[blantyr]

In the early days of the First and Second Ages, when Tolkien wasn't so mature as a writer or as a person, the way to resolve things was with brute force. Even then the Valar were more reluctant than many a mythical pantheon to dirty their hands and settle issues themselves. Still, by the time Tolkien was writing The Lord of the Rings, the notion that good shall triumph over evil because the good guys are bigger, stronger, tougher and more numerous than the bad guys wasn't the theme he was after. Quite the opposite. While people like Aragorn and Gandalf were hardly 95 pound weaklings, the Enemy was generally perceived as being the mightier force.

At least until the Ents awakened and found they were strong, or until the horns of Rohan blew on the edges of Pelennor...

In every Lord of the Rings role playing game I've encountered there has been some form of 'fate' game mechanic. Generally, so many times a game session, the good guys blessed by the Valar are allowed, when the dice fall wrong, to pick the dice up and roll again.

This reflects a notion that the Valar are making it possible for things to turn out all right... assuming enough people make enough correct choices.

Which reflects an underlying theme of the books which gets ignored in the movies. In the books, even though the good guys distrust and hold themselves isolated from other good guys, when the time comes just about everyone makes the correct choices while remaining true to their nature. In the books, the Ents take their time and with all due consideration and thought decide to tear down Isengard. In the movies the hobbits goad them into getting hasty. In the books, Denathor sends the Red Arrow to Rohan calling for aid. In the movies, Gandalf and a hobbit light the beacons of Gondor using stealth, summoning Rohan through trickery.

That to me is a deep underlying theme of the work. If everyone recognizes their duty, the Valar will subtly guide a path to victory. Well, not all of it was subtle. Wind from the sea cleared the air before the Battle of Pelennor, and brought Aragorn and other reinforcements up the river. I don't see the Valar as being totally subtle and passive, as totally refusing to intervene.

Yet the themes of the book involve everyman and every god being willing to do their part.

Plan B? The Valar manifesting physically and thwapping everything in their path? OK. Sure. Maybe they talked about the possibility over supper in the land of the ever living. But would Tolkien ever write that book? Is that what he was saying with his creation?

No way.