[davem]

Originally Posted by Bb

So, I wouldn't say the depiction of the Rohirrim is 'idealised' even by epic proportions. I think it represents in part a logical extension of some of the qualities in the earlier heroic literatures. It is a heavily nuanced depiction.

Well, I said they were 'idealised' in one sense - which I think they were, in that they are much closer to the 'Anglo-Saxons' of the epic tradition than the real Anglo-Saxons:

The Rohirrim are his 'fantasy' Anglo-Saxons, 'idealised' in one sense into a warrior elite, but certainly not 'idealised' in the moral sense.

I guess what I am trying to say is that, at the beginning of the interview I think the narrator's voice implies a Rohirrim attitude towards the Wild People, one of thinly veiled disgust or dislike, as if they aren't truly 'people'. But by the end of the passage I think the perspective has shifted to create a more sympathetic attitude towards Ghân.

It may simply be that we are seeing through Merry's eyes & it is his attitude that changes. We see a similar change happen in Sam when he encounters the fallen Easterling.

Of course, I could be all wet and wrong, but I sense that Tolkien was including here his thoughts about European attitudes towards 'the dark continent'. Or the Australian attitude towards the Aboriginal tribes there. Or the Native peoples--First Nations--in North America.

It may relate certainly to the way native Africans were treated, given Tolkien's country of birth. I also wonder whether the events on the continent at the time of writing may have played a part in his thinking as well. Ghan was a human being who was seen as little better (or perhaps even worse) than an animal - certainly the 'ethnic cleansing' suggestion is speculation on my part & came to me today - earlier I suggested the Rohirrim saw the Wild Men as 'beasts' to be hunted. I'm not sure which attitude is more appalling to the modern mind - if the Rohirrim thought if them as 'animals' to be hunted that could at least be put down to stupidity on their part. If it was 'ethnic cleansing' that more than borders on Fascism.

Tolkien felt that the Nazis had corrupted the 'noble Northern spirit' by their race doctrine & the attitudes & behaviour that resulted. I don't know if any of this feeling was in his mind as he wrote this chapter - a 'parable' for the Germans?

Of course, I'm pushing this too far - because its not how I usually approach the text now. What was in Tolkien's head, or may have been, is beyond me. Certainly, though, a reader may find a certain applicability to the situation at the time of writing. The episode is convincing within the context of the story, & doesn't require any 'outside' knowledge to make sense.