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Originally Posted by William Cloud Hicklin
That passage, in particular, reflects Churchill's quip about "separated by a common language." Comments about the racial implications of the "squint-eyed-Southerner" at Bree invariably come from Americans who are unfamiliar with British English- because in the UK, a "squint" means that the individual is cross-eyed; it has nothing to do with eyes pressed nearly closed, much less caricatures of Asians. (Also, naturally, it applies to that particular spy, not to Saruman's breeding experiments generally).
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I beg to differ:
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But in the village of Bywater all the houses and holes were shut, and no one greeted them. They wondered at this, but they soon discovered the reason of it. When they reached The Green Dragon, the last house on the Hobbiton side, now lifeless and with broken windows, they were disturbed to see half a dozen large ill-favoured Men lounging against the inn-wall; they were squint-eyed and sallow-faced.
‘Like that friend of Bill Ferny’s at Bree,’ said Sam.
‘Like many that I saw at Isengard,’ muttered Merry.
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Thanks for pointing out the other meaning of squint-eyed. But it wasn't just the one Southener at Bree, he was just the first of Saruman's lot that we see of that physical description.
Quote:
Originally Posted by William Cloud Hicklin
Where does Tolkien ever describe the Dunlendings as "swarthy?" At most he says that they are darker-complected than the ultrablonde Rohirrim; to me, anyway, the Dunlendings are calqued upon the Britons/Welsh, still resentful of being driven out of their lands by the Saxons. And the Welsh are "darker" than Nordic types, but certainly not African or even Mediterranean.
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I was using the word liberally, as it's used in, say, Gondor, to indicate darker-complected regions. But you're right - it seems they were never called that, and maybe the description is not suitable for their actual appearance. I think this is a good point and a good parallel.