Tolkien, Allegory, and Applicability: Freedom of the Reader Is Not License to Reinterpret

I’ve noticed that many people, when trying to justify their opinions about Tolkien’s works, resort to his statement about preferring “applicability,” which lies in the freedom of the individual reader, to allegory, which is the purposed domination of the author. But does Tolkien’s statement really give us freewheeling license to interpret his work however we want?

For my video on authorial intent vs. death of the author, a distinction which actually is relevant to justifying broad interpretive license, check here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n49foLSWx50

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