Luthien & Galadriel

[Anguirel]

Well...like many others, I like Galadriel more as a character. And in a way, I think that power is, ultimately, what is of importance, or what should be. The Vala (or whatever the feminisation is) Nessa is far more powerful than Galadriel or Luthien, for instance, but because she does nothing other than dance through some stars, and, more importantly, does not reveal to us any sort of character, we cannot regard her as much.

Luthien surpasses Galadriel in terms of deeds by some distance; but Galadriel's character is arguably Tolkien's most fascinating and complex, which Luthien's is not, apparently, as compelling. It has potential, vast potential to be framed on her deeds, but it is not fully formed.

And, as a sideline, I must defend Beren from Mith's strident charge of wetness. He seems a bit drippy because his girlfriend is far more "powerful" in terms of puissance than he is. But on his own level, his deeds are unparallelled-in the attempt far more than in the accomplishment, but that should be the nature of true heroism. I admire Beren's hopeless stand in Dorthonion, for instance, far more than the return voyage of Earendil. He shows tremendous resolve, courage, and sheer stubbornness. He is not my sort of hero at all, but I am forced to admit his greatness in moments like his defiance of Thingol.

"I have earned such names from no elf, be he King or no."

In all, I would say Beren is more powerful than Luthien in the same way that Galadriel is-the way we, the readers, accept them. This seems to me far more important than weighing quarts of Maia blood against inches of pretty hair, or some other such nonsense.