LotR - an allegory? No, not WW2 this time, I promise... ;)

[Thinlómien]

I was talking about the wisdom of LotR with my sister yesterday, and I started to think of something. One of the big themes of LotR is undoubtedly the diminishing of the old world - the departure of the Elves, the eventual fading of the Hobbits and the Dwarves and so on - and the beginning of the era of Men. All the mystery, magic and old beauty is gone, and Men are left to govern the world and make their own decisions.

Now, this sounds rather familiar, doesn't it? It sounds like the relatively recent development of our world, or the beginning of our modern times. People know more, solve many unsolved mysteries and change the world around them... and if Tolkien, when he was writing LotR, looked back he could still see, in his childhood or in the times of his parents or grandparents, a different world, a world where science had not solved the mysteries of the world or humans did not dominate earth the way they now do.

I cannot help thinking this was reflected in the Lord of the Rings. It is another question whether the allegory was deliberate - as has been said dozens of times, Tolkien hated allegories and denied LotR being one - or whether something Tolkien (a conservative person with a dislike of modern technology, mind you) subconsciously wove this theme to his book.

Any thoughts?