The Notion Club Papers Part One
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The Notion Club Papers: Part One is a chapter included in Sauron Defeated, being the first part of The Notion Club Papers. J.R.R. Tolkien divided the Papers into two parts at some point of its composition, but ultimately he rejected it and removed the headings of each part; however, Christopher Tolkien kept that division for editorial reasons.[1] The heading of Part One read as:[2]
The Ramblings of Michael Ramer
Out of the Talkative Planet"
Synopsis
- Night 54
- 16 November 1986
Only Philip Frankley and Rupert Dolbear attended the Notion Club, and they simply read a couple of poems and made some comments before leaving.
- Night 60
- 20 February 1987
Michael Ramer finished reading a story (which is lost according to the editor) to the crouded Club. The audience began criticizing with reluctance, but Nicholas Guildford finally gave his main objection with the story, which are the spaceships. He rejected the idea that spaceships could exist and criticized their use in literature with a false scientific approach. He and Flankley mentioned different examples from early century books and how these became more unbelievable as science evolved. Thus Guildford expressed his dissatisfaction with mechanical transports for space travel and pointed the need for other means, to which Wilfrid Trewin Jeremy added that there was no need for anything but the author's storytelling to see distant places of space. However, Guildford explained one cannot write a story about space travel with other natural laws or imaginary places (unlike the Fairy-stories), as they are set in our Universe.
Then Dolbear woke up from dozing off, but showing he was aware of the conversation. He explained they had been overlooking an important detail: the spaceship from Ramer's story was obviously made up by Ramer to give a narrative frame, while the story in between was unrelated to it. This made Dolbear to ask Ramer what he had been up to and what was the place of his story. Ramer acknowledged the place was real and he had seen it, raising a great silence in the Club. The members tried to get some answers from him, but he refused to elavorate. Soon after, the meeting finished and Ramer said he would come the next week. While in the street, Guildford told Ramer they believed him, and Ramer promised telling his secret in the next meeting.
- Night 61
- 27 February 1987
All the members of the Club attended, being Ramer the last to come. They all expected him to bring an essay or anything to explain them what he promised in the last meeting, but he told them he will talk this night.
Literary references
- "Scientifiction", term by Hugo Gernsback.
- A Voyage to Arcturus, novel by David Lindsay.
- The First Men in the Moon and The Time Machine, novels by H. G. Wells.
- "Cavorite", a fictional substance in The First Men in the Moon.
- The Space Trilogy (mainly Out of the Silence Planet and Perelandra), a series by C.S. Lewis.
- Dr. Elwin Ransom, the saga's protagonist.
- "Eldils", a sort of spiritual creature from space.
- "Field of Arbol", the Solar System around Arbol (the Sun).
- "Old Solar", the original and common language of the Field of Arbol.
- "Hnau", rational embodied beings.
- "Erewhon", a ficional country in the novel Erewhon by Samuel Butler.
- News from Nowhere, a novel by William Morris.
- "Skíðblaðnir", a magic ship in the Prose Edda.
- Last Men in London, novel by Olaf Stapledon.
- Geoffrey of Monmouth, author of The History of the Kings of Britain.
- "Elvish Drama", term from On Fairy-Stories by J.R.R. Tolkien.
References
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), Sauron Defeated, "Part Two: The Notion Club Papers: Introduction", p. 146
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), Sauron Defeated, "Part Two: The Notion Club Papers: Notes [for the Introduction]", p. 153, note 2