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I think what partiularly interests me is that Tolkien set SoWM in a very 'medieval' world, & in that period of our history Faeries/Fairies were generally feared & seen as malicious & dangerous - they stole humans to serve as slaves - yet they would also bestow 'powers' on chosen humans. There is a whole tradition of human-Fairy marriages & of human magicians taking fairy 'allies' (see Kirk).
The point is that Tolkien's Fairies/Elves are totally unlike traditional Fairies/Elves - there is no traditional 'backing' for his representation. Yet in the Smith essay he writes as though his depiction is correct & traditional. The essay reads oddly - at some points he is clearly speaking only of the 'Faerie' of his invented world, at other points it seems like he is speaking of the Faerie of tradition & legend while at other points still it is as if (as in the last part of the quote I gave) he is using 'Faerie'/Faeries' as a 'philosophical' metaphor.
Sorry -too rushed & I don't have the essay with me. Will come back to this later.
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