Quote:
|
The fact that Tolkien did not send "The Silmarillion" to a publisher in his lifetime is obvious evidence that he was not yet satisfied with it.
|
Actually, he did, even before he had first finished LotR; it was rejected. In a letter from December of 1937 to his publisher (Allen & Unwin), he says, " My chief joy comes from learning the Silmarillion is not rejected with scorn." That was the earliest known submission of the manuscript, I believe, and he certainly attempted to have it published a number of times thereafter.
What becomes clear is that Tolkien was a scholar of languages and mythology first, and a storyteller second. His love for the world he was creating (combined with his personal beliefs and philosophies) prompted him to change his thinking about it and the details of it over and over again.
This is not at all unusual for writers who create complex "new worlds," about which they have many tales to tell. I have had the honor of being friends with the authors of several very successful and popular alternate world type series, and every one of them has tinkered with the details and the background well after the first books had been published and the readership base solidified. One would think that having already "put it out there," they would stick to what they'd had when they began, but they didn't. There were myriad reasons: certain things that would have worked in a single novel didn't work for many, their thinking about the purpose of the world they had created had changed, some things didn't fit with that reconception, other things worked better if certain aspects were changed -- all things that Tolkien appears to have considered and attempted as well. Is it a good idea? Sometimes, not always. Does later thinking and attempted revision invalidate earlier versions? Not necessarily. We know that JRRT admitted that after LotR was published, he had begun to rethink the mythological underpinnings of his world to make it fit better with his beliefs as a Roman Catholic. He also admitted this wasn't always able to be done, not without scrapping the whole thing and starting over (the matter of the orcs, their origins, and whether or not they had immortal souls was a particularly knotty sticking point, as I recall).
What CJRT published when the Silmarillion was first printed was, no doubt, the most complete and most cohesive version of the manuscript extant. That he admits to some accidental omissions and possible mistakes does not invalidate what was published; it's as much "canon" as he felt could be assembled at that point in time. His later analysis and feelings about possible revisions is his own authorial rethinking of a published work, combined with some second-guessing of what he believes his father had intended or wanted. It's a complicated situation, since the creator is not the one actually assembling what is to be published, and thus I suspect debates over what is "real canon" anent the Silmarillion and anything published after JRRT's death will go on forever.
Which isn't necessarily a bad thing. The debate can provide different perspectives of the work, giving rise to different insights, all of which can be valuable. When a work is so cut and dried that it leaves no questions for the imagination to ponder, it's a rather barren ground for providing inspiration for new thoughts, new ideas, new creativity.
So here's to Tolkien and his ambiguous canon! Though frustrating when one wants to
know specific answers, it is fertile soil for speculation, and a rich environment to feed each reader's own imagination. A wonderful legacy for many, many years to come, in my humble opinion.
