Elizabeth Whittingham

Elizabeth Whittingham is a former lecturer in English at the State University of New York College, Brockport, New York. She is known for her Tolkien studies research, including her 2008 book The Evolution of Tolkien's Mythology, which examines the development of his legendarium as published in the 12-volume The History of Middle-earth.

Life

Elizabeth Whittingham is the daughter of Thomas Whittingham and his wife Dorothy M. McEwen, who was chair of nursing at Roberts Wesleyan College. She was a lecturer in English at the State University of New York College, Brockport, New York, and at Monroe Community College, Rochester, New York. She has contributed to The J. R. R. Tolkien Encyclopedia. She retired from teaching early in the 2020s .

Tolkien studies

Whittingham wrote one of the first scholarly studies of Christopher Tolkien's 12-volume The History of Middle-earth (1983–1996), focusing on the Silmarillion legendarium (and avoiding the history of the Lord of the Rings), in her 2008 book The Evolution of Tolkien's Mythology, based on her PhD thesis.

David Bratman, in Mythlore, writes that the book is a "good start" on scholarship about the history of Tolkien's writing, which like Tolkien's legendarium itself "takes time to absorb". He notes that it is among the first book-scale studies of The History of Middle-earth, following Flieger's work on the time-travel aspects and its frame structure. In his view, however, the book is more like Christina Scull's essay in the 2000 collection Tolkien's Legendarium. He writes that Whittingham's chapters look at the "serious" topics that Tolkien addresses, in an order which is both logical and in the same order as in The Silmarillion.

+ David Bratman's analysis of Whittingham's chapter themes,matched to The Silmarillion Theme Meaning The Silmarillion Notes Cosmogony Creation of the world of Arda Ainulindalë Theogony Pantheon of the Valar Valaquenta Cosmology Structure of the world Quenta Silmarillion From flat earth to round world; Arda lit by two lamps, then by the Two Trees of Valinor, then by Sun and Moon Thanatology Death and immortality Akallabêth Númenor attacks Valinor in the false hope of gaining immortality. Theme also in tales of Beren and Lúthien, Finwë and Míriel Eschatology The end of the world and ultimate destiny Final paragraphs of Quenta Silmarillion