Psychological depth in Tolkien's characters

[Child of the 7th Age]

Child: In my fantasies, I have dreamed of getting Pullman and JRRT together in one room, locking the door, walking away and coming back in a few hours!

Legolas's response: From the sound of it, you might need to strap each to a desk with a pen and paper also.

Yes, that would probably be the safest thing! Too bad it just isn't possible. An exchange of ideas could produce some interesting sparks.

Aiwendel's lucid post and my own actually seem to deal with two sides of the same coin.

Pullman as a representative of the "modern" school, both with his emphasis on internal characterization and his questioning stance on religious belief and institutions....

Tolkien as the defender of "tradition"---standing much closer to the epic works that spell out the story by external deeds and acts, along with his sympathies for more traditional religious views.

Interestingly, in "real" life, we stand somewhere between the two in regard to characterization. We have access to our own thoughts and feelings, but can only interpret others through the prism of their speech and acts.

Perhaps, that is one reason JRRT's characters seem "real" to me. As in real life, I can only guess at what's going on inside somebody unless they choose to confide. But Tolkien does such a fine job depicting the character's words and actions that we feel we can venture a guess at what sentiment or thought actually lies behind them. To say nothing of the fact that we can spend endless hours debating those guesses on this site!

[ November 08, 2003: Message edited by: Child of the 7th Age ]