He writes, “I am personally immensely amused by hobbits as such, and can contemplate them eating and making their rather fatuous jokes indefinitely; but I find that is not the case with even my most devoted ‘fans.’” He simply didn’t know where to take the story next. Then on 24 July 1938, he met with C. S. Lewis. Lewis listened carefully to Tolkien’s frustrations with his story. He gave Tolkien a short, clear, transforming piece of advice. Tolkien records, “Mr Lewis says hobbits are only amusing when in unhobbitlike situations.” It was an important insight, and Tolkien took it to heart. As a
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No matter how much cultural or imaginative apologetics may really matter, and inspire me in the abstract, if it never matters to readers or teaching audiences at large, it won’t matter much after all. I either need to get a breakthrough like Lewis’s or trick audiences long enough for them to catch on despite themselves
