The Autobiographical Tolkien - 'Leaf by Niggle'...

[littlemanpoet]

I had just been thinking that Niggle had no wife, and how sad that Tolkien left his own married partner out of 'Leaf By Niggle', then I read your fascinating theory. I'm astonished! It could be that Parish is Edith. Then again, I wouldn't want to limit it to that reading only.

Who the Inspector? What is the meaning of the neglected garden, the shed, the interruptions?...And what do you think of Tolkien's evaluation of his own (un)importance and his fears that his work would not be remembered? I find it heart-rending that this great genius had so many doubts about himself and his life's work.

The inspector? He seems to represent the Law. Horrid man. And absolutely correct in all that he says. That's the trouble with the Law. It's right, darn it.

Based on the theory that Tolkien wrote Niggle autobiographically, this tells me that he was ambivalent about his hobby. On one hand he can write a powerful poem concluding in the line that goes something like 'we make in the image of the maker'. Yet he feared that all he did was not only a waste of effort. Worse, he feared that it was a wrong thing to be doing with his God-given time and energy. He seems to have believed that since he was not helping the poor and so forth, he was not doing what he as a christian was supposed to do. Being the sensitive man that he was, I can imagine how this fear must have hounded him.

And maybe his feeling that his work was unimportant was partly connected to a feeling that he was not clothing the naked, healing the sick, feeding the hungry, et cetera. So I would say that I agree with Parish representing the area of ministry represented by the Roman Catholic parish in which JRRT dwelt. This would be a geographical area that includes all elements of the population, not just fellow Catholics. "Love your neighbor".

The eucatastrophic aspect of this to me is that despite the condemnation found in Matthew chapter 25, Tolkien's story still has Niggle go to Purgatory and then to an entry to Paradise. So he is NOT condemned, despite having wasted his life on unnecessary art.

Not that I agree with such an assessment. Far from it, or I would not be discussing this topic on this board!

Nevertheless, I can see Tolkien having such a deep ambivalence in terms of his christian duty. I'm happy that he was able to resolve it in Niggle the way he did.

Some may disagree, but I like to think of Smith of Wooton Major as being a kind of sequel to Niggle, also autobiographical. Tolkien is Smith. He has to give up faerie after a full life. In SOWM, Smith has no ambivalence. Faerie is a gift instead of an unnecessary and wasteful pursuit.