[davem]

Originally Posted by LMP

Um, you do really believe there are Faeries, I take it.

I've met some.

I apologize for my denseness, but could you kindly provide the quote you are referring to? I'm not quite sure what you're getting at.

I was generalising based on the essay as a whole. Tolkien, in my reading, was attempting to show that fairystory works on us in the same way as the Christian story - but not to the same depth or extent - sorry I'm struggling here to say what I want to. Tolkien states in OFS that fairystory provides, at its best a glimpse beyond the walls of the world, of Evangelium. Tolkien implies that is, if not its purpose, then certianly its effect.

I don't think this is the case in traditional fairystories - what they actually do is give us a glimpse of the world as it is - which is something Tolkien also says is the purpose of fairystories - but that, for me, is as far as it goes - a glimpse beyond the walls of the world, poignant as grief? I can't think of one that does that - not even the Black Bull of Norroway, which Tolkien cites as evidence of his theory.

Now, Tolkien's Legendarium (LotR in particular) does provide that glimpse beyond the walls of the world. Smith does not. SoWM is a story set firmly within the circles of the natural world - Heaven doesn't come into it.

Certainly fairystories provide a glimpse of something beyond the man-made, & maybe that's what Tolkien meant, but I think not, because he brings in Christianity, & the existence of a 'World' beyond this world. In SoWM Faery & the Human world co-exist within the circles of the world & there is not a trace of Evangelium.

What Tolkien has done in OFS is to 'Christianise' fairystory & then claim it was 'Christian' all along. Smith is a step away from that, back to what Faery had been, but the Faery of Smith is still not the Fairie of tradition, & my question is why did he want to convince us it was?

You see, I'm not criticising what Tolkien actually produced, or the value of his theories, only asking about his reasons for setting himself up as a 'champion of Faery' when he was really only championing his own take on it?