‘Canonicity’: the Book or the Reader?

[The Saucepan Man]

Excellent posts, davem and H-I. What you both seem to be saying is that there is some shared but forgotten "truth" (for want of a better word) which Tolkien's works are not describing, but which they allow us to tap into or "almost remember" as davem puts it.

Davem, you provide a wonderful illustration of this concept of "enchantment". When I try to analyse the enchantment which I experienced when I first read LotR, the best that I can come up with is an image of a dark, moonlit landscape with a road winding through forested hills towards mountains in the distance, a landscape which has a "magical" feel to it. But is this landscape that of Middle-earth or is it something more fundamental? Is it in fact a vision of this half-remembered "truth"? I have always thought the former (since the image is clearly inspired by descriptions given in the Hobbit and LotR), but this discussion makes me question whether it may be the latter.

So what is this "truth" that Tolkien's works put us in touch with? It would not seem to be the "truth" of Middle-earth, whether as perceived by the individual, as intended by Tolkien, or a combination of the two (which this thread started out trying to understand). Middle-earth, it seems, is the medium by which we are put in touch with it (like H-I's painting puts us in touch with the truth of the actual person depicted in it). Is it "Faerie", whatever that may be? Or is it some collective "state of awareness" which manifests itself in myths, folklore and the tales told by those such as Tolkien, and perhaps in our dreams also? This latter concept would indeed seem to be related to Jungian concepts of archetypes and collective subconscious. Then again, should we even be trying to "fully remember" this "truth" by trying to define it, or does that in itself risk destroying the enchantment?

Finally, if Tolkien's works provide us with a window (albeit perhaps an imperfect one) on this "other world", why is it that these works simply do not resonate with some people? Is it because Tolkien's works only provide this medium for certain people (which would seem to weigh against their analysis by reference to Jung's ideas)? And, if so, are there perhaps alternative means by which such people might better be connected with this "perilous realm"?