Turgon
01-25-2005, 06:55 PM
Something struck me when I first read Carpenter's biography some fifteen ago, a clear parallel between Tolkien himself and the hero of his most hopeful First Age tale, Release from Bondage. Of course we all know of the words graven into the tombstone of JRRT and Edith, so perhaps this parallel is clear to all, yet in my two years or more here at TTF I have never heard it discussed. Perhaps this is mentioned in some letter or text and it has just passed me by, but I thought I would bring it up all the same.
We know Edith was Tolkien's Luthien, we know she danced for him in a woodland glade, but how much of Beren was there in Tolkien? It always struck me that Father Morgan (Tolkien's guardian) was perhaps the real inspiration behind the Quest for the Silmaril, playing the role of Thingol, perhaps, as he forbids the two lovers to meet and sends Tolkien off to his destiny in the dark halls of Academia.
So I'm curious as to what people have to say about this? Can somebody point me towards a discussion on this subject? I'd be interested to learn more about it. Does Tolkien make this link himself somewhere? Any thoughts?
We know Edith was Tolkien's Luthien, we know she danced for him in a woodland glade, but how much of Beren was there in Tolkien? It always struck me that Father Morgan (Tolkien's guardian) was perhaps the real inspiration behind the Quest for the Silmaril, playing the role of Thingol, perhaps, as he forbids the two lovers to meet and sends Tolkien off to his destiny in the dark halls of Academia.
So I'm curious as to what people have to say about this? Can somebody point me towards a discussion on this subject? I'd be interested to learn more about it. Does Tolkien make this link himself somewhere? Any thoughts?