It's definitely an interesting question -- the "death of the author." Personally, as a reader, I draw the line at disagreeing with explicitly stated intentions

It's definitely an interesting question -- the "death of the author." Personally, as a reader, I draw the line at disagreeing with explicitly stated intentions of authors if I find those intentions are well-evidenced in their texts. In the case of LotR, I would be inclined to say that they are -- but an element of subjective judgment will always trouble these discussions.