Chapter 8, The Professor Summary and Analysis

The author gives a number of details about his other working life during these letters. His day job as a professor grows in its presence within the letters. He has had a situation, which he deemed terrible wherein he was forced to Chair an English department under especial and limited conditions. He was able to work through this matter with his colleagues so that, without losing his job, he was still able to free himself from those responsibilities directly associated with the Chair.

The letters are now dated 1952 and it was not until 1953 that The Lord of the Rings made their way to publication. Those manuscripts continued to have a major role as a semi-manifest fantasy life but whenever they made no progress with publishers the author was given the certain message: pay attention to your real...