LotR - an allegory? No, not WW2 this time, I promise... ;)

[morwen edhelwen]

Bethberry, if you don't mind being corrected.. Pilgrim's Progress' hero is named Christian and his wife is Christiana. The book is mentioned in Little Women by Louisa May Alcott.

[Galadriel55]

Originally Posted by Legate

I could say it simply: I am certain I would have liked to meet a Dragon, however at the same time of course I would not have liked to really meet him, just like Tolkien did.

Very neat observation!


I think that the allegory/theme is about the disappearance of magic (as much as Galadriel objects to that word in LOTR). Now we want proof for everything. Logic. Evidence. What evidence is there in immortal creatures with pointy ears who sing about stars or their glowing swords? None, in "our" world. Therefore it's all a myth/fairy tale/simply lie. But at the same time, they are here, whatever the "here" is.

Sci-fi novels today are usually based on a set of scientific rules/assumptions/proofs/abilities (either current or futuristic), and they hardly ever include the beauty of unexplained things - things that shouldn't be explained. If we found out everything, the world woulfd be a very boring place. However, we never know if we indeed found out everything, because there might be something else lurking around the corner witing for us to relax...........

Anyways, the acceptance / belief in magic is one thing that makes legends and mythologies so beautiful.