LotR -- Book 2 - Chapter 08 - Farewell to Lórien

[Formendacil]

A short chapter, but a weighty one! (And till this resurrection, the most-buried thread in the sub-forum.)

The farewell with Galadriel and Celeborn, especially Galadriel singing of Valinor as the Fellowship floats away, ends my reading experience of Lothlórien much as it began: with a heightened spiritual experience missing from the movies (either because Jackson et al coudln't show such a thing or desired not to). And the experience of Cerin Amroth certainly mirrors the song of Valinor in a sense: both deal with the Elvish longing for what was.

To visit Cerin Amroth, which seems like the purest place of Lothlórien's power, is to step into the Elder Days, which still ARE at the beginning of the Lórien trilogy, but Galadriel's lament is a lament that they have passed. Similarly, Cerin Amroth, the heart of Elvendom on earth, might also be said to be the Heart of Elvendom on Middle-earth--no one would rightly say it is more blessed than Valinor, but if it is a place where the Elder Days are still present, then it is a place that speaks of Elven realms outside Valinor: of the Teleri refusing the Great March and becoming the Silvan Elves, of the Noldor returning to Middle-earth and carving great realms for themselves under the Sun, of the Sindar moving East after the First Age and seeking to find new Menegroths and Doriaths. To lose Cerin Amroth is to lose the First Age.

And what is balanced between Cerin Amroth and the lament in the text? "I will diminish and go into the West and remain Galadriel." Already, when Frodo meets Galadriel again: "already she seemed to him, as by men of later days Elves still at times are seen: present and yet remote, a living vision of that which had already been left behind by the flowing streams of Time." The stated goal of the makers of the Three had been precisely to hold back the flowing streams of Time, and though the power of Nenya has not yet been broken with the destruction of the One, once Galadriel passes the temptation and commits herself to assisting its destruction, it immediately begins.

This image of Valinor as a consolation prize for those who have lost Middle-earth is vastly melancholic, and it's a bit at odds with the way the Silmarillion presents it. There it is a place of light and glory and, once Fëanor leads away the Ñoldor, it is a place to look back at in longing. And something might be said regarding the longing--and envy--of the Númenóreans in the Akallabêth.

Also, a side note, to go back to an ancient discussion of the fitfulness of the gifts, Fordhim linked four of the gifts to the eventual endings of the characters, and was then pleased to add Boromir, Merry, and Pippin to that analysis--but what of Legolas? Could it be, in keeping with the changing, lost nature of Lothlórien, that Galadriel doesn't give him a gift for his ending in the wistful hope of staving on his inevitable (Elven) end with a gift mired in the here-and-now?

[Boromir88]

Regarding the relationship between Galadriel and Celeborn. Celeborn tells them to avoid Fangorn, and Boromir says it seems to him to be "old wives' tales, such as we tell to our children."

"Then I need say no more," said Celeborn. "But do not despise the lore that has come down from distant years; for oft it may chance that old wives keep in memory word of things that once were needful for the wise to know."

I just find this quote interesting in the discussion of Celeborn being focused on providing needed gifts for the Fellowship's present tasks (most noticeable in the boats. Did Celeborn also give the cloaks?) and Galadriel's gifts are given with the future and their end fate. Celeborn's warning to avoid Fangorn is giving counsel on their most immediate decision, do they leave the river on the east or west? It makes me wonder if Celeborn is making a statement about Galadriel's role as an "old wife", who keeps in "memory word of things that once were needful for the wise [Celeborn] to know."

Speaking of Fangorn, in his response about he would go through Fangorn to get back to Minas Tirith if he had to...it just shows Boromir is the character most clearly uncomfortable around elves. He was refusing to go through Lothlorien unless the entire company was against him, but when advised to avoid Fangorn, he said he would find a way through Fangorn if need be (because no elves in Fangorn ). Did anyone think the story would lead us through Fangorn?

Friendships are beginning to solidify in (and departing) Lorien. Most noticeably between Legolas and Gimli, and those two have left changed. But this is also the first time Boromir is connected to Merry and Pippin (by receiving belts) and upon departing they're in a boat together. Aragorn's with Frodo and Sam, but he's the one with the hardest decision ahead...to follow Frodo or go to Minas Tirith with Boromir.

And a final quick point...I was critical of Jackson for portraying lembas as this delicious elf cake treat, but color me surprised when the Elves have a laugh at Gimli eating too much of the delicious honey cake.