Section 11 Abstracts of the Proceedings of the J.R.R. Tolkien Centenary Conference

Tolkien Society: 'a star shines on the hour of our meeting'

Tolkien Centenary Conference Proceedings Abstracts

Tales of Wonder - Science Fiction and Fantasy in the Age of Jane Austen.: This paper challenges the accepted view that the works of writers such as Mrs. Radcliffe, "Monk" Lewis, Maturin and Mary Shelley are part of a Gothic tradition deriving from Horace Walpole's Castle of Otranto. The paper also studies the connection of Jane Austen to these writers and will try to unravel the errors of Brian Aldiss, whose ideas are taken from earlier authors.

Natural Mysticism in Kenneth Grahame's The Wind in the Willows.: This paper explores the use of Pan as the medium for an intense mystical experience in "The Piper at the Gates of Dawn", and how this mystical passage fits in with the rest of The Wind in the Willows. The author also explores possible influences on Grahame from writers of the nineteenth century who had mystical emphases in their books. The "Piper" is one of the most beautiful passages of natural mysticism in twentieth-century literature, but one rarely discussed: the author hopes this paper will begin to fill this critical gap.

Cetacean Consciousness in Katz's Whalesinger and L'Engle's A Ring of Endless Light.: Both Canadian fantastist Welwyn Wilton Katz and American fantasist Madeleine L'Engle have written novels in which humans, in communicating with whales or dolphins, have been exposed to wholeness, harmony, unity, and pattern in the universe at large as perceived by cetaceans. While writing quite independently, these works show a remarkable similarity in their perception of cetacean consciousness. An exploration of these similarities shows the united mystical vision that writers from different backgrounds and beliefs can attain.