(I had a good laugh over
Sono's "Che" R R Tolkien!)
Well, I think I finally have some time to catch up on the very interesting ideas people are putting forth here. Very interesting to see all these posts here! Who says we've already talked about everything there is in Tolkien?
It is intriguing to see the term 'theocracy' brought out here, as at least in the US there is a very strong tradition of separation of church and state. This is a very different idea from that in England, where the monarch is 'defender of the faith', meaning Church of England Anglican. (I think I read somewhere that HRH the Next In Line wants that changed to 'defender of faith' to make it somewhat more inclusive.) Now, LotR does not include direct mention of religion nor of Eru. So how does Aragorn become a divine right king--if he does.
It is possible that the differences between Narnia and LotR do arise from the author's different sense of their audience. I don't think we've ever seen a discussion on who Tolkien thought his audience might be--even if it was simply himself or fellow Inklings.
lmp, I think it is possible to consider politics and power in myth. I remember reading the Greek pantheon as a preteen and being amazed at how much squabbling and fighting the Greek deities engaged in and how control and authority were such an issue. And then reading the Norse myths and having the sense that everything up there was so much more, how to put it, anarchic? Well, maybe that is the wrong word. They just had a different feel to me about authority. And I don't know if I would have this same sense now. Isn't it possible for different cultures to produce different mythologies?
Quote:
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Originally Posted by Tuor of Gondolin
Much of the cause of
strife in Middle-earth, indeed, seems to come from
human restlessness and interest in change
(often just for the sake of change, even Numenor
not being exempt).
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Now this point about change I think is fascinating! Thanks for bringing it up,
Tuor. Isn't it true that a belief in the absolute value of things produces a sense that there is an ideal, finished or final state of perfection? This seems to me to be the image of Narnia--one answer, one authority, one way. (I'm talking only about LWW and the movie now, my dear
Lhuna.) Yet here is Tolkien, with his profound Catholic faith, producing a world full of change and even insisting upon the recognition of that change. Flux rather than finality. How does he do that?