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Originally Posted by TORE
Does that mean that there are millions of different meanings out there?
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Yes, although they will overlap to a very significant degree due to our common understanding of the language that he used.
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Originally Posted by TORE
But that doesn't make it so.
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It makes it the only "true" meaning to me.
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Originally Posted by TORE
Because we don't know (or at least there's significant debate) the author's intentions on these matters.
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Actually, the author claimed that Frodo failed in his Quest. I disagree with him on that.
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Originally Posted by TORE
But what would I use to support my side of the Balrog/wing debate for example? My opinion or my interpretation? Only if it was backed up by quotes from the book(s), possibly quotes from the Letters, etc.
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I have always held that Durin's Bane had wings because, when I first read the book, that's how I imagined him. I was influenced, of course, by the words used by the author. But was it his intention that the Balrog be winged? Who can say? Irrespective of his intention, I see the Balrog with wings. That is my interpretation, the "meaning" that I give to that passage. I do not insist that others see it in the same way.
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Originally Posted by TORE
But "mark" is right - although this is Tolkien-related and also related to finding Christian elements in the books it really is not as much on topic as it should be I don't think.
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Well, she is right that we have been through these arguments before (it's an eternal struggle
). But I disagree that it has no relevance to the ongoing debate (if not the original question). If one is claiming (or denying) that LotR is a Christian work, one must define the basis upon which such claim is made. Individual interpretation? Authorial intention? Or something else? If so, what?