how would Tolkien feel about fanfic or RPGs? - The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum

davem · 08-01-2007, 03:51 PM

For all he might have wanted to produce a mythology that he could dedicate to his country, it seems he was hurt by attempts to 'extend' it. Clearly he felt it was 'his', & not something which belonged to others, which they could add to.

So the question is whether fanfic is technically an addition, or more of a 'tribute'. Tolkien, it seems, felt that what he produced was the story, & only what he produced. I suppose its akin to somebody entering your house & using your things. However respectful they might be of them, they are using them without your permission. He could control what he did with his creation, but not what others did with it. It reflects his values, his vision of the world, & would always be, in some way, him. I think it was, in the end, simply too personal. To find his characters doing & saying things which he hadn't set down would perhaps have felt to him as if they were being manipulated to suit the plans & desires of others. He was, in many ways, a jealous creator, with something of Feanor in him, & in some ways he did, perhaps, love too well the work of his own hands. And yet, it is his creation. For others to take up his characters was perceived by him, rightly or wrongly, to be an attempt to dominate his own creation, & by extension to dominate him. Of course he couldn't authorise other minds & hands to take up the reins.

View Poll Results: How would the Professor feel about fanfic?
He'd like the idea that his work was being carried on by those who loved it.	19	43.18%
He would want only his son or another authorised editor to oversee all Middle-earth stories.	10	22.73%
He'd tear his hair out with rage and disgust.	10	22.73%
He wouldnt' have cared.	5	11.36%
Voters: 44. You may not vote on this poll

08-01-2007, 03:51 PM	#20
davem Illustrious Ulair Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: In the home of lost causes, and forsaken beliefs, and unpopular names,and impossible loyalties Posts: 4,240	For all he might have wanted to produce a mythology that he could dedicate to his country, it seems he was hurt by attempts to 'extend' it. Clearly he felt it was 'his', & not something which belonged to others, which they could add to. So the question is whether fanfic is technically an addition, or more of a 'tribute'. Tolkien, it seems, felt that what he produced was the story, & only what he produced. I suppose its akin to somebody entering your house & using your things. However respectful they might be of them, they are using them without your permission. He could control what he did with his creation, but not what others did with it. It reflects his values, his vision of the world, & would always be, in some way, him. I think it was, in the end, simply too personal. To find his characters doing & saying things which he hadn't set down would perhaps have felt to him as if they were being manipulated to suit the plans & desires of others. He was, in many ways, a jealous creator, with something of Feanor in him, & in some ways he did, perhaps, love too well the work of his own hands. And yet, it is his creation. For others to take up his characters was perceived by him, rightly or wrongly, to be an attempt to dominate his own creation, & by extension to dominate him. Of course he couldn't authorise other minds & hands to take up the reins. __________________ “Everything was an object. If you killed a dwarf you could use it as a weapon – it was no different to other large heavy objects."