I am of the opinion that Tolkien is more than a fantasy writer - that is, he can do so much more than create languages, histories and places and populate them with fantastic creatures. At times he uses his characters to tell us a bit about the mysteries of human nature. However, this thread is
not to discuss psychological depth in Tolkien's works ( there is a thread in the Books forum that has attempted that) so bear with me.
I am interested if you can tell me, from your own experience, whether you ever experienced the feeling labeled by Tolkien as "Estel'. If so, in what situation? And what were the consequences?
Let's clarify the terminology first (in Tolkien's words) :
Looking up: An expectation of good, which though uncertain, has some foundation in what is known.
Trust (estel): It is not defeated by the ways of the world, for it does not come from experience, but from our nature and first being.
For those of you who saw the movie Signs (directed by M Night Shamalayan), there is a similar distinction made in a conversation between Mel Gibson's character and his brother, in a situation of crisis and uncertainty: there are some people who see signs, and for them coincidences have a meaning; and others, for whom there is a fifty-fifty chance that things will go right, or wrong.
I'd like to hear your opinions, even if you do not have a situation to share, and even if you never felt something like this. All speculations are welcome. If you can think of a better definition for 'Estel', feel free to challenge mine.
Thank you.
