Quote:
Originally Posted by blantyr
You also have to remember that Elrond and Gandalf were both present, each wearing one of The Three. This makes it plausible that they could feed four extra hobbits.  |
Mmn, well, there's the rub, isn't it? It seems to me this concept only really works if you're prepared to use "it's magic" as an all-purpose hand-wave.
Now, I agree Tolkien himself clearly wasn't a bit interested in Elven economics, food-production, etc. That was never the point. However when attempting to fill in the gaps, as one often is in a fan-fiction or role-playing setting, my own feeling is that it's usually better to err somewhat on the side of practicality and plausibility. Still more so when you're taking part in a general discussion.
I say "usually", mind– I certainly wouldn't want to go to the other extreme of ignoring the fantasy aspect completely, and insisting on a level and detail of realism that would be out of place in an historical novel– which I've seen people do.
So, maybe I'm looking at this from the wrong perspective, but I must say I personally have great trouble seeing, say, Rivendell as a society sustained purely on hunting and gathering. It seems so different from any real-world equivalent that frankly it never even occurred to me that it was meant to work that way.