All made up? - The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum

davem · 03-29-2003, 08:39 AM

In one of the letters Tolkien refers to someone visiting him, & saying something like 'Of course, you don't really believe you made the whole thing up, do you?' (referring to LotR), & Tolkien replies, 'No, not any longer'.
1) Do we know who the visitor was?
2) Do we know how he meant the remark?
3) Do we know how Tolkien meant his response to be understood?

In other words, was the visitor implying more than just that Tolkien had used bits of myths & legends? Was he implying more than just some kind of religiously inspired allegory? Was the visitor implying something more precise, ie, that in some way Middle Earth is, or was, real? And did Tolkien understand his statement in that way?

03-29-2003, 08:39 AM	#1
davem Illustrious Ulair Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: In the home of lost causes, and forsaken beliefs, and unpopular names,and impossible loyalties Posts: 4,240	All made up? In one of the letters Tolkien refers to someone visiting him, & saying something like 'Of course, you don't really believe you made the whole thing up, do you?' (referring to LotR), & Tolkien replies, 'No, not any longer'. 1) Do we know who the visitor was? 2) Do we know how he meant the remark? 3) Do we know how Tolkien meant his response to be understood? In other words, was the visitor implying more than just that Tolkien had used bits of myths & legends? Was he implying more than just some kind of religiously inspired allegory? Was the visitor implying something more precise, ie, that in some way Middle Earth is, or was, real? And did Tolkien understand his statement in that way? __________________ “Everything was an object. If you killed a dwarf you could use it as a weapon – it was no different to other large heavy objects."