[Child of the 7th Age]

Thanks, Davem. This is a fascinating argument. I have never heard anyone set forward this idea in quite this way, although many early critics contended that LotR was an "allegory" of WWII, a contention that the author denied.

Yet my own perception is different than your own. It's certainly true that the earlier drafts in HoMe were more light hearted, especially in their use of language and depiction of the hobbits, and that this tone grew progressively darker. Most would attribute this to the fact that Tolkien was gradually shifting away from the mode of writing and thought that had shaped the Hobbit. Even so, there could have been a more profound underlying element at work to produce such a shift. And, as Rimbaud has said, it's clear Tolkien resented how the Nazis had abused Northern myth.

But I read this whole thing differently than you do. If we compare what had been written of the Legendarium prior to LotR with the tone of the Rings itself, I think you come away with a different picture. My impression is that those portions of the Legendarium constructed from the early 1900s down to the start of World War II were often pessimistic in the extreme. With only one or two notable exceptions, it seems to be an unmitigated tale of sorrow and disaster: Men, Elves, and even the Valar making horrible mistakes. The depth of tragedy that permeates these tales is profound and, I always saw it as indicative of the kind of "doom without hope" that permeates most of the early Northern legends. When I read the current Silm up to the Third Age, which admittedly contains material pre and post World War II, I sometimes come away with the feeling of that the history of Middle-earth is an unmitagated tragedy. The tone is extremely grim.

Lord of the Rings itself seems almost like a miracle of hope when compared with these earlier tales. After all those great heroes of the past have gotten it "wrong", you are given the unlikely and almost unbelievable scenario of hobbits, supported by loyal friends from all the Free Peoples, who somehow--with help from providence-- manage to get things right. In view of the failings of most of the earlier heroes, their success, although temporary, is a welcome respite. Many have described the tone of the final chapters as "bittersweet", and I would agree. Great sadness surely, but also profound joy. Some of the later writings -- the debate between Finrod and Andreth, for example -- are even more explicitly hopeful.

As to what caused this change in writing and tone, I don't think we will ever know for sure. Each of us will probably have a different view. I see two things at work, probably related. As Tolkien grew older, he probably began to muse long and hard on what mortality means. Speaking as an Elder (age-wise, I mean) on this board, I know that such questions often begin to intrude more seriously. And in those musings, Tolkien seems to have placed greater emphasis on his religious beliefs and had less faith in the physical world about him. WWII would certainly have been another part of this process of disillusionment. It must have seemed like a replay of the kind of horror he'd known in the Great War. And yes, the misuse of the "Nordic spirit" must have made him very uncomfortable. There are indications in the minor writings that he indeed began to question the accessibility of faerie.

Perhaps this betrayal by the Nazis, placed alongside the fact that mortality seemed to be looming closer, led him to re-emphasize his own beliefs. This is why I believe that Christian themes and symbols unwittingly crept into the Rings, a reflection of what was going on inside of him. And this is why the tone and ending of LotR is different than many of the early tales. The culmination of this would be the Athrabeth.

Yes, I think the Nazi's betrayal, the War and the fact that he had two sons serving underlined Tolkien's sense of urgency and frustration as he rewrote those earlier chapters and the book took on more serious tones. Perhaps he even began to question his own access to the Faeire realm. Yet, the ending of LotR is far more hopeful than most of the tales that made up the Legendarium. It is this that sticks in my mind.

Edit: I have cross posted with Aiwendil as it took me forever to write this thing. I think that he and I are saying some similar things but coming at it from a different vantage point. Like Aiwendil, I would totally agree that the changes we see in Tolkien's writings were overall not bad: they were just different. I have long disliked Christopher's tone and handling when he deals with some of these differences with references in HoMe.