tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5746173806126403959.post3668498750352423315..comments2023-11-07T06:20:12.181-08:00Comments on Tolkien: Medieval and Modern: Baby, It's a Cold Hard World Out There (For A Tree)"Tolkien: Medieval and Modern"http://www.blogger.com/profile/04348913969813157482noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5746173806126403959.post-6753764053010905752011-06-01T19:52:01.308-07:002011-06-01T19:52:01.308-07:00I tend to agree with MA’s point, especially given ...I tend to agree with MA’s point, especially given the two clear examples of tree-care at the end of the books. Though Tolkien discusses the “enemies” of trees, I wonder if “enemy” is necessarily the right term. It seems more likely, even in Middle Earth, that trees have experienced primarily collateral damage. The trees died for Saruman’s destructive machines, and indeed the effect was devastating for those who attend to such things. Here the misinterpretation of “wilderness” plays an important role, as does the issue of simple attention. For example, consider the contrast he illustrates in a letter: “Lothlorien is beautiful because there the trees were loved,” while “the Old Forest was hostile to two legged creatures because of the memory of many injuries” (Letters, p. 419). I would argue that the problem does not arise when trees are hated, necessarily. Inattention and misunderstanding, instead, wreak nearly as much havoc on the trees as active hatred could accomplish. As to which is better or worse, the trees’ few allies are almost more pitiable than any real enemies they might have in Middle Earth. The trees yet have a few powerful allies in Middle Earth, but it would take first attention and then understanding for the Ents to achieve the same.<br /><br />-AS"Tolkien: Medieval and Modern"https://www.blogger.com/profile/04348913969813157482noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5746173806126403959.post-39745526479099048192011-05-14T06:45:58.263-07:002011-05-14T06:45:58.263-07:00Excellent attention to the distinctions between th...Excellent attention to the distinctions between the way the various characters and peoples interact with the trees; likewise, to the melancholy of the fate of the trees. I do wonder whether the distinction between "wilderness" and "cultivation" is quite where you put it, however. Surely part of the point is perspective (oddly, for Tolkien, since he is typically so clear about right and wrong). With the trees, it is very much a problem of others' not understanding them and their "tree culture" than that they have no orderliness about their lives at all. "Wilderness" in this sense may truly be relative!<br />RLFB"Tolkien: Medieval and Modern"https://www.blogger.com/profile/04348913969813157482noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5746173806126403959.post-13545054456237044122011-05-13T17:46:08.934-07:002011-05-13T17:46:08.934-07:00Does Tolkien feel sorry for the fate trees, or rat...Does Tolkien feel sorry for the fate trees, or rather for the fate of the Ents? There are two signs at the end of the book that seem to point away from the former. <br />Aragorn and Gandalf find a sapling to replace the White Tree of Gondor, and the old one is returned to the Earth with utmost reverence. In addition, when the hobbits return to the Shire, one of the most noticeable signs of destruction is the missing trees. Even their beloved Party Tree is missing. Sam replaces it and others throughout the Shire with seeds given to him by Galadriel. The seeds grow quickly and the trees that appear are wonderful.<br />The care given by these characters to replace damaged trees, and the love they have for trees in general seems to point to a bright future for trees in Middle-Earth. While the Ents may waste away, I don't think there's too much reason to believe that trees won't have their advocates in Middle-Earth.<br /><br />-MA"Tolkien: Medieval and Modern"https://www.blogger.com/profile/04348913969813157482noreply@blogger.com