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Originally Posted by Bethberry
What can be gained in our understanding of LotR if we examine it to see if the story in fact does not support Gimli's adoration of Galadriel?
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I confess little interest in such research, probably because of where I stand on the canonicity issue. (I'll let you figure that one out for yourselves.)
The Letter that I was referring to was #177:
First, in the preliminary note:
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...Edwin Muir, reviewing The Return of the King in the Observer on 27 November, wrote: 'All the characters are boys masquerading as adult heroes . . . . and will never come to puberty . . . . . Hardly one of them knows anything about women.'
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and Tolkiens' response to this:
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Blast Edwin Muir and his delayed adolescence. He is old enough to know better. It might do him good to hear what women think of his 'knowing about women', especially as a test of being mentally adult. If he had an M.A. I should nominate him for the professorship of poetry - a sweet revenge.
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As for Gilgamesh and cultural influence versus universal rootedness, I fear that you are right that it's a matter of opinion, having mostly to do with philosophical world view, and thus is probably something best avoided, as most of you already know what I believe, and this thread is not supposed to be about what I believe, but about what's in the spirit of Tolkien and what's not.