I was reminded this weekend of Tolkien’s essay On Fairy Stories, by coming upon the two quotes below in The Marginalia. It’s an essay I read so long ago that it must be time I read it again. These portions below seemed in my mind to follow after my latest post, in what they have to say about how a life in which external circumstances may appear to be very far from any kind of dream, can still be “enchanted” by this “awareness of a limitless world outside our domestic parish”. I discovered I have never quoted from this essay here, so thought I would rectify that.
Faery represents at its weakest a breaking out (at least in mind) from the iron ring of the familiar, still more from the adamantine ring of belief that it is known, possessed, controlled, and so (ultimately) all that is worth being considered — a constant awareness of a world beyond these rings. More strongly it represents love: that is, a love and respect for all things, “inanimate” and “animate,” an unpossessive love of them as “other.” This “love” will produce both ruth and delight. Things seen in its light will be respected, and they will also appear delightful, beautiful, wonderful even glorious.
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Faery might be said indeed to represent Imagination (without definition because taking in all the definitions of this word): aesthetic: exploratory and receptive; and artistic: inventive, dynamic, (sub)creative. This compound — of awareness of a limitless world outside our domestic parish; a love (in ruth and admiration) for the things in it; and a desire for wonder, marvels, both perceived and conceived — this “Faery” is as necessary for the health and complete functioning of the Human as is sunlight for physical life.
It can be hard to keep the enchantment alive to yourself (I don’t believe the world got disenchanted to much as we ceased to see it) when you catch the elevator to your office cubicle and spend the day staring at your screen, as it is more easily found outside for me, but not impossible. I found a little echo of faeryland in my courtyard in this first flower on my double slate hellebore.