From Conceptual Metaphor to Conceptual Blending: The Construction of Good and Evil through Light, Darkness, and Colour in The Lord of the Rings

Abstract

This study investigates the metaphorical representation of morality in The Lord of the Rings by integrating Conceptual Metaphor Theory (CMT) and Conceptual Blending Theory (CBT). Although previous studies have applied these frameworks to Tolkien's works, they have largely examined conventional conceptual metaphors and conceptual blends independently, leaving the relationship between these two levels of conceptual organisation insufficiently explored. Drawing on the complete text of The Lord of the Rings, the study analyses metaphorical expressions related to morality, focusing on representations involving light, darkness, and colour. It first identifies the conventional conceptual metaphors underlying Tolkien's moral system before examining how these conceptual metaphors are elaborated into more complex conceptual blends. The findings demonstrate that GOOD IS LIGHT and EVIL IS DARKNESS constitute the primary conceptual framework through which morality is represented, while white and black function as colour elaborations of the more fundamental light–darkness opposition. The analysis further shows that fictional representations in which moral qualities become physically embodied in characters or materialised in objects are better explained by Conceptual Blending Theory than by Conceptual Metaphor Theory alone. By integrating CMT and CBT, the study offers a more comprehensive cognitive account of moral representation in Tolkien's fictional world.