‘Canonicity’: the Book or the Reader?

[The Saucepan Man]

... and like a moth to a candle, I find myself irresistibly drawn to it once again.

My ‘job’ as a reader is to come along afterward and piece together the wonderful etymological clues that Tolkien has left in these names; I follow the trace of his meaning. But, again, am I bound by that meaning? (Fordim Hedgethistle)

It will come as no surprise to regular subscribers to this thread that I am going to adopt the “freedom of the reader” approach here. Like the events described in the story, the characters’ names are a given. We can no more deny that Frodo is called Frodo than we can deny that Gandalf was imprisoned at Orthanc. But, that does not mean that we have to be aware of the (real world) etymological derivation of Frodo’s name in order to enjoy the story, any more than we have to know that Lembas was (intentionally) a representation of the bread of communion. I have been wholly unaware of each of these underlying “meanings” on every previous occasion that I have read the book, but I don’t feel that this has impaired my enjoyment of the book in any way. I might not have fully understood Tolkien’s intentions, but does that really matter? Well, no, not as far as I (as a reader) am concerned.

So I would say that the reader’s “job” is not to piece together Tolkien’s etymological clues, but rather simply to enjoy the material and to draw from it whatever seems appropriate to him/her. If readers want to piece together these clues, then they are free to do so, but there is no obligation on them to do so (that’s becoming somewhat of a mantra for me, isn’t it? ).

Are all the names then merely language games that he played for his own amusement that we can safely pass over without our full attention? I don’t think so, but then doesn’t that imply that one has to be a philologist of Tolkien’s own stature (and that’s a tall order!) to fully understand or appreciate the text? (Fordim Hedgethistle)

I don’t think that he played these “language games” solely for his own amusement. The clues are there for readers who are interested in finding them. But, equally, readers are free safely to pass over them (and most will) while still appreciating the story and finding in it what is applicable to them. Yes, I suppose one does have to have a good knowledge of philology in order fully to appreciate the text and Tolkien’s skills as a writer (if one can ever acheive such a thing), but then (save as an academic pursuit) reading is not an occupation that one has to be qualified for and work at. It is a pastime that one can put as much into, and get as much out of, as one wishes. I am sure that Tolkien never intended his works to be enjoyed only by fully-fledged philologists, just as he didn’t expect them to appeal to devout Christians alone (although I am equally sure that he would be delighted that those with the inclination and knowledge to do so do pick up on these clues).

That said, Tolkein does use some names which will almost inevitably conjure up images in the reader's mind and which reinforce the characterisation of the characters that bear them. Wormtongue is a classic example and it requires no grounding in philology to latch on to the message that his name conveys. Goldberry is another example as, I think, are names such as Barliman Butterbur, Bilbo, Merry and Pippin. The name Bilbo, for example, suggests to me a "cuddly" (for want of a better word) character that I can immediately warm to, although it may of course bring up a different image others. Nevertheless, I think it is fair to say that, with many of the names used by Tolkien, one does not have to delve deeply into Anglo-Saxon linguitics or the like in order for them to enhance one's understanding of the characters that bear them. In many cases, the effect is instantaneous and almost instinctive (at least for those with a reasonable understanding of the English language).

My question WITHOUT, PLEASE, getting into the slash debate, is to what extent we are restricted to Tolkien's 'rules' for Middle earth - are we obliged to interpret the stories in the light of Tolkien's intentions & values (my view), because Middle earth is an artistic creation? Or can we treat it as 'history', in which case we have total freesom of interpretation, & nothing, particularly in human nature could be considered 'uncanonical'. (davem)

Interesting that you should raise this, davem, since that debate caused me to think along very similar lines. In interpreting Tolkien’s text, we are restricted (unless we are to reject the entire story) to the “facts” contained within it. So, just like we cannot deny that Gandalf was imprisoned at Orthanc, we cannot deny that Saruman was corrupted by the desire for power or that Hobbits were (as a race) somewhat parochial in nature. Those “facts” are there for us to see. Similarly, we cannot intrude “facts” that are not there, such as a homosexual relationship between Frodo and Sam (or indeed any other two characters of the same gender). That is simply not the nature of their relationship, and that is that. Unless there is a textual basis for seeing a particular aspect of human nature in a character, then we cannot do so (without, as I said, rejecting the entire text).

But, when it comes to fanfics, the inclusion of a character, location or aspect of human nature does not make the story “uncanonical” simply because that character, location or aspect of human nature was not specifically included by Tolkien in any of his Middle-earth works. For example, I see no reason why a character adventuring in Far Harad should not encounter an ostrich or a hippopotamus, or some fantastical creature of the author’s own devising, simply because Tolkien makes no reference to them himself. So, by the same token, I would say that there is no reason why a Tolkien fanfic should not include aspects of human nature that Tolkien does not specifically address in his works, provided that they are dealt with in the spirit of Tolkien’s writing.