Arwen / Aniron

stephen RemoveThis @nomail.com wrote:
> I think you misunderstand my argument. Obviously you can change
> any story, given the flexible nature of stories.

The point was that you cannot easily change a "tight" (let's use
this word for a lack of a better one) story easily without running
into problems. Either you degrade the story, or you'd have to change
lots of other things to keep the story at the same level, and
to keep it free from internal inconsistencies. And PJ ran into
the latter problem in quite a few places.

> My argument is that characters could be changed in Tolkien without
> changing other characters and situations.

But they can't, in any substantial way (without consequences, either
for good or bad). If you change Aragorn back to a hobbit, you loose
the Aragorn and Arwen story. Etc.

> A change in Aragorn does not require a change in Faramir.

So what? It would require a change in other places.

> A change in Frodo does not require a change in Sam.

> The drafts are evidence of this.

But the changes made from the drafts *do* have consequences: They
improve the story.

> Frodo originally was going to take the lead in the Scouring of the
> Shire, but instead ended up as sort of a peace negoatiator.

And it's important that he did: If you take that back, the story
looses an important aspect.

> What in your mind can be improved about the current story? Given
> that you claim you would have known the Epilogue was a bad ending
> even with nothing to compare it to, there must be things in the
> current story you know are bad even with nothing else to compare
> it to.

Sure. For example, Gandalf as the "White Rider" superhero is a bit
cheap. I didn't notice it when I was a teen, but now I cannot
read some of those parts without wishing Tolkien would have done
them better.

But anyway, this isn't an important criterion. The point is not
if some things are good, or bad, or could be improved. The point is
that changes, and especially the changes in the drafts, are not
arbitrary, and cannot be done at will, but have *consequences*.

- Dirk