Quote:
Originally Posted by Balfrog
A summary is provided for Ms. Seth's 28 essay effort to explain Bombadil and Goldberry (not to mention the 'origin' of The Hobbit and some of its characters). As expected, for those who have followed the entire series, my daughter's claim is that the Tolkien spun both of them around the idea of being the source of our world's fairy tales and legends. Set forth is a summarizing list fnaf
Remarkably she has concluded for the The Lord of the Rings itself – Tom is a case of 'applicability' and not 'allegory'. However behind it all – there is an allegorical face. We've had many a discussion on this – but since she is the one who first proposed Tom as allegorically representing the 'audience' of the great cosmogonical play, I bow to her thoughts.
Tantalizingly she has finished off by offering in the future to reveal the fate of the Entwives. Didn't another character, on some forum long ago, promise something similar? |
The essay series suggests that Tolkien intended these characters to represent the deeply rooted, ancient mythological and folkloric foundations that underlie the fantasy world he created.