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The tree thing in MacDonald seems pretty different. In MacDonald's story it looks like a normal person. In Tolkien, we have ents, which are treelike moving gi
by yters 6y ago
The tree thing in MacDonald seems pretty different. In MacDonald's story it looks like a normal person. In Tolkien, we have ents, which are treelike moving giants. The idea of sentient trees in general is very old and appears in a lot of folklore. The root of goblin is kobold and the name means hollow in a rock, and goblins are also a very old and widespread folklore trope. But, perhaps an entire underground kingdom is unique to MacDonald, so Tolkien took that idea.
- macleginn 6y agoI meant the tree from early on in LOTR that tried to swallow the hobbits.
- yters 6y agoAh, that makes more sense. I would still say they are both drawing on common mythic material, e.g. myths of daphne, narcissus, and I think in the odyssey there are bleeding reeds. However, the tree smoothering is similar, so I can grant Tolkien was inspired by MacDonald.