesting as his brand of evil is more seductive and subtle. Saruman's speech to Gandalf boils down to the classic argument that the end justifies the means: "the Wise, like you and me, can with patience finally manage to direct its course, to control it. We can take our time, we can keep our thoughts in heart, perhaps deploring the evils done along the way, but approving the high and ultimate goal: Knowledge, Rule, Order; all things that we have so far tried in vain to achieve, hindered rather than helped by our weak or inactive friends. It is not necessary, there would be, no real change in our plans, but only in our means” (p.259) He proposes that by riding Sauron's coattails, a much simpler strategy than fighting Sauron, they can ultimately control his power. and achieve an ultimate goal of knowledge, rule, and order.This seductive argument for gaining power is repeated later in the series, first by Galadriel and then by Boromir when he attempts to take the Ring from Frodo. It can also be found in other series outside of the Lord of the Rings universe, such as in Star Wars when Darth Vader attempts to persuade Luke to join him in overthrowing the Sith Lord and rule the galaxy or even in the Harry Potter series, when Grindelwald tries to persuade a young Dumbledore to found a wizarding empire over Muggles. In all cases, the approach is to appeal to the intellectual side to rationalize evil actions. As Saruman says to Gandalf: “We can join that Power. It would be wise, Gandalf” (p.259). This type of evil does not deceive with magical illusion, like Archimagus' methods, but rather by rationalizing the pursuit of power for the greater good. By tapping into the natural selfish desire for power, evil can cause even those who initially support good to be led down darker paths. Tolkien portrays a much more sinister version of evil who is able to exploit the inner desires of other wise and good characters to achieve nefarious ends. This seduction of power is much more nuanced and imitative of real life than Archimago's magical and deceptive methods. This differencebetween the methods of Archimagus and Saruman can be traced back to the motivational factors of each of the sorcerers. Examination of the first four cantos of The Faerie Queene reveals no immediate motivation for Archimago's deception. When the heroic trio stumble upon his mansion, he seems to simply enjoy meddling in their affairs to extreme ends, such as sending sprites to Morpheus and going to the trouble of summoning fake Unas. Spenser does not give us any backstory to Archimagus nor is there a rehearsed speech as in the case of Saruman to lead readers to understand his goals. Looking at the results of Archimago's deception, one might deduce that he wants Una for himself. This would explain why he is so intent on getting Redcrosse away from Una. Further support for this can be found when Archimago disguises himself as a Red Cross to deceive Una into believing she has been reunited with her companion: "But now it seemed the best thing, the person to wear Of that good knight, his deceived deceased host.. And when he had his fill of his free courser, Saint George himself, you would have thought him to be” (Canto 1, p. 26). Choosing Redcrosse as a disguise must have been a deliberate choice, so perhaps Archimagus harbored some jealousy towards the knight when he saw Una. This choice would have been strengthened when Una was almost overly excited about having found Redcrosse While this explanation may be plausible, a stronger argument can be made that Archimago as a character is much more symbolic in nature than the dynamic player. that is Saruman. Archimago seems to serve more as a generic tempter trap than a nuanced villain. His deception with Redcrosse indicates that his main goal is to cause the hero to fall into sin. This supports Spenser's interpretation of the nature of evil as a rejection of righteousness and its appeal primarily as a temptation to indulgence, which in this case is the violation of the law of chastity. Understanding the context in which Spenser wrote The Faerie Queene provides us with further insight into the symbolism and purpose of Archimagus in the text. Spenser wrote this series in the late 16th century, after the Protestant Reformation had swept England. The smattering of not-so-subtle references to the Catholic Church in the early cantos indicates one of the main purposes of at least the first book, which is to criticize Catholicism and praise the virtues of Protestantism. When we are first introduced to Archimagus, he is described as wearing "long black weeds" and "on his belt he had his book hanging" and "all the way he prayed as he went, and often beat his breast, like one who did not did repent” (Canto 1, p.14). It is seen in the footnotes, these descriptions are attributes of a Roman Catholic clergy. It is also interesting to note that Una is a modification of the Latin word “unus”, meaning unity and truth, while the red cross from which Redcrosse is named is a symbol of the Anglican church. With this in mind, one could interpret Archimago as Catholicism seeking to separate the truth from the Anglican church on Spenser's view of evil as the absence of truth or divinity. While Archimagus is more of a static character of a symbolic nature, Saruman's motivations are more easily definable. He selfishly desires power for himself, which he tries to disguise as concern for the common good and as something to share: “Why not? The Ruling Ring? If we could command it, then the Power would pass to us." But, as Gandalf replies, “only one hand can hold the One at a time, and you know it well, so don't bother telling us!” (p.260) The main motivation of Saruman's type of evil is to obtain the.