Quote:
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Originally Posted by Mithalwen
"May I give Ioreth a further mention. She is admittedly a fairly minor character but she gets a fairly raw deal, I think. She is seen as a somewhat ridiculous figure prattling away and self important, but I think that prattle is a habit of those who are seldom listened to. Remember that she is (apart from Eowyn) the only named woman in the city and the city is a warzone, so she is actually quite brave. It is reasonable to assume that the only family she has are the mentioned sisters. She represents another category - the women whose work and worth are unappreciated, in a society where unmarried and unmarriagiable women have little staus. She is the Miss Bates of LOTR useful only for the care of the sick and a butt of humour; and a very good reminder for women of my generation to be grateful for the feminists of earlier generations........"
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Never thought of her before as being brave, but as you mention, she stayed to help in a war zone. Nice insights.
I happen to see her as another LOTR character with a unique and distinctive 'voice' - sure she wags her tongue a bit, but who would remember her if she just stated the facts? I saw her as no more or less in stature than that of the Warden (or Beregond, or Denethor, etc) who again has a different 'woolgathering' voice.
Was Tolkien trying to say something in that ME's savior is a small 'intellectual' hobbit, and the savior of Merry, Faramir and Eowyn (amongst others) is Ioreth of stature proposed by
Mithalwen?