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| Fostering by Larner | 6 Review(s) |
|---|---|
| Mirkwoodmaiden | Reviewed Chapter: 3 on 11/5/2005 |
| Larner! I really like this chapter. I love how you sketch Gilraen's change. She has given so much and we can see the cost. From your characterisation we can really see the slow progession from Gilraen as a younger woman full of hope to the woman who eventually will say "I gave hope to the world, I have no hope for me." Gilraen's life was never an easy one. You cover her life having left Rivendell very imaginatively and I've really enjoyed reading it! It's an ared I have yet to tackle in my stories. P.S. to answer the question you asked in your review about where I was from. I was born and raised in Central California, but I spent almost 8 years going to University and working in England. Because of the amount of writing I did while I was in England, the British spellings have worked their way into my memory! My friend Baggins Babe (born and raised in London)has declared me an "honorary Brit." MM Author Reply: I've traveled extensively throughout Britain myself (LOVE YORK!!!!) and appreciate the "honorary Brit" status you have been granted. I'm so glad that you appreciate the idea that Aragorn, Frodo, and Sam are shown as spiritual brothers here, for it's an image of them I've carried for SO long. And am glad you approve of the way I show Gilraen's changes in personality. She has lived in part through her son; but in case he does not make it to the throne, she will not allow herself to see another great loss. I always felt that was her tragic flaw. And, in this version, to fear for the safety of the two who weren't born alive to her and to forsee what Frodo will undergo must be tearing her apart. | |
| Kitty | Reviewed Chapter: 3 on 7/13/2005 |
| *sniff* Poor Gilraen. It is so sad she didn't live long enough to see her son happy crowned and married and to meet her reborn other sons. Maybe it was some comfort to her to know they're born in the Shire and there is someone who she knows to care for them. Author Reply: It was probably a relief in one way, and a grief in another, knowing she wouldn't see them herself. But to know they were well taken care of must have been heartening. | |
| Radbooks | Reviewed Chapter: 3 on 7/13/2005 |
| Oh good, sort of bittersweet chapter. One of the things that's always been sad for me about Lord of the Rings is that Gilraen never got to see Aragorn come into his Kingship, never got to see all of the prophecies fulfilled and the kingdoms restored. She gave up so much and died much too young, maybe I was thinking about it more recently because of several stories I've been reading - this one, and then a one chapter one by Thundera Tiger about Aragorn coming to her grave and being there with Halbarad and then I'm reading Nilmandra's new History Lessons story which also starts with Gilraen and little Estel's arrival and I've just been struck by all that she gave up for him and for her people and for all of Middle Earth. So much of Tolkien's writing is about self-sacrifice and she and Aragorn and Frodo all gave up so much of themselves for Middle Earth at incredible costs to themselves. Well, that wasn't so much a review of your chapter as a comment about Gilraen! :) Anyway, I did enjoy the chapter and I loved how Aragorn came to visit her and how he brought her gifts at different times and how he got her to share with him about her dream, very persistant. :) Then Frodo being born and so small and them trying to save him, I could just see him all small and struggling to breath. Nicely done! Author Reply: Have used the techniques I ascribed to the midwife trying to get puppies breathing, so know they are not all that unusual and probably as useful for Hobbit babies as for small Pomeranians. Gilraen appears to have chosen not to remain to see what became of her son's hopes, and all I could hope was that she was indeed watching from afar or from inside what he achieved, his final coronation, joyful marriage, the birth of his children, the love shown him and his son by their people, and perhaps the grief when Frodo left and later Sam, seeing so many of those he loved going ahead of him. She was a tragic figure in many ways, but was also that way, apparently, due to her own choice. | |
| harrowcat | Reviewed Chapter: 3 on 7/13/2005 |
| Oh I do love your details - kingsfoil for baby Frodo! And I do so agree that the Creator has such a strange sense of humour. Author Reply: What else but Kingsfoil for Frodo at any age. And we are all indications of God's sense of humor, after all! | |
| Meldewen Ilce | Reviewed Chapter: 3 on 7/13/2005 |
| I'll say it again - THIS.IS.AMAZING! I cannot believe I was right about Frodo and Sam being Aragorn's lost brothers! She found she looked forward to entering the Presence and facing the Creator who had shown such a strange sense of humor. Oh, I loved that line and found myself totally caught up in this chapter! You really are an amazing writer! Please update again soon! Author Reply: Thank you for the compliments. I was attending the ordination of a bishop of our church, and one of those giving homilies at the service commented that if we wanted proof God has a sense of humor, we only need to look at those he's brought to office within the church, a comment that has obviously stuck with me over the years. I'd already explored the possibility in the last story I wrote regarding the possibility of Sam and Frodo possibly having been spiritual brothers to Aragorn--Harrowcat inspired to look more closely at the situation. | |
| Tigger | Reviewed Chapter: 3 on 7/12/2005 |
| Oh my...Of course it would be Kingsfoil used to help little Frodo to breathe. And of course it would have the smell of the sea, as it always did to Frodo. What a wonderful chapter as always!! Author Reply: Well, what else would be used? Thank you so much for appreciating the detail! | |