And lastly there is the oldest and deepest desire, the Great Escape: the Escape from Death. Fairy-stories provide many examples and modes of this ... Fairy-stories are made by men not by fairies. The Human-stories of the elves are doubtless full of the Escape from Deathlessness.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Fairy stories offer an escape from death, a deep human desire created by men rather than fairies.
- In plain terms
- Stories help us cope with the fear of dying.
- What can you take from it?
- Use stories to face hard truths about life.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- What story saves you?
- Why do we fear death?
Another view
Stories are not a real escape from death.
More from J. R. R. Tolkien
'I wish life was not so short,' he thought. 'Languages take such a time, and so do all the things one wants to know about.'
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