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The White CouncilRe: details in storiesTolkien and Inklings Discussion |
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The White CouncilRe: details in storiesTolkien and Inklings Discussion |
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Posted by Steve S. on October 14, 1999 at 11:51:14 In Reply to: Re: More on magic, LOTR and otherwise posted by shadowfax on October 14, 1999 at 10:24:37:
: Exactly, Tolkien lets the reader decide whether his magic has some rational explanation or not. The story works both ways. It is also one of the effects Tolkien cleverly uses, that he leaves so much unexplained which he could quite easily have explained. This suggests there is so much more behind the stories. For example, The Silmarillion may answer many of the questions which were left ambiguous in LOtR and its appendices (why do the Elves go West, who was Erendil, what is the rest of the story of Beren and Luthien etc) while at the same time leaving scope for further questions, and referneces to further stories which were probably never written. And even not all questions from LotR are answered (does anybody know exactly what the original hammer Grond was and what is significant about it etc). Not explaining magic is just one detail under many. Absolutely. For every detail that Silmarillion filled in for LotR, it created ten more questions. One of the reasons why this board is what it is & a reason why some questions will never be absolutely answered (color of Legolas' hair only one example that pops to mind). Any of you that read "The HitchHiker's Guide to the Galaxy" series may relate to this. In the first book, a pot of petunias (or some other flower) is popped into being accidentally, in mid-air. The narrator states that the only thing that goes through the flower's mind before smashing to bits at the end of its fall was, "Oh no! Not again!" I loved that. An enigma - just like Tom Bombadil, best left alone & unexplained. A couple books later, the author does explain why the flower thought that. I was so disappointed because the explanation wasn't as good as what I imagined the reason could be. -Steve S.
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