[Wisdom of Wizardry]

Thank you for the kind words, Lord of Angmar.

I do remember that JRRT disavowed any scent of 'allegory' in an interview; but nevertheless nobody writes in a vacuum, and I firmly believe that his masterwork reflected the values, culture, and aspirations of his contemporary English times.

I have the feeling that Galadriel's flash of ambition and vision of herself as a dark and powerful queen were feigned. She had long ago considered what her choices would be, should the One Ring ever come within her grasp; and she had long ago decided that she could not safely wield it. I took her display as a sort of elvish joke, a harmless sham to daunt Frodo, before quickly revealing her true nature, and assuring him (and the company) that they were safe under her protection.

Perhaps such a jest, though, DOES reveal some hint of a dark side. She certainly made it clear that her power over all of the company was total!

I am new to the forum, as you noted in your reply to my post; so I don't know how trite my thoughts may be to those who have been here a long time. I trust that someone will gently throttle me if I belabor points that have already been talked to death by others.

As you can divine from my signature, I have been 'hooked' on JRRT for a long time. I first read the books when I was a twenty-something Navy flight instructor in the Pensacola, Florida area. I can clearly remember the sweaty flight suits, the endless coaxing to "relax, make small corrections, and TRIM, TRIM, TRIM"; while at the back of my mind I was in the Barrow Downs or on Weathertop with Frodo. The associations are so strong that I seldom think of that particular airplane without also thinking of the Ring Trilogy.

Looking forward to posting often over the next several months. Merry Christmas, everybody!