Friday, June 6, 2008

Significance of Hobbits

"TOLKIEN HAD NOT REALLY wanted to write any more stories like The Hobbit; he had wanted to get on with the serious business of his mythology. And that was what he could now do. The new story (LOTR) had attached itself firmly to The Silmarillion, and was to acquire the dignity of purpose and the high style of the earlier book ... In a sense the hobbits had only been acquired by accident from the earlier book. But now, for the first time, Tolkien realised the significance of hobbits in Middle-earth. The theme of his new story was large, but it was to have its centre in the courage of these small people; and the heart of the book was to be found in the inns and gardens of The Shire, Tolkien's representation of all that he loved best about England.

- H. Carpenter, J. R. R. Tolkien - A Biography [192]

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