[Lalwendë]

One thing I have struggled with in LotR is the politics, and the underlying political messages which I dislike intensely. I do not like the idea that certain 'classes' of people are somehow more superior than others, and hence am not entirely enraptured with Elves. I also have misgivings about Sam's place in this story. But, while I sometimes ponder these matters, I have to drop them from any serious consideration of the work as they are irrelevant.

Why are they irrelevant? This is a secondary world and such matters do not trouble those who live therein; the Elves are not a snooty upper class, they are benign, and Sam's under-education is not a burden to him, he is not shown to be a buffoon or a village idiot. If I was to have Middle Earth entirely correct to my own political beliefs then it would a sanitised mess. I have the same experience when reading Jane Austen - I wonder to myself where the servants are? I think it's all very well the Bennett sisters bemoaning the lack of rich suitors, but what about the poor girls who serve up their food and sew their gowns? Again, I have to suspend such thoughts in order to enjoy the books.

Writers by necessity focus on a narrow field of vision, they simply cannot take in all of the world or such vital matters as plot and characterisation would fall by the wayside in the pursuit of considering all the potential readers. When I hear critics saying of LotR that it lacks strong female characters I do get cross as this is missing the point. Criticism like that takes the nature of art out of context. If every piece of art must consider every experience of humankind then art would quickly become bland and grey and boring. LotR, like Jane Austen's work, homes in on one vision of a/the world and deals with that. Authors simply cannot take all of our baggage into consideration or what they wrote would become stilted and dull. Either that, or the author who managed to pull off this feat would be incredibly rich, as no author has managed that. The fact that Tolkien is one of the most popular authors in the world must mean that he goes at least part of the way.

If someone fails to be enchanted by a book, then they simply put it down and try a different one. If someone fails to be won over by a particular passage then this might diminish their enjoyment. It isn't the fault of the author unless they are universally seen as a terrible writer (in which case they probably - hopefully? - wouldn't be published). I think what it boils down to is both taste and the fact that we all do carry baggage with us when we open a book. If we can't suspend our 'baggage' then we can't take on board what we are reading.