Escapism

[littlemanpoet]

Gandalf the Grey: Hail and well met.

::bows and removes bard's cap::

I have followed your missives from a distance and value your contributions to all discussions. It is truly a wonder to meet the Wizard himself.

So it IS the Woman versus the Serpent, then. Yes, that was my inclination as well, but I hadn't wanted to come out and say it just - yet. Of course, that implies a great deal, in terms of true myth. I'm fascinated by how closely this thread relates to the "eucatastrophe" thread. But if THAT is the great way humanity went wrong, what reallly can be done by grey you and little me? We come back to what you said to Frodo in Shadows of the Past, I think it was, that we all have a little part to play and for it alone we are responsible.

Child: I confess that I tend to be at least as pessimistic as Tolkien "as we fight the long defeat."

[Fantasy] allows me to believe in a world where positive change can occur.

...in spite of all the evidence to the contrary. I borrow that from Tolkien who spoke so in terms of eucatastrophe, that sudden reversal, against all odds, that is so powerful precisely because it obeys the rules of the story in which it is set. Sorry, but escape and eucatastrophe are just too closely related not to be talking about both. And what escape are we really, ultimately talking about? Escape from Death, as Tolkien said. I'm not really adding much to this discussion, just serving up what has been said before.

[ August 26, 2002: Message edited by: littlemanpoet ]