[Carannillion]

I may just be repeating things already said, but I'll say it anyway.

I agree that the Shire is important. The Shire gives LotR a soul, and makes it cozy and warm, in all its despair. Rivendell, the wonderful refuge of the elves, Lorien, Galadriel's secret kingdom, Minas Tirith as the high castle of freedom and so on and so on are all good places, but there is a sadness and hopelessness hanging over them all. The Shire, on the other hand, is the well of hope, the place of dreams. Galadriel's mirror, the Palantiri etc. are all items of vision and dreams, but what visions? Nightmares is what they project! In the Shire we are allowed to sit back and enjoy life, while the rest of the world is going to hell, and we need that "breathing space" sometimes.