The Doom and Gift of Men: Stories of Death and the Desire for Immortality
Risking Enchantment
“Do not fear death, but rather the unlived life. You don't have to live forever. You just have to live.” - Tuck Everlasting In this episode, Rachel and Phoebe explore a variety of stories that explore the desire for immortality, and the challenge of embracing the reality of death. Beginning from perhaps a surprising starting point, the teen fantasy film Tuck Everlasting, we move into the depictions of the temptations to grasp eternal life in J.R.R. Tolkien’s work and in C.S. Lewis’ The Magician’s Nephew. We draw out the parallels to the conceptions of unfallen Man in the Bible. We also discuss how we need to embrace the time that is given us, not to grasp on to our youth but to look forward to the future, both in this life and the next. Music: Ashton Manor by Kevin MacLeod Hosts: Rachel Sherlock, Phoebe Watson Follow me on social media: @seekingwatson Follow the podcast on Instagram: @riskingenchantmentpodcast Find out more at www.rachelsherlock.com Sign up for our email list at www.rachelsherlock.com/podcast Works Mentioned Tuck Everlasting (2002) Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt The Return of the King by J.R.R. Tolkien The Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien Leaf by Niggle by J.R.R. Tolkien The Magician’s Nephew by C.S. Lewis Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone by J.K. Rowling Tolkien’s Modern Reading by Holly Ordway The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien edited by Humphrey Carpenter About Time (2013) ‘"The Gift of Death": Tolkien's Philosophy of Mortality’ by Grant C. Sterling Groundhog Day and the Meaning of Time, Born of Wonder podcast What we’re Enjoying at the Moment Phoebe: Good Evening, Mrs Craven: The Wartime Stories of Mollie Panter-Downes by Mollie Panter-Downes The Thing about Austen podcast Rachel: Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968)