"From Elfland to Poughkeepsie" was written in 1973, yes, so it is old and pre-dates the publication of the Silm. I too wonder what LeGuin would say of it now and how her views have changed. (I wonder specifically if she still believes it essential that Elfland is ruled by better-than-human lords, post-Silmarillion. :)
The attitudes in the essay, whether hers anymore or not, certainly remain in the Tolkien community, though. I think they've faded A LOT in the fanfic community (or maybe have been overwhelmed by the number of fans brought in by the Hobbit films who don't bring in that old-guard orthodoxy that even LotR film fans were often quick to adopt) ... but at the same time, I had "From Elfland to Poughkeepsie" quoted at me only a few years ago in a discussion of this issue on the Heretic Loremaster, and outside the fanfic world, I'm pretty confident that I'd hear strident opposition to my vision of Aman along similar lines.
the ideal Aman is the one that is remembered in Middle-earth, from a distance, by elves who are in varying degrees of danger, defeat and despair, coloured by nostalgia.
Yes! I think this is so important. Kind of like how so many people fondly remember high school when it was often a miserable experience. ;)
Idealizing Aman also seems a roundabout way to criticize the very decision to go to Middle-earth: "Look what we left behind! Look what we had and gave up because we followed Feanor!" Tainted as it was by the kinslaying, it doesn't seem like the most prudent course to admit, "Well, you know, we left for a good reason. It's called the Blessed Realm and all, but it had its problems, like the spiders in the basement." Losing Aman feels a just punishment for not just the kinslaying but for rebelling against what they were supposed to want and didn't.
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2017-03-03 03:20 pm (UTC)The attitudes in the essay, whether hers anymore or not, certainly remain in the Tolkien community, though. I think they've faded A LOT in the fanfic community (or maybe have been overwhelmed by the number of fans brought in by the Hobbit films who don't bring in that old-guard orthodoxy that even LotR film fans were often quick to adopt) ... but at the same time, I had "From Elfland to Poughkeepsie" quoted at me only a few years ago in a discussion of this issue on the Heretic Loremaster, and outside the fanfic world, I'm pretty confident that I'd hear strident opposition to my vision of Aman along similar lines.
the ideal Aman is the one that is remembered in Middle-earth, from a distance, by elves who are in varying degrees of danger, defeat and despair, coloured by nostalgia.
Yes! I think this is so important. Kind of like how so many people fondly remember high school when it was often a miserable experience. ;)
Idealizing Aman also seems a roundabout way to criticize the very decision to go to Middle-earth: "Look what we left behind! Look what we had and gave up because we followed Feanor!" Tainted as it was by the kinslaying, it doesn't seem like the most prudent course to admit, "Well, you know, we left for a good reason. It's called the Blessed Realm and all, but it had its problems, like the spiders in the basement." Losing Aman feels a just punishment for not just the kinslaying but for rebelling against what they were supposed to want and didn't.
Thank you for reading and commenting! :)