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Old 07-10-2007, 11:34 AM   #28
Chestertonian Ramble
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Leaf

1) On Christopher, I can't find it at the moment (my collected Letters are literally in a box as I prepare to move), but I remember somewhere Tolkien warning his son that
a) He had great literary talent, but
b) It may not be the same as his, and that Christopher should try to find his own voice and distance himself from his shadow.

2) On the autobiographical/allegorical elements of Leaf by Niggle, I can only really present my own views and experiences. On the one hand, I know that Tolkien reveled in a bit of allegorical caricature (see pretty much everyone in Farmer Giles, representing the most ridiculous characteristics) of their "types." And perhaps that is at work in the utterly lawlike and practical Inspector, as Littlemanpoet pointed out.

I personally see Leaf by Niggle as a quiet reflection on the themes discussed above, and see Niggle as allegorically depicting Tolkien as Artist, but also feel I can understand why Tolkien didn't want it to be considered an allegory. I guess I would disagree if you said "so-and-so is such-and-such," but if you say "so-and-so exists and is this way in the story, and means this much to Tolkien, because of Tolkien's experiences with such-and-such," I wouldn't object. But I think the point of seeing the "allegory" is to understand the story as a story and absorb the meaning into our own lives, rather than merely to "figure it out." If that makes sense.
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