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Old 03-28-2006, 01:44 PM   #25
Iris Alantiel
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Having read all the evidence posted here and consulted Tolkien's own Letters , I'm afraid that I don't accept Teleporno's contention that Tolkien inserted a riddle to explain the Entwives' whereabouts somewhere into The Two Towers. I'm prepared to face Ardamir's charge that it is "quite an 'amateurish' approach only to rely on these letters without bothering to check for hints about Entwives in the narrative", but I don't agree with it. I think Tolkien's own written words about the narrative are perfectly sufficient evidence to counter what Teleporno has given us to argue in favour of his theory.

Earendilyon has already posted the relevant passages from The Letters of J. R. R. Tolkien, so I won't repeat them except to reiterate a few very key points: "I think in fact the Entwives had disappeared for good" and, more importantly, "what happened to them is not resolved in this book" (both from Letter 144). Yes, it's true that there “are quite a few elements in Tolkien's writings of which there is not any explicit description”, but this is not one of them. He has explicitly told us, in this letter, what he knows about the Entwives. I certainly don't think it's beyond the realm of possibility for Tolkien to have included riddles in his text that he wants his readers to decipher, but I find it extremely hard to believe that he would then throw his readers off the trail by plainly stating that the riddles are not answered in the text in question. That seems to be the act of someone who doesn't want his riddle to be solved or discovered at all . . . and if that's the case, why bother writing a solution in the first place?

In any case, I somewhat question Teleporno's credibility. Child of the Seventh Age referred to his academic credentials, and in turn I point out that (unless someone on this board has knowledge to which I am not privy), we accept these things only on Teleporno's say-so, not with independent corroboration. It isn't hard to falsify credentials on Internet message boards . . . which does not necessarily indicate that Teleporno is doing so, but needs to be kept in mind nonetheless. I do find it interesting that the Shakespearean quote he references (about being "born of no woman") is in fact from Macbeth - one of the Weird Sisters tells Macbeth that "no man of woman born" can harm him, but Macduff is still able to because he was "from [his] mother's womb untimely ripped" (i.e. born by Caesarian section, which may account for the Caesar reference here). It has been some years since I read Julius Caesar, but I am fairly certain that no similar quote appears there . . . and if it does, it is certainly not as likely a source as the one from Macbeth is (since Macbeth's situation strongly parallels that of Éowyn and the Lord of the Nazgûl). Moreover, as someone who is nearing the completion of her fourth year of undergraduate study and preparing for graduate school next September, I find Teleporno's response to the suggestion that he publish his findings somewhat unprofessional, to say the least: “Tolkien Society people tell me to publish a paper on the idea. As if.” He should know by now that's not how academia works. And certainly the hint he gives us to help us find whatever he's discovered - "keep an eye on the clustering of certain types of words" - is vague enough that it could refer to almost any passage in the novel.

For my part, I am inclined to agree with Lindolirian, who said:
Quote:
I'm not too sure what this is all about finding answers and keeping them secrets, we usually like to share our knowledge and thus help each other grow in our understanding of Tolkien. Cyptic games are usually in The Quiz Room. Is that what this is, or am I misunderstanding you?
Are we Tolkienites a community of sharing and helping one another, much like hobbits (now that I think of it), or are we not? Even if Teleporno isn't falsifying his credentials, and he is sincere in alleging his discovery, it seems the action of a mean old braggart to post repeatedly saying, "I've found this hugely exciting bit of information, and I'm not telling you where! NYAH!" I'm quite sorry to say it, because I've wanted badly to find the Entwives for some time now, but I have to confess that I think this is just a mistake at best, and a hoax at worst, that has taken in a lot of people who want to believe, against all hope, that the Ents can find their Entwives somewhere out there.

Then again, it seems Tolkien was a big fan of believing against all hope. So if that's where you are, please don't give up on my account. It's just one woman's opinion. And, hold it though I might, I certainly haven't given up on Ents and Entwives entirely, and I probably never will.
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