Book 2 Chapter 7: The Mirror of Galadriel

Apologies if parts of this post seem incongruous, I wrote it during a layover and on a flight next to the Monopoly Man so it was a bit disorienting.

Alright, I haven't really made much of a stink about things I dislike in the film versions so far but this chapter kind of blows in the films.

Granted, it adds some tension after the death of Gandalf which is needed to keep folks interested (also why they added the death of Boromir to Fellowship instead of leaving it in Two Towers) but the portrayal made Galadriel look a bit silly in my opinion.

This chapter centers around the mighty and powerful Elves Galadriel and Celeborn and their magical kingdom of Lorien. Considered the wisest and most powerful of elves in Middle-Earth, including Elrond, this is the Fellowship's last chance at wisdom and safety before really entering the main stretch of the journey.

I think the namesake of the chapter is the most interesting part, where Frodo and Sam look into the waters of the Mirror and see what was, is, or may yet be be. Sam sees the destruction of the Shire, perhaps seeing what is currently going on, or perhaps a vision of the Shire at the end of Return of the King when Sharkey's men take over the land and pillage the fair countryside. Sam yearns to go back home but Galadriel is quick to remind him that previously he knew the Shire could be in danger but would not leave Frodo's side. Sam is quick to remember his loyalty and despite the growing darkness of the last few chapters, agrees that he will finish the quest with Frodo.

Frodo sees his place in the larger history of the Ring and sees the eye of Sauron himself. Unlike the film which has Sauron as a stupid literal burning eye, the eye here is metaphorical. Sauron has a far reaching gaze due to his powers but has an actual body. Frodo, as a Ring bearer, can sense his power and knows he is being hunted specifically which is an advantage the other members of the Fellowship don't share.

Galadriel, as a Ring bearer as well, knows Frodo can see the gaze of Sauron and is empathetic to his plight. In return he offers the Ring to Galadriel as she is the most poweful and mighty of the Elves and could surely succeed.

This is where I dislike the film's intepretation.

Galadriel is tempted and is vocal about her thought process. She would start as benevolent and slowly decay into tyranny. Instead of a Dark Lord, they would have a Dark Queen. In the end, she returns to herself and simply shrugs, "I pass the test." and accepts her fate that the Elves will diminish with the destruction of the Rings.

Specifically, I dislike how Galadriel is portrayed as becoming "beautiful and terrible". I thought the effects making her look like a radioactive feral ghoul were over the top and out of character. While she is severely shaken by the ordeal. She isn't really in danger of taking the Ring from Frodo and I think she knows it the entire time. She can feel the Ring's pull and has a certain desire to use it for good, but that temptation, while enough to overpower the less wise, is nothing to her. She willingly turns away, what only Gandalf has done so far.

Watching some of the extra features and "Making of" clips out there, they had originally filmed several other versions of the "transformation" and most of the others were much more subdued compared to the most extreme one which made it into the films. Most of the others were like Gandalf in Bag End when he stands up to Bilbo, the lights dim, and things shake a bit. Way more subtle, speaking to a great personal strength, and getting the point across in a manner that fit his personality and character.

This is pretty shockingly anti-Galadriel and one of the Top 3 dislikes in the film series.




P.S. While I'm ranting about PJ's (otherwise fantastic) interpretations of Middle-Earth, how do you NOT turn the effin' leaves at least a HINT of gold during post-production? The golden forest is a huge distinction from the other forests we see in Middle-Earth and speaks directly to the fantastic power and influence of the Elves. This is lazy stuff right here.

Peter Jackson's version

J.R.R. Tolkien's own sketch

Ted Nasmith's version based on Tolkien's sketch

It's not a huge deal, but a few touches of gold instead of the blue/silver motif they went with would have been nice.

Tolkien Goes Meta

While rereading "Council of Elrond" on my flight this morning to double check my accuracy, I find a line that I had previously glossed over.

At the Council,  Frodo tells everyone of his time with the Ring. All the way from Bilbo's disappearance to the Council. When he is finished,  Bilbo encourages him and insists that they sit down and get all the story written down if Bilbo is to write anything up for his book.

"There are whole chapters of stuff before you ever got here! " Bilbo exclaims.

Later in the chapter,  Bilbo is the first to volunteer his services as the Ring bearer to Mordor. Gandalf applauds his bravery but asks him to stay in Rivendell and to "get ready to write a sequel, when they [the fellowship] come back. "

I enjoy these lines because from a lore standpoint, what we know as The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit comes from the "Red Book of Westmarch" which is the name of the book that Bilbo is always working on. This book is passed down by Sam's family until Tolkien discovers it somewhere and translated it from its original "Westron" into English.

Cool, huh?

Chapter 8: Fog on the Barrow-Downs

(I'm doing something new here where I bold and italicize Tolkien's words to draw more emphasis to them. Let me know if it helps or if I should do it differently)

In this chapter, Frodo and company set out across the foreboding Barrow-downs and are, of course, snatched by the wights into danger.

When Frodo comes to after fainting, he is in a Barrow - he assumes - and is flat on his back on a stone table with his arms crossed on his chest (remember, this is a tomb after all...) Looking around, the other Hobbits on on the ground near him but it is an otherwise empty room. The others look asleep or, worse, dead!

This is an important chapter because it really does define Frodo as courageous, much moreso than he appears in the films.

Under the Spell of the Barrow Wights by Ted Nasmith

Frodo's Courage

Upon looking around, Frodo at first feels frightened which is pretty understandable considering the dark tales of the Barrow-downs that have been his only experience with the region. Instead of cowering as one might expect, Frodo feels a stirring a courage and he thinks of words that Bilbo had often shared.

"There is a seed of courage hidden (often deeply, it is true) in the heart of the fattest and most timid Hobbit, waiting for some desperate danger to make it grow." Tolkien then explains how highly Gandalf and Bilbo thought of Frodo, considering him the best Hobbit in the entire Shire - which is quite high praise coming from this pair!

Frodo puts this into action as he sees a dismembered hand creep its way toward Sam. He grabs a nearby blade and hacks at the hand, keeping it away from his friends. 

This is the first act of clear and expressed violence in the book and it is Frodo who does it to save his friends. I think this is significant in defining his progression as a character and as a "trendsetter" of sorts among the Hobbits.

Fear grips Frodo again, however, as he hears the terrible chanting of the barrow-wights. Once again, Frodo finds courage and begins softly signing Tom Bombadil's song to call him to the Hobbit's side. The words bolster him as he sings and by the end, Tom has arrived by breaking down a wall to the room.

Tom promptly banishes the wights through his songs, shouting them down, proclaiming that his songs are stronger songs. (Power of the voice, yada, yada, yada)

Tom's Memory

After saving the Hobbits, Tom gathers up the treasure of the Barrow and sets it upon the now sunlit hilltop for all creatures to come and take as needed. He gives the Hobbits each a sword of old Arnorian make (back when Aragorn's ancestors ruled the North) which are still quite powerful. Upon giving these Tom comments on the swords' importance "Few more remember them,  yet still some go wandering,  sons of forgotten kings walking in loneliness,  guarding from evil things folk that are heedless"

Tom is talking about the Rangers of course! Wonder why the Shire hasn't seen any violence since wolves invaded a few centuries before? The Rangers. Why it is so strange to hear of evil things even around Bree where Hobbits have spent a good deal of time? The Rangers. 

The Hobbits, or Frodo at least, also receive another vision here on the expanse of the years since the forging of their new blades. They see lines of marching men, tall and grim in bright series, and the last among them came with a star upon his brow.  The reader who is familiar with the series knows that this is Aragorn, who is called Elessar (elf-stone) for the symbolic "star of Earendil" that the line of kings wore.

I only noticed this on a later read-through but this really sets up Aragorn much better than I had initially thought, and Toms words describes Aragorn, their leader, impeccably.

Tom also takes a small brooch adorned with blue stones for himself, saying "fair was she who long ago wore this on her shoulder" I took great interest in this quote when reading through this current time and thinking about who this lady was. Tom speaks of this brooch as if remembering a fond memory of ancient times. Similarly, it must have been long ago indeed if Tom is calling it long ago. This guy was there at the dawn of time remember?

I have come to two theories, each of which are plausible and there really isn't much else to help determine which one could be true

Theory 1: Luthien

The story of Beren and Luthien is one of Tolkien's best known works of the 1st Age (LOTR takes place in the 3rd Age) telling of the human Beren going through great, unbelievable tasks (like the tasks of Hercules) to be with the Elven-born Luthien.

Luthien is described as the most beautiful thing to have ever lived and her romance with Beren is the best love story that Tolkien wrote (Aragorn and Arwen are like a watered down parallel story to this). The brooch would presumably have been passed down through Luthien's descendents to her grandchildren Elros and Elrond. Elros chose to become a human, unlike his twin brother Elrond (yes, THAT Elrond) and Elros became the first King of Numenor and the ancestor to Aragorn. This brooch would have passed down the lines and eventually been in the hands of the rulers of the old Northern kingdom of Arnor when Aragorn's ancestors Elendil and Isildur ruled it. Eventually, it was lost with the rest of the Northern kingdom when the Witch-king invaded.

This theory also has some plausibility as Aragorn wears the Ring of Barahir, a legendary heirloom of his house that was traced back to Beren - Luthien's husband. I love the symbolism of the two relics being passed through the generations and one being lost represents the fall of the kingdom. When Tom recovers it, it's a sign that the dark days are done and the Return of the King is soon!

Theory 2: Noble lady of Arnor/Queen of Arnor

Similar to Theory 1, this places the brooch as an item of importance to the history of Arnor. Presumably, this brooch belonged to a noble lady, maybe even a queen, who met with Tom and Goldberry long ago before their kingdoms fell. This would perhaps fit better with the casual way that Tolkien describes the brooch without placing much importance on it.

Conclusion:

I'm going to keep thinking it belonged to Luthien. I love the parallel with the Ring of Barahir, and the ties to Tolkien's favorite female character (his wife's tombstone has the name "Luthien" engraved on it). I also think that it fits with Tom's reckoning of time (a few ages back was definitely a long time ago, even for him), and Tolkien is also not very descriptive of Glamdring, Gandalf's sword, when they find it in "The Hobbit." Glamdring was wielded by Turgon, one of the most powerful Elven kings to have lived, a fact that Gandalf surely would know since he knew the name of the sword, yet Tolkien omits it. Important historical things are not always called out explicitly by Tolkien.

In any case, I love moments like this where I can create my own reasoning for what something is and how it ties together. What do you think the brooch is?