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Originally Posted by obloquy
He uses the term without qualification when speaking of Melkor, Sauron, Feanor, Galadriel, Luthien, and others.
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Well, I, for one, am not aware of Tolkien reffering to Luthien as the greatest elf. Do you know of such an instance?
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He's talking about the potency of the spirit, the inner potential; how brightly the fire burns.
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But in that respect it appears that Feanor is at the top.
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Originally Posted by obloquy
The fact that an event took place the way Tolkien relates it does not indicate to me that he wants me to learn something about the real world from it.
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It seems to me that he does
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Originally Posted by Letter #181
But, of course, if one sets out to address 'adults' (mentally adult people anyway), they will not be pleased, excited, or moved unless the whole, or the incidents, seem to be about something worth considering, more e.g. than mere danger and escape: there must be some relevance to the 'human situation' (of all periods).
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Originally Posted by obloquy
Perceived, yes. Intended?
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I would say so:
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Originally Posted by Letter #181
That is why I regard the tale of Arwen and Aragorn as the most important of the Appendices; it is pan of the essential story, and is only placed so, because it could not be worked into the main narrative without destroying its structure: which is planned to be 'hobbito-centric', that is, primarily a study of the ennoblement (or sanctification) of the humble.
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