One point where we apparently misunderstood each other (or at least where I misunderstood you) is the underground places as a cause of development. This is what I see as highly unlikely. What I naturally agree on is that they are places of such developments, and as such equally worth discussion like swamps, mountains, rivers, forests; a discussion I never shun [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img]
So, in my eyes, there is the importance of something that certainly is a recurrent motif, but I would argue that there is special symbolism behind that.
That is also why I see no need to rebuke the precise analysis of the respective developments and challenges in the underground sojourns you presented. I also agree that the going underground itself is one part of these, logically. However, this already sums up the importance of the trait of being underground itself to the development. “These underground passages offer rather profound and momentous opportunities for the characters to grow.” Very well said. Individual places may have individual spirits and influences, be they underground or not, I would only stay away from generalizing these; which fortunately was not the case here anyway.
Maybe JRRT liked underground journeys so much he put them in the works just for his own delight; then he was a great enough author to portray them credibly, even if the event as such may seem unlikely.
So, obviously, I am not at all unenthused by the topic, even though I still differ in the point that the use of the device does not have special reasons, if only that it fit into the mythopoeic process.
And with my personal need of using a 'myth-' word in every post of mine being fulfilled, I think we should stop the contra-productive 'horizontal' argumentation. [img]smilies/wink.gif[/img]
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