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Lalwendë · 06-07-2007, 01:28 PM

Alas the Wide Sargasso Sea is a case in point of exactly why we should not allow Tolkien rip-offs. No student now can read Jane Eyre unadulterated, no student can take Charlotte Bronte's word for what it is - it is now forever tarnished thanks to Jean Rhys and her provocative, oppositional take on Bronte's work. She's entitled to do this of course, but I think it should have been left as an iconoclastic curiosity - instead it has been taken to heart by generations of lecturers scrambling for 'different interpretations'. Sigh. Poor Charlotte. But then she were only a humble Yorkshirewoman. What did she know in comparison to these clever Postmodernists.

Nothing wrong with Wide Sargasso Sea on its own, but alas, it is what it has been used for that makes it a good example here. It has been used and abused as a 'tool' to alter the thoughts and interpretations of a whole generation or more of students and young readers. And the original author cannot defend herself. I can see this happening in a hundred years' time - some post-post-modernist interpretation of Beren and Luthien in which Luthien is an oppressed Elf, raped by Beren in the woodlands and forced to go on a quest by him - and so the original thoughts of Tolkien, that it sprang from his own love for his wife, will eventually be drowned and lost.

Alas, I don't think it would even amount to that with Tolkien's work being re-interpreted and turned over for bones of spurious stories - he is not yet a literary icon, so I fear such 'books' would just be lurid nerd fodder and would only stoke the fires of those who shout about Tolkien being a load of tripe and not worthy of serious attention.

Interestingly, there are some 'follow-ups' to Jane Austen's novels too - but they did not get good reviews and the Austenites seem to hate them, no matter how skillful the author who wrote them. And look at the incredible fuss made when whoever wrote the script to the recent film of P&P had Lizzie and Darcy kiss at the end. Just think of the book bonfire if someone tampered with Tolkien in that way!

Note - I read earlier this afternoon that some novelisations from Serenity/Firefly will be written soon. However the fans are already yelling loudly that these will NEVER be accepted as canon as Joss Whedon is not involved with them! So which fans, exactly, would be lapping up the Tolkien Pulp Fiction?

06-07-2007, 01:28 PM	#74
Lalwendë A Mere Boggart Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: under the bed Posts: 4,737	Alas the Wide Sargasso Sea is a case in point of exactly why we should not allow Tolkien rip-offs. No student now can read Jane Eyre unadulterated, no student can take Charlotte Bronte's word for what it is - it is now forever tarnished thanks to Jean Rhys and her provocative, oppositional take on Bronte's work. She's entitled to do this of course, but I think it should have been left as an iconoclastic curiosity - instead it has been taken to heart by generations of lecturers scrambling for 'different interpretations'. Sigh. Poor Charlotte. But then she were only a humble Yorkshirewoman. What did she know in comparison to these clever Postmodernists. Nothing wrong with Wide Sargasso Sea on its own, but alas, it is what it has been used for that makes it a good example here. It has been used and abused as a 'tool' to alter the thoughts and interpretations of a whole generation or more of students and young readers. And the original author cannot defend herself. I can see this happening in a hundred years' time - some post-post-modernist interpretation of Beren and Luthien in which Luthien is an oppressed Elf, raped by Beren in the woodlands and forced to go on a quest by him - and so the original thoughts of Tolkien, that it sprang from his own love for his wife, will eventually be drowned and lost. Alas, I don't think it would even amount to that with Tolkien's work being re-interpreted and turned over for bones of spurious stories - he is not yet a literary icon, so I fear such 'books' would just be lurid nerd fodder and would only stoke the fires of those who shout about Tolkien being a load of tripe and not worthy of serious attention. Interestingly, there are some 'follow-ups' to Jane Austen's novels too - but they did not get good reviews and the Austenites seem to hate them, no matter how skillful the author who wrote them. And look at the incredible fuss made when whoever wrote the script to the recent film of P&P had Lizzie and Darcy kiss at the end. Just think of the book bonfire if someone tampered with Tolkien in that way! Note - I read earlier this afternoon that some novelisations from Serenity/Firefly will be written soon. However the fans are already yelling loudly that these will NEVER be accepted as canon as Joss Whedon is not involved with them! So which fans, exactly, would be lapping up the Tolkien Pulp Fiction? __________________ Gordon's alive!