Well, Ossė, you're of course right, Tolkien did make those statements in his foreword to LotR. (I think mostly because he was enraged because people were drawing all sorts of wrong conclusions)
On the other hand, if you read his letters, things look a bit differently...
e.g. (from letter #181 )
Quote:
It was written to amuse (in the highest sense): to be readable. (.....)
But , of course, if one sets out to address "adults", they will not be pleased, excited, or moved unless the whole, or the incidents, seem to be about something worth considering, more e.g. than mere danger and escape: there must be some relevance to the "human situation". So some of the tellers own reflections and values will inevitably get worked in. This is not the same as allegory"
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and in letter #153 he even wrote:
Quote:
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I would claim, (...) to have as one object the elucidation of truth, and the encouragement of good morals in this real world, by the ancient device of exemplifying them in unfamiliar embodiments, that may tend to "bring them home".
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(btw, there exists a thread on this last quote here in the Downs)
Also, I noticed that in Tolkien's works there are many, many "proverbs" (mostly made up by Tolkien himself) or statements that refer to the situations in the book, but contain at the same time a general and timeless truth. (I've found over 50 til now...)
And I think that Tolkien put very much of himelf in his books (not consciously, of course) because after all:
Quote:
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"It is written in my life-blood, such as that is, thick or thin; and I can no other.
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(about LotR, from letter 109)
[ July 21, 2003: Message edited by: Guinevere ]