Chapter 14- Yes, She’s a Christ Figure, Too
In literature, there are the classic archetypes. You have your hero, your mentor, your side-kick, your damsel in distress, etcetera. But another, often-times overlooked (by high school students at least) character that resurfaces again and again throughout literature is the Christ figure. Foster provides a list, some criteria if you will, for a character to qualify as a Christ figure. Among these are things like being in agony, sacrificing themselves, humbling themselves, and redeeming a broken world.
For me, when thinking of examples of Christ figures in literature, the first one that comes to mind is Frodo Baggins from the Lord of the Rings. Now, Frodo was not thirty-three years old; in fact, he was fifty years old when the story begins, but Foster clearly says that a Christ figure doesn’t have to fit all the criteria, just enough to where they are recognizably a symbol of Christ. Frodo also never died and rose from the grave. Well, not literally he didn’t, but he may have figuratively, as Brendan McManus M.J. says in his article discussing some of the Christian allegories found in the Lord of the Rings. After destroying the ring that was slowly destroying him, eating away at his soul, his soul is “resurrected.” He sails to Valinor, a land where he will be immortal, and lives among elves, protected from the horrors of the mainland.
At the beginning of the story when he’s in Rivendell, Frodo has to accept his fate, his duty to take the ring on a perilous journey across the continent to a place called Mordor, which scarily resembles Hell, with it’s head, Lord Sauron, scarily resembling the Devil. This ring is a great burden to Frodo, just like the weight of the cross and the sins of the world were a great burden to Christ. In the deep wilderness, Frodo is confronted by Boromir and tempted. Boromir tells Frodo how his burden will be lifted if he just gives the ring to him. He tells him that he doesn’t have to do this, just as the devil tempted Jesus in the wilderness, telling him that he could throw himself off the top of the temple and save himself, basically saying that Jesus didn’t have to die on the cross later because he was powerful enough to save himself. Yet both Frodo and Jesus knew that that was never an option. They both resisted their tempters and went on to fulfill their duty. Frodo was in considerable agony the closer he got to Mt. Doom, just as Christ was suffering on the road to Calvary and on the Cross. Frodo was tempted again once inside the mountain. When the ring was destroyed, Lord Sauron was destroyed and Middle Earth was redeemed, and Frodo departed (ascended) to Valinor (Heaven), just like when Jesus died, the world was redeemed and now there is the promise that the Devil will be defeated when he returns.
There are many other Christ-like characters in the Lord of the Rings, like Aragorn who was the king restored to his throne, granting hope to all, as Jesus will when he returns. Also, Gandalf serves as the Fellowship’s guide, almost like a teacher leading his disciples. Also, Gandalf dies by defeating the Balrog, who could be seen as the Devil, and then later, Gandalf returns from the dead.
Foster talks about how many readers look right over all these Biblical allegories throughout literature because they are not familiar with the Bible. I think that one way readers can understand these allegories even without being aware of the Bible, is applying it to a more universal archetype: the Messiah, or Savior, which, even though that is what Jesus is, the term is not restricted to only him. Viewing Frodo as a Savior for Middle Earth might be more applicable to some than viewing him as Jesus himself.
Another very good example of a savior character, or a Christ figure is Harry Potter, but his story gets more into what happened to Christ after he was resurrected, which Foster doesn’t really talk about (but which is still a very identifying thing in Christ figures in literature). Whether JK Rowling intended her books to reflect this story or not, I have personally observed it. Harry Potter was marked for greatness with his lightning bolt scar (which I will talk more about in another entry). There were even prophecies about him. He grew up with everyone expecting him to defeat the world and destroy Voldemort (the Devil, for our purposes). Harry faced many trials along the way: loneliness, mockery, scorn, temptation, physical pain, and an impossible task that seemed like suicide, to destroy the Horcruxes. Yet he bravely persevered, even though he didn't want to. In the end, he faced Voldemort, was killed, but was miraculously resurrected. He came back for his friends and completely destroyed the enemy and Voldemort himself. This looks an awful lot like Jesus’s story: his birth was prophesied long before, his followers expected him to come with fire and hailstorms, destroying Rome, he faced many trials and sufferings: he was mocked, tempted, beaten, and brutally killed. He rose again and will come back for his followers and will destroy the enemy and the Devil.
There are so many examples that I could go on for ages, but I had to chose just some of my favorites. Others include Aslan from the Chronicles of Narnia, Superman, Spock from Star Trek, the Doctor from Doctor Who, and basically anyone that exhibits the qualities that Foster lists.
Foster explains how if a reader thinks that a character might be a Christ figure, he most likely is, because it is really the reader's opinion or perception that makes a story unique for everyone. As long as a character exhibits some Christ-like qualities and preferably sacrifices himself for a greater good, then you can go ahead and call him a Christ figure.
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