Tolkien's "On Fairy-Stories": Why Humans?

         In "On Fairy-Stories," when Tolkien discusses the various types of tales that are not fairy-stories, he gives and interesting piece of “evidence” in his argument of why beast-fables are one such tale. He says, “But in stories in which no human being is concerned; or in which the animals are the heroes and heroines, and men and women, if they appear, are mere adjuncts; and above all those in which the animal form is only a mask upon a human face, a device of the satirist or the preacher, in these we have beast-fable and not fairy-story” (Tolkien 328). According to Tolkien, people are essential to the fairy-story. But if it is so important to create a secondary world, and maintain that world’s secondary-ness, why is it necessary to include humans, the most impactful reminder of the primary world? Does Middle Earth really need the race of Men? Tolkien answers this question with a resounding “YES!” in many ways, chief among which is the character Aragorn, without whom we would have no “Return of the King.” But why humans?

            I have said that humans are the most impactful reminder of the primary world. I say this because even with other reminders, nothing is so essentially connected to the reader as the human self. Tolkien argues throughout the essay that fairy-stories have certain functions and they have various effects on the reader. The reader should walk away from the story, leave the Perilous Realm and come back again to the primary world, having gained something, whether that be recovery, consolation, escape, etc. Perhaps the inclusion of humans in the secondary world helps serve this purpose. After all, Tolkien is careful to say that a true fairy-story must have humans that are central to the narrative, not just “adjuncts.” So they can’t just be there; they have to be central in some way. This centrality of the human reinforces the reader’s own connection to the world of fairy and his/her role in it. 

            I’m sure there are numerous other takes on this aspect of “On Fairy-Stories” and maybe even some opposing arguments, so what do you ladies and gents think? 

Tolkien, J.R.R. “On Fairy-Stories.” Tales from the Perilous Realm. New York:                     Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2008. Print.