Father like Son - The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum

Nar · 08-18-2002, 08:46 AM

Interesting question, Guildo. Leaf by Niggle was written (I believe) before LotR (correct me if I'm wrong; it feels like a VERY early work to me) and involves an artist, Niggle, creating a grand, beautiful and complicated work-- a painting of a tree-- which he cannot quite capture in all the glory it holds in his mind.

(semi-spoiler)
In the end, Niggle is unable to finish it, but one fragment reaches the public.

That story appears to tap anxieties about Tolkien's legendarium of poems and stories later published as The Silmarillion, Unfinished Tales, and much of the History of Middle Earth. I think anxieties about finishing those stories were present during the writing of LotR and probably did influence Tolkien's treatment of The Red Book and Bilbo's Translations from the Elvish. Note, though, that Bilbo did finish Translations from the Elvish, as Tolkien planned to finish and publish his Elvish and Numenorean stories. It was The Red Book Bilbo didn't finish-- and of course its (possible) counterpart, LotR, is the one Tolkien DID publish. And Sam adding on to The Red Book doesn't match real life at all!

Tolkien couldn't know that his son would step in and go to work on publishing these works -- he certainly tried to finish and publish what would be The Silmarillion himself both before and after LotR came out. So that parallel of the 'heir' finishing the 'mentor's' book is a coincidence --or you could say that the author's depiction of Bilbo's and Frodo's relationship in the book might be applicable to the Tolkiens' relationship in real life. Then it wouldn't be at all surprising if the response of Frodo to what began as 'There and Back Again' (The Red Book) was applicable to Christopher Tolkien's response to his father's unfinished works. There's filial feeling for you.

[ August 18, 2002: Message edited by: Nar ]

08-18-2002, 08:46 AM	#3
Nar Wight Join Date: Apr 2002 Posts: 228	Interesting question, Guildo. Leaf by Niggle was written (I believe) before LotR (correct me if I'm wrong; it feels like a VERY early work to me) and involves an artist, Niggle, creating a grand, beautiful and complicated work-- a painting of a tree-- which he cannot quite capture in all the glory it holds in his mind. (semi-spoiler) In the end, Niggle is unable to finish it, but one fragment reaches the public. That story appears to tap anxieties about Tolkien's legendarium of poems and stories later published as The Silmarillion, Unfinished Tales, and much of the History of Middle Earth. I think anxieties about finishing those stories were present during the writing of LotR and probably did influence Tolkien's treatment of The Red Book and Bilbo's Translations from the Elvish. Note, though, that Bilbo did finish Translations from the Elvish, as Tolkien planned to finish and publish his Elvish and Numenorean stories. It was The Red Book Bilbo didn't finish-- and of course its (possible) counterpart, LotR, is the one Tolkien DID publish. And Sam adding on to The Red Book doesn't match real life at all! Tolkien couldn't know that his son would step in and go to work on publishing these works -- he certainly tried to finish and publish what would be The Silmarillion himself both before and after LotR came out. So that parallel of the 'heir' finishing the 'mentor's' book is a coincidence --or you could say that the author's depiction of Bilbo's and Frodo's relationship in the book might be applicable to the Tolkiens' relationship in real life. Then it wouldn't be at all surprising if the response of Frodo to what began as 'There and Back Again' (The Red Book) was applicable to Christopher Tolkien's response to his father's unfinished works. There's filial feeling for you. [ August 18, 2002: Message edited by: Nar ]