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I've read Lilith. I think I like Phantastes better though. It seems that maybe I got the two stories confused, and my current rereading of Phantastes is un-confusing them. Not done, so this could take time.
I too prefer SWoM to Phantastes. I don't know exactly why. I'll have to reread SWoM after rereading Phantastes to try and take a stab at it. I think Lal's sense of reality in SWoM is what I like so much, and I do find it difficult to allow for allegory there too. Force domination of the author? I don't think so. Applications? Aplenty I'm sure.
I think that Lal is correct as to the "allegory" people write of. I've also heard of Phantastes being interpreted after Freud, which is actually possible but diminishing. I'm not sure it is quite accurate to call spiritual maturation allegory, however. Bilbo matures morally in The Hobbit but nobody calls that an allegory.
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