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06-07-2004, 12:58 PM | #1 |
Princess of Skwerlz
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: where the Sea is eastwards (WtR: 6060 miles)
Posts: 7,499
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Going back to the text of the Foreword, a side-note occurred to me on Tolkien's use of the word "ten-fingered" in connection with LotR. The book has two characters who were not "ten-fingered" - the Ringmaker and the Ringbearer! I wonder if he made that connection consciously?
"Ten-fingered" implies nimbleness, dexterity - the loss of a finger would diminish that. Now, to take that train of thought around a corner - would Tolkien identify himself with a "nine-fingered" person, since he is not "ten-fingered"?! (I know - the opposite of "ten-fingered" is, where typing is concerned, "two-fingered". Still, the thought is intriguing, isn't it?!)
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'Mercy!' cried Gandalf. 'If the giving of information is to be the cure of your inquisitiveness, I shall spend all the rest of my days in answering you. What more do you want to know?' 'The whole history of Middle-earth...' |
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