As someone who passionately loves both, it thrills me to read this. I didn't know they were friends. It's so humbling to imagine them sitting together sharing and critiquing some of the best fiction writing of the 20th century.
It's clear Tolkien really had the all-in philosophy, total immersion. The down side is that there's no path there. Lewis gives us a path, like you have with Harry Potter, where you can dream that one day you'll find a magical wardrobe or get an invitation to Hogwarts. I think it also has to do with Narnia and Potter both being generally directed to children, though, of course, most of the rest of us were also captivated. Children always believe they can create and find magic. Whereas middle earth was a way to mentally escape to a totally alternate universe without seeing a way there.
Thanks for posting this. I love thinking about this stuff.
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I would argue that Middle Earth can also be directed to children as well, as The Hobbit was originally written for Tolkien's children. Tolkien also created Middle Earth because he wanted to create a unique mythology for England. In that way, I think that Middle Earth could be considered closer to home than we might think, especially if we imagine that the history and land of Middle Earth happened long ages ago in our Primary World... Middle Earth can be thought of like the world of Arthurian legends or Greek mythology - it happened in the past and you'd just need a time machine to get there, whereas for Narnia and Harry Potter, you just need a portal to get to that other world.
Excellent points! I had read that about The Hobbit but had forgotten. What a dad! What lucky kids. I think just for me I remember hoping as a child I would one day find a wardrobe, and both my older children told me they were really disappointed when they didn't get a Hogwarts letter. I loved The Hobbit and all the Lord of the Rings books, but I never thought of being in the world. It does, though, like you say, have a feeling of an ancient history.