"You carry the fate of us all, little one."

[tar-ancalime]

Sometimes I am under the impression that since we know that Tolkien was a Christian, we try interpreting his works exactly in that direction.

Novnarwen, I'm with you. Personally, I definitely prefer to come to Tolkien's work with a broader outlook, but I know that many readers do interpret his work with an eye towards Christianity. I was wondering if this was the way Boromir88 was thinking of it, given his comments about Frodo "taking on the sins" of others in Middle-Earth. Care to weigh in, Boromir88?

Interesting link, too--there have been lots of discussions on the Downs about Tolkien's relationship to Christianity, but I do think the most important point to be made is this (and I've said it before): these books are for EVERYONE to read, and the themes within them are universal enough for everyone to be able to understand them. These stories are neither parables nor fables, which may be why they are so rich and seem so ripe for analysis (as in this forum). There are always many possible interpretations, none of which cancels out the others--the more we can know or intuit about these works, the better.