The White Council

Re: Deconstructing Tolkien (was Re: The Futility of "Feudalism in Middle-earth" Discussions (and other stuff))

Tolkien and Inklings Discussion

: [big snip]

: : Indeed the spell is so great that had Frodo walked across the : : street to 221B Baker Street to consult with the world's : : foremost consulting detective about the nature of the Ring, I : : wouldn't have found it very much out of place. I don't mean : : that literally, but I sometimes think that the LOTR has more in : : common with Victorian England than with pre-historic : : civilizations, despite the use of archaic language and customs.

: Well, the Middle-earth of THE LORD OF THE RINGS is not supposed to be anything in particular except imaginary. It can therefore borrow the trappings of "later" eras and combine them into a unique blend of pre-historic what ifs which suggest that much was lost and eventually recovered.

: Politically, religiously, and perhaps even culturally Tolkien was projecting a simpler form of something onto his stories.

: I can readily say that Martin and the other feudalists may be right in one respect: there may be something which is essentially feudal in nature but is not really drawn from historical precedent. I mean, Tolkien may have been balancing the knife on its point. Hence, what so many see as feudal seems other-than-feudal to the rest of us.

I just feel that too much emphasis is placed on the European models. So much is missing from them in Middle-earth that it simply doesn't follow to say that Tolkien drew upon Medieval Europe in that way.

May I suggest that that something is the familiar? As in Tolkien's theory on "subcreation" he employs not only familiar landscapes with trees, shrubs, villages and people, but also the other "trappings" of society. But as you say it's a little bit from here and a little bit from there, so that the world of Middle-Earth is quite familiar on the one hand, but very different on the other. And there isn't enough of any ONE thing to call it anything except what it is: An imaginary place that has so much vivid detail (hidden in a haze) that we all see it in different ways. I say "hidden in a haze", because for all the detail, there is so much that is NOT said. Tolkien let's the reader imagine or perhaps infer more than is actually written. I am amazed at the power that Tolkien's world has on us, but it is only a further proof that Tolkien's theory was correct. I would love to see some one write a paper on this.