The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum - View Single Post

davem · 03-22-2004, 02:18 AM

Storms out of the West seem a common reaction from the Valar in times of extreme tribulation. Perhaps the most significant storm out of the West appears in the Notion Club Papers. As Christopher Tolkien notes

"The Great Storm of June 12th, 1987: my father's 'prevision' was only out by four months. The greatest storm in living memory struck southern England, causing vast damage, on October 16th, 1987. It is curious in the light of this to read Mr Green's remarks: - It may well be that the predictions (notably of the storm), though genuine & not coincidences, were unconcious: giving one more glimpse of the strange processes of so called literary 'invention', with which the Papers are largely concerned.'

So, in a story begun in the mid 1940's but set in the mid 1980's, Tolkien 'accurately' (to within a few months) predicts a real world storm out of the West which devastates southern England. Yet in his letters Tolkien repeatedly speaks of not 'inventing' the tales, but rather 'discovering' what 'really' happened. He also admits to a visitor that he did not believe that he had made it all up.

Not to push that too far - the point is that he was tapping into some deeper level of the unconscious mind & drawing up images & symbols which he set out in his stories. He took Dunne's theories of Time seriously, as Flieger has shown, & felt that it was possible to achieve a state of mind where one could become receptive to both the far past & the distant future - which is what the Notion Club Papers & the Lost Road are exploring.

But back to the topic, Storms out of the West, often with Eagles riding the winds of the storm, or appearing in conjunction with them, are an image which runs right through the Legendarium, & are clearly symbolic of an intervention by Manwe. They are supernatural events. Storms seem to symbolise or signal the anger of the spiritual powers, Eagles often to symbolise divine 'Grace', unexpected & unlooked for. But both storms & Eagles are symbols of the divine breaking into the mundane, Manwe's way of saying 'We are still here' - a threat to the forces of evil, & a sign of hope to those struggling against it.

03-22-2004, 02:18 AM	#3
davem Illustrious Ulair Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: In the home of lost causes, and forsaken beliefs, and unpopular names,and impossible loyalties Posts: 4,240	Storms out of the West seem a common reaction from the Valar in times of extreme tribulation. Perhaps the most significant storm out of the West appears in the Notion Club Papers. As Christopher Tolkien notes "The Great Storm of June 12th, 1987: my father's 'prevision' was only out by four months. The greatest storm in living memory struck southern England, causing vast damage, on October 16th, 1987. It is curious in the light of this to read Mr Green's remarks: - It may well be that the predictions (notably of the storm), though genuine & not coincidences, were unconcious: giving one more glimpse of the strange processes of so called literary 'invention', with which the Papers are largely concerned.' So, in a story begun in the mid 1940's but set in the mid 1980's, Tolkien 'accurately' (to within a few months) predicts a real world storm out of the West which devastates southern England. Yet in his letters Tolkien repeatedly speaks of not 'inventing' the tales, but rather 'discovering' what 'really' happened. He also admits to a visitor that he did not believe that he had made it all up. Not to push that too far - the point is that he was tapping into some deeper level of the unconscious mind & drawing up images & symbols which he set out in his stories. He took Dunne's theories of Time seriously, as Flieger has shown, & felt that it was possible to achieve a state of mind where one could become receptive to both the far past & the distant future - which is what the Notion Club Papers & the Lost Road are exploring. But back to the topic, Storms out of the West, often with Eagles riding the winds of the storm, or appearing in conjunction with them, are an image which runs right through the Legendarium, & are clearly symbolic of an intervention by Manwe. They are supernatural events. Storms seem to symbolise or signal the anger of the spiritual powers, Eagles often to symbolise divine 'Grace', unexpected & unlooked for. But both storms & Eagles are symbols of the divine breaking into the mundane, Manwe's way of saying 'We are still here' - a threat to the forces of evil, & a sign of hope to those struggling against it.