The height and weight of hobbits

Delving into The Lord of the Rings from time to time, I am aware of a problem that occasionally gets slightly in the way of the suspension of disbelief that is essential to experiencing any work of fiction. The problem has to do with the physical size of the hobbits in relation to men and how this would affect their mutual interactions. As explained in the attached document, it’s more complicated than the fact that a hobbit is half as tall as a man; it has to do with the biological question of scale. Warning: if you are concerned that your ability to identify with Tolkien’s imaginative world may be harmed by reading this, don’t read it. I’m not trying to attack Tolkien, I’m simply trying to understand whether such a world as Tolkien’s could theoretically exist.

Posted by Lawrence Auster at September 04, 2005 02:13 PM | Send