[Mithalwen]

Well that's the thing isn't it. I can't help thinking that it is too common a word to read too much significance into it...start subbing in alternatives and it does get bouncery or otherwise un-Gandalfy. What else is he going to say? "Over my dead body!"? ! "You won't get by me!"....

I can't help thinking that with Tolkien's feelings on allegory that he might have excised it had he consciously noticed the connection unless it was unavoidable that any alternative seemed "wrong" . As with the perceived religious reference I don't think it has anything to do with the capacity for comprehension of the reader but everything to do with the prior knowledge of the reader. You cannot recognise something you have never encountered before. People with no knowledge of theology or mythology won't pick up those connections, historical ignoramuses won't make this one.

Just as a side note the French version reminded me that words with the same origins don't always have exactly the same meanings in different languages and "passer" in French can be a "faux ami" - at least as far as exams are concerned!