Hmm. Maybe its not a good idea to bring in 20th century feelings & attitudes to too great a degree. The Mythological races, Elves, Dwarves (& men in this context), all have separate 'worlds' which they inhabit - ie the Nine Worlds in Norse myth. When you look into it, in most mythologies there is this separation, Elves live in Elfland, which is 'Elfland' because Elves live there. In other words, Tolkien's world is a mythic world, not a 20th century one. Maybe Tolkien wasn't making any 'point', just trying to create a world in conformity with the mythological archetypes he was inspired by.
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