There are several elements in Tolkien's novel that are reminiscent of Pharaonic Egypt and the elements that tend to define it, especially in the realm of architecture, the funerary world, and various aspects of the monarchy. This is especially related to the author's conception of Númenor, the island kingdom, an ancient Atlantis created whose inhabitants were the direct ancestors of the men of Góndor, one of the main races of the novel.
The Egyptian influences are divided into two clearly distinguishable typologies. On the one hand, there are the positive ones, which include elements such as the crown of the kings of Gondor. Tolkien spoke of the inspiration for this crown in one of his letters addressed to Mrs. Rhona Beare, who was interested about the form of Gondor's Crown. There he explicitly compares his design for this fantastic crown with the ancient Egyptian Double Crown, and he includes a drawing explaining all the similarities: "I think the crown of Gondor (the S. Kingdom) was very tall, like that of Egypt, but with wings attached, not set straight back but at an angle".
He also explains that his conception of the Numenoreans and Gondoreans is closely related with the perception that he has about the ancient Egyptians, and "the love of, and power to construct, the gigantic and massive. And in their great interest in ancestry and in tombs...".
The influence that Egyptian monumental art, especially colossal statuary, had on Tolkien's descriptions has already been pointed out previously. Picking up on an earlier comment by Tolkien himself, Walsh pointed out in 2007 that the Argonarth was inspired by the colossi of Abu Simbel, and the decapitated statue of the Crossroads (Book IV, chapter 7) was a copy of the statue of Ramses II in the Ramesseum,.
Just as there is an undoubted fascination with the Egyptians in these descriptions and narrative constructions, there are undeniably negative elements of Egyptian origin in the work as well. These are moral dilemmas that the Gondorians inherited from Númenor and which, in reality, conceal a criticism of some elements of Egyptian society, as Tolkien himself understood it and as he emphasised on occasion.
These negative connotations are strongly felt in the relationship between the seneschal Denethor and his youngest son Faramir. Without any doubt, the most revealing moment is the death of Denethor, who goes mad and tries to burn his son alive on a pyre, believing him to be dead, before setting fire to himself (Book V, chapter 7):

“He will not wake again”, said Denethor. “Battle is vain. Why should we wish to live longer? Why should we not go to death side by side?”
“Authority is not given to you, Steward of Gondor, to order the hour of your death”, answered Gandalf.
“And only the heathen kings, under the domination of the Dark Power, did thus, slaying themselves in pride and despair, murdering their kin to ease their own death”.

This episode is directly related to what Faramir says to Frodo, the Ring-bearer, when he refers to the ancient kings of Gondor and what had previously happened to the Númenóreans (Book IV, chapter 5): “Kings made tombs more splendid than the houses of the living […]”.
These explicit mentions of the preference for the funerary world, rather than for one's own residence during life, references one of the main characteristics frequently associated with the ancient Egyptians. This comparison also makes perfect sense in view of Tolkien's association between this civilisation and the Numenoreans, as previously mentioned. Likewise, the idea of collective suicide, forced or inspired by the monarch at the moment of his death, is an element that has permeated the reception of Egyptian tradition in contemporary popular culture, even if it is more than doubtful that these circumstances took place in historical Egypt.
These characterisations of Egypt can also be detected in the character of Faramir and his own evolution throughout the work, especially in reference to his relationship with his father. With his father, he shares a lineage of Númenor that runs pure through his veins, in the direct words of the wizard Gandalf: “He is not as other men of this time, Pippin, and whatever be his descent from father to son, by some chance the blood of Westernesse runs nearly true in him; as it does in his other son, Faramir” (Book V, Chapter 1).
These words establish an interesting dichotomy concerning their lineage and, secondly, concerning ancient Egypt. Faramir would be the representative and heir of the good Númenor (Egypt), with his interest in architecture, knowledge, and learning; while his father, Denethor, who initially could be thought to share these characteristics, later devolves and becomes the best example of the perverse Númenor (Egypt), becoming more interested in death and the dark sciences, to the point of being capable of immolating himself along with his only living son.
As can be seen, there is this dilemma in Tolkien between fascination with and rejection of the Egyptian culture. In this sense, Tolkien’s deep love of nature is combined with a misunderstanding of the way the Egyptians understood the funerary world and the afterlife, so that Tolkien sees Egypt as a “still life” which resulted from an unhealthy preoccupation with the afterlife. Probably, Tolkien's militant and archaising Catholicism played an important role in his understanding of Egypt. He understood death as an essential step towards the Resurrection and, therefore, towards divinisation and eternal life, as can be seen in the treatment of some of his characters, such as Gandalf and Aragorn. This way of understanding life and religion clashes head-on with that of the Egyptians believed. To them, death was not a state that could be transformed but was in fact a moment that was "lived".

Author: Alfonso Álvarez-Ossorio Rivas