[Marileangorifurnimaluim]

Aye, Man-of-the-Wold. You're missing one: the tunnels of Orodruin and the transformation of Frodo, finally possessed by the ring, and then returning back the same way - himself again.

Not to mention the transformation of Gollum - zzzt.

But similar transformations occur at the crossings of rivers, and the indecision of the Fellowship is represented openly by steering a middle course down the Anduin. Also Tolkien ties his distant stories together with, of all things, the weather.

All signs point to Rome, the same conclusion: not a specific obsession with 'the underground' (though I believe Bilbo's love of mountains reflects Tolkien's own) but a concious use of geography to tell his story. Think, first of this genre, he was free to create a geography to fit his story, rather than planting his story on an existing piece of real estate.

But let's not miss the obvious. In both stories secrecy was all important, to which tunnels lend themselves nicely. It would be fairer to ask, what was Tolkien's obsession with the underdog (ahem) taking the bully by stealth and surprise, rather than open set-piece battle. That's the consistant theme, more so than tunnels and caves.

Fun topic, wish I'd noticed it sooner.

-Maril

[ February 13, 2002: Message edited by: Marileangorifurnimaluim ]