What's "real," anyway?

[Estelyn Telcontar]

I too thought of Tolkien's essay 'On Fairy Stories' upon reading Fordim's first post on this excellent new discussion. I looked at a different passage than Encaitare though, the one which begins

'"Is it true?" is the great question children ask', Lang said.

I was especially interested in what JRRT says about his reaction to stories as a child.

Fairy-stories were plainly not primarily concerned with possibility, but with desirability. If they awakened desire, satisfying it while often whetting it unbearably, they succeeded.

This seems to me to show what makes a story "true" in the deep sense of the word. Does it awaken emotions in me? If it can touch my heart, show me things about myself that I only vaguely suspected before reading, show me what is lacking in my real life and make me long for it and try to find a way to get it; if it can help me to understand others better; if it can give me insight into what the meaning of my life is and help me accept things that happen to me; if it can show me how to fight the necessary battles - yes, then it is true. There are certainly more aspects to it than that, but to me, emotions are the key to inner truth in literature.