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Old 02-23-2006, 05:53 PM   #31
Lalwendė
A Mere Boggart
 
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Join Date: Mar 2004
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Lalwendė is battling Black Riders on Weathertop.Lalwendė is battling Black Riders on Weathertop.
Now I did not say I hated Turgon, but I do find him to be a questionable leader.

Before he becomes High King of the Noldor it is his perogative if he wishes to hide himself away, but afterwards it might be wrong to do such a thing; leaders need to be accessible to those whom they lead. Comparing this style of leadership with that of another, imagine if Aragorn decided to lock himself up in a tower and not actually get out there and lead the people? His active leadership was a major influence on his acceptance by the people. As seen with the reaction of Eol, I can well imagine that Turgon might have encountered difficulty in fostering allegiance from all the Elves.

And was it right for him to be isolationist when his kin were engaged in the struggle against Morgoth?

Aredhel demonstrates how even living in a perfect, beautiful and safe environment can be a confinement worse than being locked in a jail cell; she chooses adventure and danger over this paradise-prison. I often wonder if she actually allows Eol to woo her as he represents a 'free' Elf, someone who is quite definitely not under the control of her brother! An act of rebellion? Was she trying to state her new found independence?

And the strange thing is that she chooses Eol who then himself seeks to confine her. Sometimes those who have been in prison for a long time become 'institutionalised' and cannot fully cope with new found freedom. I think in seeking to confine his people in the way that he did, Turgon did them a disservice in the long run.
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