One sentence in
Smith got me thinking about Christopher as Ned again - I mentioned earlier in this discussion that I think he was the main inspiration for Smith's son. The sentence is:
Quote:
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You look like a giant, Dad.
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Now, one who knows a trade well can best recognize skill, even genius, in another person of that trade. Ned and his father share the same trade, and reading Tolkien's biography (a different one than I had read so far) in the last weeks made me newly aware that Christopher followed in his father's footsteps (though he could not fill his shoes!) and was also an Oxford professor.
Ned later says:
Quote:
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...there is much you can teach me yet...
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- and is the one who speaks with his father of the bereavement of giving up the star. Christopher shared his father's dreams more than anyone else, at least late in Tolkien's life, and he was the one child consulted by JRRT about the development of LotR and later, the Silmarillion.
I'm not trying to milk the story to get more out of it than is in it, but thinking about Christopher brought me back to Ned more than once. Perhaps someone else has additional thoughts about these autobiographical aspects and we can revive the discussion again - I know
Smith has been mentioned on another thread several times recently.