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Ageing, Organisations and Management pp 65–85Cite as

Palgrave Macmillan

Ageing, Gender and Leadership: A Study Based on Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings

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Abstract

Based on current research on ageing in organizations, this chapter focuses on ageing, its gendered nature, and its relations to what is valued in organizational settings in terms of careers and leadership. Stories about ageing are present in mythology, archetypes, and the societal collective unconsciousness, often followed by heroism and charismatic figures. Myths of ageing are manifold but may also represent a “Grand Story” of ageing, present for everyone as an ideal without gender or other dimensions. Using Tolkien’s mythology and Peter Jackson’s guided film trilogy The Lord of the Rings, the gendered relations between ageing, leadership, and leadership charisma are explored and interpreted.

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Acknowledgments

I would like to thank my son, Heikki Marjosola Ph.D., for discussions concerning Tolkien’s fiction and the film trilogy itself.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Business and Economics, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, Finland

    Iiris Aaltio

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  1. Iiris Aaltio
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, Finland

    Iiris Aaltio

  2. Sobey School of Business, Saint Mary’s University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada

    Albert J. Mills

  3. Sobey School of Business, Saint Mary’s University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada

    Jean Helms Mills

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Aaltio, I. (2017). Ageing, Gender and Leadership: A Study Based on Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings . In: Aaltio, I., Mills, A., Mills, J. (eds) Ageing, Organisations and Management. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-58813-1_4

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