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Sister
Sisterhood, I think, plays a key thematic role in The Lord of the Rings that we (at least I) have been overlooking entirely.
Let's take a look at the three primary female characters: Arwen, Eowyn, and Galadriel.
Arwen is the 'young' elf, Galadriel the elder: both are immortal.
Eowyn is mortal.
So here we have this crushingly poignant unfoldment of sister-roles that I was until recently totally blind to.
Eowyn marries and leaves her brother.
Arwen dies and leaves her brothers.
Galadriel is separated from her brothers and allowed to return after the death of the beautiful forest kingdom she has built.
Tolkien had one younger brother, no sisters.
Might Middle-earth be nothing more or less than the sister Tolkien spent a lifetime singing into existence?
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"This miserable drizzling afternoon I have been reading up old military lecture-notes again:- and getting bored with them after an hour and a half. I have done some touches to my nonsense fairy language - to its improvement."
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