And a celebration of the homely virtues of Tolkien's youth. I don't think
that adds up to either time travel or a lesson on keeping your feet in both
worlds. But these conciets do give us addditional insight into the
dynamics of the book, and are entertaining in and of themselves. I would
say that the Hobbits often seem anachronistically modern because it creates a
comic contrast. A modernism often takes it on the chin because Tolkien's
frame for the modern age was WWI and the poisonous effluvia of coal-burning
industry. Some throughly heroic characters suffer doom because that is
what heroism is about. It doesn't have to be more complicated than
that.
That said, these are lovely theories, each a lot better
grounded than most literary criticism I have seen. Thank
you.
