Quote:
Originally Posted by Mithalwen
I don't think for a moment that publishing a book especially about a fantasy world voids your right to personal privacy. If Tolkien had got famous by being a papparazzo or founding Wikileaks you might have a point on grounds of hypocrisy but Tolkien never tried to be famous. He did what he did for it's own sake. He surely would never have embraced the modern cult of vacuous celebrity or endorsed the making public of every last thought that passes through ones head or photograph of every moment of ones life. Can you imagine Tolkien tweeting? That many people have no regard to their own privacy (I am tempted to say have no shame) shouldn't deprive others of theirs.
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For me, this is the heart of the matter. Tolkien had no desire or expectation that he would one day be a household name. He didn't live in a time where people routinely post private details of their lives in a manner which could be viewed by millions around the world instantly, and when fame, or, if that can't be easily attained, mere infamy, is sadly an overwhelming obsession with millions of people. Today, we are shadowed by constant surveillance: our interactions online are carefully monitored and preserved; our bags and bodies are given the fine-tooth comb treatment when we want to fly on planes, and video cameras are literally everywhere. Any of us reading this might expect something we've said on this forum, or Facebook, or Twitter, to be read by very many people. But letters back then were very private matters, between the writer and the recipient only. Unless one
is a publicity hound, or an aspiring politician, there would be no expectation at all from one of Tolkien's time that his personal correspondence would be an object of interest. With that in mind, I think it's rather generous of the Estate to have allowed
The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien publication.