"for it was always there."

[radagastly]

I have not started a thread in a long time. I hope this intrigues everyone and offends no one.

The title above is taken from Peter S. Beagle, in his prologue/essay titled "Tolkien's Magic Ring" as it appears in my version of The Tolkien Reader. (Ballentine Books, printed in the U. S. in 1966, paperback). I do not intend this to be an exploration (necessarily) of Tolkien's minor works, but of Tolkien's work, of his world. Of Middle Earth, of Arda, of Ea.

This is not a small question, and I am completely convinced that I am not qualified to ask, but without questions, there cannot be answers.

Not that I expect any concrete answers. The question is so personal. And universal.

Tolkien's work is a mythology. Not just a myth, a story from an elevated world, geared to teach us about ourselves, make us think about ourselves, but a mythology, a portrayal, a history, of that world from which myths come. Or is it?

Tolkien's work has a cohesiveness, a continuity that is lacking in the rest of the world's mythologies. Ancient Egypt's myths are, at best, beautiful and mysterious, only becase the information we have limits our perception of THEIR view of the universe. We don't know what they believed, only what their "Bible" tells us what they believed. The text we have gives us the mythic stories, but not in a cultural context. Archeologists have found vast bakeries, where the bread was baked that paid the builders of the pyramids, which made the beer that helped them pass the time. Certainly, at least a few of those bakers had a story to tell, a context from which to understand, at least a little, those people's idea of their universe.

The same can be said for most, if not all, of the various mythologies of the world. The ancient Greek playwrites clearly had an opinion of their religion, which gives a smattering of context, but not a clear understanding of their lives and their relationship to their idea of the nature of the universe. It is, perhaps, too specific, too opinionated. It is no different in other mythic histories.

In The Silmarillion, in "The Valaquenta," there is a single sentence, speaking of Varda (Elbereth):

Out of the deeps of Ea she came to the aid of Manwe; for Melkor she knew from before the making of the Music and rejected him, and he hated her, and feared her more than all others whom Eru made.

This could be a book in and of itself. A love triangle? between Varda, Manwe and Melkor?

Again, a story out of it's cultural context. But in this case, there is no "real" culture to provide the context. The Silmarillion is clearly written from the viewpoint of the Elves, but who are they?

My question is, does Tolkien's work fulfill the function of a true, cultural mythology for anyone?

I know I find myself biting my tongue keeping from quoting Tolkien in certain situations when with my non-Tolkien-fan friends. The Bible would usually be more appropriate in those situations, but I am less familiar with it than I am with Tolkien. (perhaps my loss, perhaps theirs.)

Despite it's real grandeur, Ea is rather small and limited when compared to the vastness of the various mythologies of the world, even including the Bible, the Koran, the Vedas.

I guess I'm wondering, is Tolkien's work a true mythology for you? (True as opposed to Fact!). Is it a "rock' that informs your life, relationships, creativity? Is it "always there" for you, in a mythic, perhaps subconscience sense? Does it teach you how to be whatever it is you hope to be? or think you are? Is it more for you than just a great work of fiction? If it is, why and how?

For myself, I will say, briefly, that there is no one mythology that I find singularly fulfilling. Like most people, (I think), I take what I can from the stories I hear. I would consider myself a Jack-of-all-Trades and therefore, Master of none. The story of Arda influences me, my choices, my views mostly in that it is the most familiar to me, certainly the most moving for me. Does that make it merely great fiction, or something more? You tell me.