Leaf from tinkerer
Journal of tinkerers (Engl. Leaf by Niggle) is a short story that (probably in 1943 ) by JRR Tolkien was written. It was first published in 1945 in "The Dublin Review" and can be found today in the books "The Tolkien Reading Book" and "Fabulous Stories".
content
Tinkerer is a little man who tries in vain to paint a picture of a fantastic tree. He attaches all of his other pictures to the edge of the picture, which eventually becomes so large that inventors have to paint while standing on a ladder. The masterpiece is not finished because it gets lost in details. He is a painter who can paint leaves better than trees. Tinkerer also has a lot of other things to do: First he has to go into town, then visitors come, he gets sick and sometimes he is just lazy and lets things go. And there is his neighbor, Mr. Paris with the lame leg, who harasses him with all sorts of requests that he cannot refuse out of good-heartedness, although he feels very disturbed. And in the back of their minds, tinkerers know that the dreaded “journey” is getting closer every day.
One day - much earlier than expected - he is torn out of the middle of his work and has to start the journey. He is unceremoniously put on the next train and because he didn't have time to pack his bags, he ends up in a poor house. There he has to swallow bitter medicine and work hard in the dark, has little to eat and mourns missed opportunities. However, he learns to manage his time better and to do work properly, which gives him peace of mind. In retrospect, Mr. Paris also suddenly appears to him as a friendly neighbor who has given him excellent potatoes. Finally, after a kind of court in the dark , in which the first and second voices talk about him and he has the opportunity to stand up for Mr. Paris, Tinkerer is dismissed as cured. He continues his journey in a brand new train and indeed he finds his tree in a wonderful landscape - done. Together with Mr. Paris, who turns up one day with him, he explores the forest, discovers his joy in gardening and finally sets off with a shepherd towards the mountains behind which the unknown lies.
In the meantime, we learned from conversations with some men that they actually pushed tinkerers to the big garbage heap far too early because they wanted to get at his property. This is the last time that Tinkerer's name is mentioned - at least on one side of reality. Because the country with the wonderful tree will be called Tinkerer's Paris in the future and is very useful for recreation for convalescents - as the first and second voices say.
reception
- Allegorical approach
- The work can be understood as a religious allegory of life , death , purgatory and paradise . Tinkerer is not prepared for his journey because although he knows that it is inevitable, the departure comes very suddenly and unexpectedly. It is often the same with death. Tinkerer's imprisonment in the poor house and his stay in the beautiful landscape represent purgatory and paradise.
- Philosophical approach
- Likewise, “Blatt von Tüftler” can be understood as an illustration of Tolkien's religious philosophy of creation and secondary creation . Accordingly, creation is an exclusive privilege of God , while those who are part of creation can only create echoes . Second creation is a form of religious appreciation of divine work. Tüftler's longing for the truth and beauty of divine creation is reflected in his work. After his death and his stay in purgatory, he is rewarded with the lively realization of his longing.
- Autobiographical approach
- From an autobiographical point of view, Tolkien finds himself in tinkerer. As a writer, Tolkien was very fond of detail, he worked on his world and in order to achieve the greatest possible realism, he invented languages, chronology and geography . In order to have more time for Middle-earth , he dropped other projects. He felt pressured by duties and work, and yet he spent many hours laying patience instead of working on the Silmarillion , which was not completed until his death and was published posthumously by his son Christopher .
Tolkien himself might not have agreed to an allegorical interpretation because he did not like allegories. Accordingly, he wanted to see “Tinkerer's Leaf” understood as a myth . However, he once mentioned in a letter that with his “Purgatory” story “Blatt von Tüftler” he wanted to show in an allegorical way how the second creation could find its way into creation.
literature
- Humphrey Carpenter: JRR Tolkien: A Biography. HarperCollins, London, 2002, ISBN 0-007-13284-0 , (Seven, Chapter I - Headington ).