April 10, 2002

Mythology and Story Germinations
Bill F.

For AJ and others... Tolkien said he *did* set out to create a mythology for England, but abandoned that concept long before completing LoTR, perhaps even before starting it. (It's in his letters someplace.)

Of course, IMHO, King Arthur is not 'mythology', stories explaining how the world was made and how it works. Arthur is rather a legend -- a set of stories blending history and fiction.

Tolkien stated that the Arthurian legends were derived from the beliefs of the Celts and Gauls, and so were not inherently English... which is why he avoided similarities and comparisons to them. They were also obviously Judeo-Christian, and while Tolkien was a devout Catholic, he strove to avoid direct references to Christianity in his work (although indirect ones abound.)

Richard is right -- Tolkien didn't write his stories as conscious commentary. However, to assume that they don't reflect his views on politics (he was an ardent monarchist), industrialization (he hated cars), and war (most of his close friends were killed by 1918) is, to me, silly. He did not set out to make comments, but these works were the dearest things in his life. They can't help but reflect, subtly and probably subconsciously, the feelings he did make known overtly and consciously -- about the horror of war, our detachment from nature, and the evils of despotism.

I think to read his works as something created in a vacuum -- with no connection to our world -- is just as limiting as viewing them as some sort of specific allegory.