What breaks the enchantment?

[Lalwendë]

Originally Posted by Bethberry

The idea that one must put aside one's own world view or perspective--especially when it is referred to as 'baggage'-- in order to be enchanted by the text, well, that sounds too much like old time seduction to me, old world marriage of subordination rather than equality.

Originally Posted by Fordim

Well, let's just say that I tend to skim over that part a bit. Like I said above, the aspect of this that I find disenchanting is that the author seems to assume that there can be no other alternative or route for Eowyn to follow to redemption

But what are we to do in order to become enchanted and immerse into the world which is being presented to us? As Fordim says, he has to skim the part about Eowyn accepting marriage as a happy outcome. I too have had to skim parts of the text which make comments about Hobbits being 'unlettered' as though it makes some kind of statement about their status in The Shire, but as I prefer not to rankle at what is being said about this world (which is most definitely not our world), I have to suspend my beliefs. Nowhere does Tolkien make statements which could be said to be outrageously racist, sexist or anything else, he merely presents us with how the world is in this other place. I would not expect Shakespeare or Austen or any other writer to present us with anything other than the world they are presenting us with; they are not presenting us with our world, so I don't expect to see our world.

To do otherwise is like reading a Bible with a magic marker. Fine if you want to look for examples of things which do not concur with our experiences, beliefs or politics, but not so fine if we want to simply experience the world as seen through the eyes of the characters.