Timdalf
Active Member
The other day, in looking for the famous Tolkien bit on his rejection of overt Christianity in myth and fairy story -- because I noted to someone that Pasternak and Dostoyevsky had no trouble with explicit Orthodox Christianity in their novels -- I was misdirected by good old Wickedpaedia to Letter #144 (the correct letter for the quote is #131 to Milton Waldman) where I stumbled upon this passage. Now, before I get spammelled, tarred and feathered by Prof Corey and his, my fellow, Minions, let me first stoutly emphasise that I have not missed an episode of Exploring, and am devotedly saving the slides and Tony's masterful outlines -- AND I would give me right arm to have a similar detailed close reading (as in word by word!!) course on Zhivago and/or Bratya Karamazovi and/or Byesi.... OK, with that iron-clad shield firmly in place against the slings and arrows of outraged fortune, here is the Tolkien quote:
"There is, of course, a clash between 'literary' technique and the fascination of elaborating in detail an imaginary mythical Age.... As a story, I think it good that there should be a lot of things unexplained (especially if an explanation actually exists); and I have from this point of view erred in trying to explain too much; and give too much past history. Many readers have, for instance, rather stuck at the Council of Elrond. (Yoiks, do we now know very well what getting lost in that Old Forest is like, no?! but thanks to Master Corey Bombadil we have gotten through it intact!) And even in a mythical Age there must be some enigmas, as there always are. Tom Bombadil is one (intentionally).' [p. 174, Carpenter, Letters]
Now of course, being Tolkien (and this is typically paradoxical of mythmakers,. I believe, at least the ones I know in any detail) in the very preceding paragraph he explicitly has said:
"I like things worked out in detail myself, and answers provided to all reasonable questions."
Conclusion. old JRRT wants to have his cake and eat it too.... Enigmas wrapped in riddles wrapped in mystery... but fully dissected, analysed and laid out like a blackboard-filling physics equation. "Measured measured and NOT found wanting!" A Delicate Balance worthy of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf!
"There is, of course, a clash between 'literary' technique and the fascination of elaborating in detail an imaginary mythical Age.... As a story, I think it good that there should be a lot of things unexplained (especially if an explanation actually exists); and I have from this point of view erred in trying to explain too much; and give too much past history. Many readers have, for instance, rather stuck at the Council of Elrond. (Yoiks, do we now know very well what getting lost in that Old Forest is like, no?! but thanks to Master Corey Bombadil we have gotten through it intact!) And even in a mythical Age there must be some enigmas, as there always are. Tom Bombadil is one (intentionally).' [p. 174, Carpenter, Letters]
Now of course, being Tolkien (and this is typically paradoxical of mythmakers,. I believe, at least the ones I know in any detail) in the very preceding paragraph he explicitly has said:
"I like things worked out in detail myself, and answers provided to all reasonable questions."
Conclusion. old JRRT wants to have his cake and eat it too.... Enigmas wrapped in riddles wrapped in mystery... but fully dissected, analysed and laid out like a blackboard-filling physics equation. "Measured measured and NOT found wanting!" A Delicate Balance worthy of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf!