View Single Post
Old 06-06-2005, 12:06 PM   #131
Formendacil
Dead Serious
 
Formendacil's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Perched on Thangorodrim's towers.
Posts: 3,346
Formendacil is lost in the dark paths of Moria.Formendacil is lost in the dark paths of Moria.Formendacil is lost in the dark paths of Moria.Formendacil is lost in the dark paths of Moria.
Send a message via AIM to Formendacil Send a message via MSN to Formendacil
Quote:
Originally Posted by Davem
Quote:
Originally Posted by Formendacil
When you say that "I don't think we can ever state that Tolkien failed...", I'm not so sure that I agree. I would say that there is one definitive test that could be taken (in a purely theoretical world) that would determine whether or not he had failed:

His OWN reaction.

But that's his own subjective opinion as a reader. He also stated in the Letters that he was, after a number of years, able to read the book as if it had been written by someone else. So, parts of it may have failed to enchant him, but those parts mey not fail to enchant other readers, so we still can't say there are parts which fail to enchant everyone who reads them. Even Tolkien had some baggage I suppose.
Of course he is a subjective reader. Of course he has his own baggage. My point was that Tolkien had written with himself, baggage subjectivity and all, in mind. Therefore, if this same "be-baggled" and sujectified reader read it a few years later and pronounced parts of it good or great, then those are the parts where Tolkien succeeded in exactly what he set out to do: to please his own subjective and be-baggled self.
__________________
I prefer history, true or feigned.
Formendacil is offline   Reply With Quote