Tolkien the Matricide

[Rimbaud]

It is a fine thread, Birdland, which i have just re-read. Two hastily jotted thoughts.

It is a crutch, undeniably, it cannot be anything else, given that in fiction more than in real life, protaganists are motherless. It is an easy pathos, and Tolkien is not exempt from criticism in this regard. Although, remember context. He was attempting to create myth based somewhat on his extensive reading of older legends; the inherent sexism of character is therefore unavoidable. Tolkien does better than most with the female characters he does include. None of these, I hasten to add, ever come across as very motherly. Perhaps Turin's mother, but patchily so.

Touching on, but not repeating, I hope, the earlier idea that authors wished to avoid awkward scenes with mothers - I belive this to be partly true. There is a more character based reason. Certainly in older literature (particularly European, as relevant here), it would be expected that to empathize with and respect a character, that character would have to be respectful and attentive to his or her parents, especially the mother. That attention must come before seeking personal glory, or risk being undervalued in the eyes of the work's contemporary readership.

The older ideal of the clear, focussed hero - or even the tormented one - cannot sit easily with mum sat at home worrying about him.

Additionally, in lighter stories, (I would not dare call them fairy-stories [img]smilies/wink.gif[/img] ) the hero or heroine is orphaned etc for a quite major reason. Their parentage, lack of it, or rediscovery of, is the central plot point. "Oh, I'm a bona fide prince!" (Think Spaceballs, those in the know...)

Over and out.