From: "Gijs Hollestelle" Newsgroups: rec.arts.books.tolkien Subject: Symoblism in Leaf by Niggle Date: Sat, 30 Dec 2000 20:36:23 +0100 Organization: Eindhoven University of Technology, The Netherlands Lines: 13 Message-ID: <92ld3v$qov$1@news.tue.nl> NNTP-Posting-Host: gewis.win.tue.nl X-Priority: 3 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Newsreader: Microsoft Outlook Express 5.50.4133.2400 X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V5.50.4133.2400 Path: chonsp.franklin.ch!pfaff.ethz.ch!news-zh.switch.ch!news-ge.switch.ch!enews.sgi.com!diablo.netcom.net.uk!netcom.net.uk!newsfeeds.belnet.be!news.belnet.be!news2.euro.net!newsfeed.iae.nl!news.tue.nl!not-for-mail Xref: chonsp.franklin.ch rec.arts.books.tolkien:30765 Hi all, I have read and enjoyed Leaf by Niggle 3 times now, and clearly see it is full of symbolism. I have been searching the internet for information about this, for example a list of symbols and their meaning. But i have not been able to find one. Does anyone in here know a place where i could find some info? -- Gijs ###### From: bnh@chem.ucla.edu (Bruce N. Hietbrink) Newsgroups: rec.arts.books.tolkien Subject: Re: Symoblism in Leaf by Niggle Date: Sat, 30 Dec 2000 12:53:43 -0800 Organization: UCLA Chemistry Lines: 42 Message-ID: References: <92ld3v$qov$1@news.tue.nl> NNTP-Posting-Host: mac-houkd.chem.ucla.edu Path: chonsp.franklin.ch!pfaff.ethz.ch!news-zh.switch.ch!tungurahua!news-ge.switch.ch!news.maxwell.syr.edu!awabi.library.ucla.edu!164.67.43.25!news.ucla.edu!mac-houkd.chem.ucla.edu!user Xref: chonsp.franklin.ch rec.arts.books.tolkien:30770 In article <92ld3v$qov$1@news.tue.nl>, "Gijs Hollestelle" wrote: > Hi all, > > I have read and enjoyed Leaf by Niggle 3 times now, and clearly see it is > full of symbolism. I have been searching the internet for information about > this, for example a list of symbols and their meaning. But i have not been > able to find one. Does anyone in here know a place where i could find some > info? > > -- > Gijs Here's one: Niggle = Tolkien The painting = LOTR Hints of the mountains in the distance = the rest of Tolkien's mythology (e.g. the Silmarillion) Niggles chores = things like grading papers that took Tolkien from writing Parish = perhaps those other professors who thought Tolkien was wasting his time with childish trifles when he should have been about the business of serious scholarship? Niggle's fear of not finishing = Tolkien's fears he would never finish his grand scheme of writing (which, in fact, he did not, with The Silmarillion published posthumously) Work house = Purgatory First and Second Voices = Justice and mercy (or maybe Satan and Christ, or maybe First and Second Persons of the Trinity) Niggles Parish = Tolkien's view of subcreation was that we act as creators when we serve God in art, and that our works can be taken up into God's overall scheme. Now before people jump all over me and cite the line about how Tolkien hates allegory, remember that in _Letters of JRRT_ letter 153 he says he tried to show his ideas of subcreation allegorically in "Leaf by Niggle." Another good letter is letter 199. Bruce