"Genuine fairy-story" ?

[littlemanpoet]

Originally Posted by The Squatter of Amon Rûdh

Tolkien's fiction does contain glimpses of beautiful evil: the corrupt and decayed spectre of Minas Morgul; Galadriel's description of how she would be were she successfully to claim the ring; and the undescribed 'fair form' which Sauron assumed when dealing with the smiths of Eregion. However, these are only glimpses. The vast majority of Tolkien's evil characters, Orcs, Trolls, Shelob, Ungoliant, Glaurung, Morgoth and Sauron themselves and their fortresses, are physically ugly or otherwise repulsive. The majesty of Smaug is at best ambivalent, certainly not beautiful; the false wisdom of Saruman becomes increasingly repulsive as his true thoughts are revealed; but none of these characters have the beauty and evil of Lewis' White Witch.

Do not forget the Ring itself. I have noticed in my and others' discussions, here at the Downs, that sometimes we actually forget about the Ring precisely because of its virtual ubiquity in LotR. Tolkien does describe the Ring as a beautiful object; maybe not in so many words, but nevertheless. So yes, I see this theme of beautiful evil in Tolkien as well.

When we compare a sophisticated fairy-story like Sir Gawain and the Green Knight with The Lord of the Rings it's easier to see what I mean. Sir Gawain's adventures begin in reality, at a painstakingly described Christmas feast at the court of Camelot. The festivities are described in terms that are intended to evoke a contemporary court setting, and this detailed realism is carried on throughout the poem, both inside and outside Faërie. The story really begins with the arrival in this real-world setting of the Green Knight, whose outlandish appearance alone announces him as an emissary of the perilous realm. From this point of contact onwards, Gawain is drawn into a shadowy world of conflicting duties, strange magical events and misleading impressions that reach a climax in the second part of the beheading game. After this he returns to the primary world, having learned much about himself and the practice of chivalry. The missing element in LotR is the journey into Faërie: the hobbits are already citizens of Middle-earth; they do not arrive there from our primary reality. The Shire is contained within the secondary reality, in which wizards can arrive bearing fireworks without arousing more than excitement.

Does not the Shire serve as a mediation between Primary and Secondary reality? Are not Hobbits correctly construed as little Edwardian English countrymen?