[The Saucepan Man]

*Dodges apples hurled by Celeborn fans*

Originally Posted by Rimbaud

Such scenes and apologies can be staged by the artful.

A nice thought, Rim. But why stage the reception of the Fellowship thus?

Originally Posted by Imladris

Are not even the wise allowed to make mistakes?

But Celeborn is "corrected" by Galadriel not just once, but twice. And the first instance occurs practically the first time that he speaks. As for Elves' relationships with Dwarves, he starts out on the right foot with Gimli, expressing a hope that the lifting of Lorien's ban on Dwarves might signify a renewed friendship between their races. I take your point that he was beset with grief at Gandalf's fall. But Galadriel was able to keep her emotions under control sufficently to perceive the folly in his words.

Originally Posted by drigel

Maybe the wisest among Sindar appears thusly as Celeborn does when compared to a Noldorian princess born in Aman..?..?

Ah, but he is "accounted the wisest of the Elves of Middle-earth", not simply wisest of the Sindar.

Of course, I am simply expressing my own reaction to the character, and I am most certainly not denying the impression that others may have formed. But perhaps it is more interesting to consider why Tolkien depicts Celeborn in the manner that he does. I think that the inimitable Prof Hedgethistle put it very well when he said:

Originally Posted by Fordim Hedgethistle

Celeborn seems to me to be the perfect mate for Galadriel. He is steady and dependable where she is perilous. He is both lesser than her, but also greater: he does not provide counsel as wise as his wife, but neither is he a threat to take the Ring. He could, perhaps, be a vision of what will happen to Galadriel after the Fellowship leaves. Having forsaken her dynamic desire between good and evil, she will fade into a rather bland and uninteresting 'wise and all powerful figure of the woods' who, strangely, has lost much of her power to compel. She will indeed diminish. . .

But, for me, there is still a mismatch between his deeds and his depiction. Is this perhaps intentional on Tolkien's part?