Finding the "Lost Road"

[Huinesoron]

Originally Posted by Pitchwife

With the caveat that it's a long time since I read The Lost Road, I think that would be a plausible way to spin the story, as well as an effective one. On the other hand, Elendil has, of course, always already acted like he did, or the stories Alboin dreamed wouldn't be these stories. Did Alboin time-travelling back into Elendil's mind cause history to unfold the way it did, or was the point him realising that it was himself, as Elendil, who brought about the events remembered in the stories? Or both, in a 'Hold the door!' moment? It's all very timey-wimey, but that would make a story I'd like to see told.

ETA: Considering the origin of TLR in that compact between Tolkien and Lewis about writing a space-travel story and a time-travel story, and seeing how the names of their respective protagonists, Elwin and Alboin, mirror each other, I'd like to think that Alboin would have no more remained a passive observer than Ransom did, but then I'm not Tolkien.

Now that you've said that, I think "both" would fit very well with Tolkien's philosophy. Across the Legendarium, we run into the idea that the outcome of events is set, fated, doomed - but also comes about through the actions and choices of the people involved. The House of Hurin was cursed, but it was Turin's decisions that directly caused the results of the curse. So the idea that Elendil is fated/historically known to have founded the Realms in Exile, but also needs to "be" Alboin to do so, would fit in very well.

The "stories" theory I expressed also makes sense of the last chapter before Numenor: chapter VI, variously described as "Beleriand" or the "(A)galdor story". All the notes on this seem to describe it as a story of the first return of the Numenoreans to Middle-earth - a story which is also given in a different form in the new Fall of Numenor, which cribs it from somewhere in HoME. But that doesn't make sense of the timeline! Why would we step backwards from Alboin, then step past Elendil to something millennia before him? Well, maybe we don't - maybe the Galdor story is a story within the chapter, retold later (after the Downfall). That would fit the structure Tolkien seems to be making, and would mean Alboin sees the disaster before he sees the people who brought it about.

hS