XLII Hypnosis in the Inklings

I am not dealing with Charles Williams or Owen Barfield. I am dealing with the works of the two main ones, C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien.

Narnia, by CSL:

• Wood between the worlds - Digory and Polly are obviously in a hypnotic state (just from being there) and have to struggle to get out;
• Digory pretended to feel hypnotised by the injunction at the bell and the hammer;
• Doctor Cornelius would have been very inept as a magician if he had not been able to cast as sleeping spell;
• The Lady of the Green Kirtle, for years, abuses hypnosis on Rilian, and for some minutes succeeds in doing so to the rescuers as well - until Puddleglum breaks the spell by making a scene;
• Tirian is a hunter who knows how to set his inner clock for waking up at a specific time - a species of self hypnosis.

Silmarillion and related, JRRT:

• Melian kind of hyponotises Elwe (Elu Thingol) for quite a long time;
• Luthien hypnotises guards, Beren, Sauron and Morgoth;
• Glaurung hypnotises - abusively - Turin, whose father may have been kind of hypnotised as well by Morgoth into seeing things a certain way.

LotR:

• Hobbits hypnotised by old man willow and by the barrow downs into lying down to sleep at the wrong moment;
• Tom Bombadil does a nice work of "refreshed after hypnosis" suggestions to wake them up.

It is fairly certain that they knew very well what hypnosis was, and perhaps someone of them or both, or another Inkling resorted to it./HGL

PS, forgot Legolas' self hypnosis allowing him to rest while awake, and obviously the druadan had a similar technique./HGL