[ SECRET POST #4463 ]

[case]

⌈ Secret Post #4463 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

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Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 02 pages, 42 secrets from Secret Submission Post #639.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 1 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Comments

[(Anonymous)]

It's certainly a valid read, but it's not the only one to take strictly from the trilogy - Gandalf is other, but he's less other than Tom Bombadil, or the elves, or the ents, and "sorcerers are a little unearthly" is a common thread that predates Tolkien by centuries.

It's definitely a great point - really, much of the trilogy is indeterminate and unexplained in that way, when you approach it on its own terms and not with the benefit of the massive apparatus of lore that's developed subsequently. And that's honestly one of the things that I've always liked about it tbh, and one of the reasons I've never really vibed with the legendarium stuff.

I do think that he is other-than in a different way than the elves or the ents are - the elves and the ents are clearly different types of creatures, whereas Gandalf is sort of... in between categories. Bombadil is the best comparison, but obviously Bombadil is much more other and outside the bounds of the world than Gandalf is. Or Saruman is, or Radagast. But you're certainly right that "unearthly wizard" is a general trope there.

I really wish there was some way to go back and read fan writing from the period before the Silmarillion was released and get a handle on how people interpreted this stuff back then.

[(Anonymous)]

I really wish there was some way to go back and read fan writing from the period before the Silmarillion was released and get a handle on how people interpreted this stuff back then.

Well, you can always ask us!