This Is Not About Any 1 Post In Particular But I Feel Like It Should Be More Commonly Addressed Im The

this is not about any 1 post in particular but i feel like it should be more commonly addressed im the fandom that tolkiens dwarves are jewish and you cannot have a meaningful analysis of them without acknowledging that

i see a lot of posts talking about how dwarves are often derided by tolkiens narrative. questions like “why does tolkien insist on the dwarves being greedy” and “why did the line of durin get wiped out” and my favorite “is thorin a good or a bad person? lets discuss that”

those are all great questions to ask but they cannot be examined without acknowledging that tolkien based the dwarves on jewish people, and his portrayal of them is influenced both by antisemitism AND an evolving level of respect for jewish people that coexisted in tolkien. that is why we get the “dwarves are not heroes” passage in the hobbit. hell, the entire premise of the hobbit is plainly based on jewish history and lore: 12 dwarves (the 12 tribes of israel), with 1 leader, on a quest to reclaim a homeland that was stolen from them. except tolkien also has that reclaimation revolve around riches, because jews are greedy and violent in his mind (esp pre-wwii tolkien). antisemitism is the reason for thorin being portrayed as acting rash, hauty, and possessive in the hobbit. that is why it is impossible to analyze his character without acknowledging that he is jewish.

as for the radical switch in the portrayal of dwarves in the lord of the rings, this is post-wwii tolkien, when he felt a lot more guilty about being antisemitic. gimli is an apology for his antisemitism in the hobbit. at the same time, the dwarves as a people do not have much of a meaningful part to play in the narrative, and in fact so many of them have been wiped out in cold blood (sound familiar?) and i think that that also reflects tolkiens biases

he was a complex man writing a very complex piece of fantasy that has many aspects that reflect his own beliefs and beliefs prevalent in his society at the time. those beliefs coming through in his work is an important aspect of middle-earth to examine. i dont think anybody will disagree with me on that.

TL;DR for the love of G-d when youre asking questions about the dwarves’ morality and narrative in tolkien please remember that they are based on jewish people and it is IMPOSSIBLE to ask these questions fully if you dont remember that

heres an essay on this topic if you want to learn more

oddly specific aesthetic playlists

for when you’re overcome with the spirit of a 19th century lesbian watching a girl take off her petticoat for the first time

girls with dark hair and even darker eyes, empty marbled halls echoing with memories of centuries past, ancient leather bound books written in dead languages, thick sweaters to overcome the persistent chill that unfailingly seeps through the stone walls

you’ve been wandering around the old woods behind your house for a few hours now and you’re not sure if you’ve stumbled into a fey realm or not, but either way you’re like 90% sure you saw a dryad

for when you’re really feeling that morally grey witch vibe. just make sure to wait at least 10 minutes and cool down before hexing/cursing anyone

a nostalgic set of songs from my 2000s french childhood

time to long for the touch of another human!! let’s get emo (mostly mitski and also very gay)

If I created an abomination against god and man, I would simply not abandon it because it was ugly

Reblog to let all the trans people on their dash know they are amazing today!!!

im reading about cowboy phrases and sayings and like 95% of them are just solid life advice

use my generator and find out your sexy monstersona, babes