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I'm wondering whether the negative reaction of the literati & the educationalists isn't some kind of hold over from the old puritan work ethic. Isn't fantasy just too far from the real world to have any 'relevance'? Maybe they feel that reading should 'produce' some valuable (in 'real' terms) effect - make readers better, more effective citizens, better able to 'contribute'.
Maybe Tolkien shot himself in the foot by denying that LotR had any 'meaning'? I do notice that many of the books about Tolkien are written by people who want to show the 'meaning' & relevance of Tolkien's works, whether pointing out the 'religious' meanings, or the philosophical subtext & the like. Its as though if the books can't be shown to be 'relevant' they are worthless.
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