Different people cry for different emotional intensities. What could make you cry is probably vastly different from what would make me cry. For example, books by J.R.R. Tolkien, Mercedes Lackey, and Susan Cooper make me cry. To other people, books by Mercedes Lackey and Susan Cooper may not be emotional enough to cry over. It is a matter of personal opinion.
I personally believe that Tolkien's characters have great psychological depth. Pullman can believe what he wants to, after all this is a free country. I just think that he needs to take into consideration the type of story that Tolkien wanted, the type of characters, and the writing style that he used. All of those criteria influence the characters. Pullman's "criteria" are vastly different, and thus, his characters are vastly different. Unless you have the same "criteria," you can't really compare characters, or claim that they have no psychological depth.
__________________
But Melkor also was there, and he came to the house of Fëanor, and there he slew Finwë King of the Noldor before his doors, and spilled the first blood in the Blessed Realm; for Finwë alone had not fled from the horror of the Dark.
|