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| Arwen's Heart by Bodkin | 13 Review(s) |
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| Stefania | Reviewed Chapter: 5 on 6/14/2006 |
| Bodkin, I am enjoying the textures of your story as much as the character development. Your prose evokes a brittle beauty for me. Arwen is such a well drawn character and a heroine I can really emphasize with. I also am really delighted with Celeborn, the minor character who shouts out to me. And what a beautiful evocation of Aragorn's first spotting of Arwen and its parallels to Luthien and Beren. I'm glad I discovered "Arwen's Heart." - Stefania Author Reply: Thank you, Stefania. I am very pleased you are enjoying it! This chapter was an excuse to indulge in some of the descriptive writing that Tolkien's story evokes. It is such a beautiful scene to imagine! I like Arwen and feel she sometimes gets short-changed in stories. She is a strong female, with experience and determination - and many of her qualities went into supporting Aragorn through a very difficult period. There is more to her than some medieval Lady sitting in safety sewing a banner for her Lord. And I just love Celeborn! Such a tough character - so confident in his own worth that he has no difficulty at all dealing with Galadriel. I hope you continue to enjoy the rest of the story. | |
| jules | Reviewed Chapter: 5 on 3/31/2006 |
| the silent courage of those who remained behind what a tragically apt description of Gilraen for most of her life, and of course it becomes true of Arwen as well. Very interesting meeting between the two women in Aragorns life. Aragorns reactions to Elronds revelations about his identity are very believable - the resentment, anger, feelings of betrayal, followed almost immediately by insecurities and fears of inadequacy, then the sense of loss for a future that might have been of his own making. And as for THE meeting of the age, even from the outset Aragorn seems to realise Arwen had just become the one constant in his life that would help him endure the appalling hardships of his life as you so neatly describe it, the one whose image would sustain him, and whose lightest word would hold him. Author Reply: There are definite similarities to the roles of Gilraen and Arwen - and it is a role that is actually very typical of women. Eowyn is actually the exception in demanding to take a front-line role - and she had to reject the more usual feminine role that was expected of her. And yet - those who remain behind (which actually includes Elrond in the WotR) have an essential role to perform in making possible the role of the warrior. I read somewhere something along the lines of every front-line soldier requiring 50 people to ensure that he is fully equipped in the field - and many of those 50 people are the women who 'keep the home fires burning'. Can you just imagine being 20 years old and learning that your whole life so far has been - not exactly a lie, but an evasion? I cannot imagine anyone dealing with it well, and it's hardly surprising that Aragorn's reaction is to rush out and fall in love with a dream of perfection. To be Beren to Arwen's Luthien is just the kind of romance to appeal to a boy on the threshold of manhood. (As is ignoring the less romantic and more painful parts of the tale.) Yet he needed that vision to help him endure. Arwen, I think, must have recognised something in him. She had seen a lot of heirs of Isildur - but maybe she saw Beren in this one. She is too old and wise to fall in love with him at first sight - and he is too young and inexperienced to have enough appeal, but I think she felt something in her stir. | |
| Larner | Reviewed Chapter: 5 on 10/7/2005 |
| Yes, the losing of ones heart to the one intended to be the mate. Beautiful! Author Reply: Aragorn is in precisely the right mental condition to fall in love - and he has fallen. Arwen - has seen a beautiful besotted young man by moonlight. I think she is too mature to fall for him at the moment, but she has a good idea of her destiny - and the heir of Isildur is now in her mind's eye. | |
| lindahoyland | Reviewed Chapter: 5 on 10/6/2005 |
| I have always felt that Gilraen might have felt like a poor relation to Elrond and you bring this ot well. I loved Arwen's scene with her. Your description of the hard lives of the rangers was good too. Author Reply: All Men stuck in Imladris would have felt like poor relations, I think. And what was there for Gilraen to do once her son no longer needed full-time care? Glad you liked it! | |
| Angel | Reviewed Chapter: 5 on 9/8/2005 |
| Yay! You updated! Oh my goodness! So much going on! Kisses all round for Estel, Aragorn (wink wink), Elrond, Elladan and Elrohir, sniff! Yeah it's an orgy lol You could have included Gilraen's perception of Arwen at first sight. A hint at her beauty that later enraptures Aragorn, though your take on her character is formidable. A few years ago I think I outgrew Gilraen lol, so finding her between such pages, surprises me greatly, where she comes alive, and I learn to like and love her as Arathorn's widow again. Love Elrond and though I absolutely love his father/teacher/protector dilemma he could do with more spine :) Celeborn and Galadriel - thank you for making Celeborn real rather than the fumbling backdrop on Jackson's LOTR take ;)... I like their interactions, always gentle with an underlying sense of power, and fright. Already I get the feeling the elves time on Middle Earth is drawing to an end, I thus wish the contest had been more detailed. Oh and a swimming contest included lol Author Reply: Thank you. An orgy, huh? Gilraen doesn't get a huge amount of screen time, but she's a pretty amazing character really - in the kind of self-sacrificing way that isn't really very fashionable. When you think how young she was (in Dunedain terms) she suppressed the personal satisfaction thing to devote herself to raising a king-in-waiting. Elrond has spine! But what he also has is the knowledge and self-control that enables him to accept that sometimes you just have to stand back. He really doesn't want to - especially over Arwen - but it's not his choice and he has to let his sons / Aragorn / Arwen grow into independence. And it is excruciatingly painful for him. But then it seems to me that a lot of Elrond's role in the whole history of Middle Earth is to lose what is most important to him and to carry of fighting for the good of all anyway. C&G are among my favourites - love the pair of them. And how / why would Galadriel have hung around for three ages with a total wimp? Celeborn might have been happy with a less obvious power - but his power equalled hers in his own way. And they both knew it. And half-naked elves indulging in swimming contests are much better left to the imagination! Although the more vivid the imagination the better! | |
| meckinock | Reviewed Chapter: 5 on 8/28/2005 |
| I really liked Estel's comment that his mother says farewell every time she looks at him. The passage with Estel and the twins in the wild was warm and humorous. I liked the interaction between Estel and his big brothers. This chapter brought out not only the tremendous burden dropped on Aragorn's shoulders, but also the one his mother bore for so many years. I felt so bad for Gilraen when she was wondering if she would be shuttled off to the shadows when Elrond's daughter came home. It was nice to see her getting acquainted with Arwen. Aragorn's disorientation and anger at being told the truth about himself were very realistic, I thought. Even though there were excellent reasons for withholding that information, he's 20 and likely wouldn't see them right away. Author Reply: Poor Gilraen. She knows she is about to lose her son - and what does she have left? It's all part of the sacrifice she has made to rear him to become what he might be. Not to mention giving hope but retaining none. Every time she sees him now she must be trying to pile up every possible memory to eke out over the next 50 odd years, while he is off sleeping under trees and striving to save the world and she is left with - nothing much. The Aragorn in the Appendix seems to have taken his new name and role very calmly - but I have sons that age. They wouldn't appreciate the burden at all. They might enjoy the odd moment of fantasy - when the world bows down before them and they get the girl - but the 70 years of mud and ignominy - no thanks. And not telling them before would be wrong. And they would feel they had been pushed out of their family even more than having been returned their birth family. I'm sure Elrond would really have been left ripping out his braids. And the twins wouldn't understand why their loving little brother was suddenly surly. Gilraen might cope better for knowing Arwen. Or not. She might secretly prefer to know that Aragorn had met a nice Dunedain girl and started the process of making her a grandmother. But she is an intelligent and strong woman and she has her share of Dunedain foresight. Thank you for liking Estel and the twins in the wild! You do the wild so brilliantly. (Mine is mainly imagination.) And if ever a story needed a bit of humour! | |
| TithenFeredir | Reviewed Chapter: 5 on 8/25/2005 |
| There was an excellent contrast between the scenes with Gilraen and Elrond with their loving concern for Estel, and the harshness of his feelings of betrayal. It is so like a child to have no clue about the love that surrounds him. The meeting of Estel and Arwen was every bit as momentous and magical as it should have been. Beautiful! ~TF Author Reply: In Appendix A, Aragorn seems to take it all very calmly - but I have a 20 year old! Betrayal, doubt about his ability to be the man everyone expected, insecurity, temper, hurt - revelations such as, by-the-way-you-are-the-heir-of-Isildur come with all of them. And storming out. And moping. It is not that anyone could have done anything else - but that won't make him feel any better. It will, however, I think, leave him emotionally vulnerable and precisely in the state needed to fall totally and completely in love. And if his passion just shows all those who have been deceiving him, so much the better. But, on the other hand, I am sure that Aragorn's pure devotion to Arwen enabled him to endure the next thirty years, so it's not all bad. He needed that momentous, magical vision of perfection. I'm glad it worked for you. | |
| elliska | Reviewed Chapter: 5 on 8/25/2005 |
| Wow! The moment. I liked how everyone in this knew for whatever reason that a momentous event was upon them. Poor Celeborn--I felt sorry for him and for Galadriel and their fears for the future. I liked Arwen's arrival from the POV of Gilraen. And seeing Arwen and Glorfindel together. Poor Elrond too--I think this is one of those instances where the 'gift' of foresight stinks. :-) You included a lot of interesting details in the conversations between Estel/the twins and Arwen/Gilraen. And I cannot imagine that Estel took that conversation with Elrond completely calmly. It must have been quite a shock. He might have suspected something from things he heard or saw growing up, but I doubt he had guessed everything. I loved the end--the moment. Great chapter! Author Reply: Thank you. Poor Estel. One brickbat leaves him reeling only to smash face-first into the next. Followed by leaving home for a mere thirty years or so of facing an unfriendly providence. It's a good thing that Elrond and Gilraen and the inhabitants of Imladris have managed to give him a secure childhood and a range of good living-wild skills. But everything is crowding together and all those possibilities are binding together to end all that G&C and Elrond and Glorfindel and all have been striving to achieve over the ages. Foresight really does stink. But at least Arwen's 'fortuitous' arrival at this key moment has ensured that the star-struck heir of Isildur will not weaken. Which is probably why fate ensured it happened. And blow the pain it caused. Appendix A has ensured that a good deal of the next chapter is done too! It just needs some lighter moments. | |
| Redheredh | Reviewed Chapter: 5 on 8/24/2005 |
| Oh boy, what an enjoyable chapter! Maybe it started on a strained note, but such a substantial one. She went home! I really like your Celeborn and Galadriel so very much. And he remains Celeborn - but does not diminish. ;) Lovely Gilraen showing signs of her maternal foresight. Poor Elrond suffering the pangs of a mortal father. Supportive Glorfindel because that is who he is. The twins very much themselves. You gave an insightful moment into each. I like how you use "Estel - Aragorn" to emphasize the break in his identity. But, you saved the best for last. What incredible description you entwined around the actual dialog! Your slant on their Meeting is very exciting. Like Arwen and everyone around her, I anticipate even though I know - but do not know - what is to come. Author Reply: I think Aragorn will grow into enjoying reverting to Estel in the company of his adar and brothers. But first he needs to learn to be Aragorn. Without feeling that being Aragorn is a rejection. Goodness this is a tough thing to inflict on a 20 year old. I'm not surprised he was disturbed enough to lose his heart so totally. Poor Celeborn must have felt so helpless - not a feeling I think he appreciates. Galadriel, of course, knew she was helpless and turned impotence into taking control. Gilraen and Elrond seem to me to have grown into a totally non-physical bond over rearing Estel - and to share various emotions and fears, but she is more accepting of loss. But then loss is part of mortality, I suppose. There are difficulties in using actual dialogue - and it sometimes doesn't sound quite right (in this context) - but, when it is actually there, it just feels as if they should say the words Tolkien put in their mouths. More soon. Ish. | |
| perelleth | Reviewed Chapter: 5 on 8/24/2005 |
| Wonderful!As you say, some things are better left as they were written, and this chapter truly honors those glimpses we get in the tale of aragorn and Arwen. I love this Arwen, strong and yet compassionate, and so stubborn ! as it becomes a daughter of Elrond and Celebrían's. I liked the conversation with Gilraen. It is a very interesting insight, considering what Arqen will choose, hearing Gilraen's perception is kind of foresight, and, at the same time, a reminder to elves of the importance of time, of which the have endless amount, and how mortals do appreciate each and every passing momnet of happiness. I liked that you confronted her before she met Estel Estel's mixed emotions are only too understandable , as are Elrond's. But I did love the conversation between Galadriel and Celeborn. ...When I could wish to tell the world to care for itself and leave me to guard what is mine.E Yay!!!! the burden of leadership, so seldom pointed out! Fantastic! Author Reply: I came on the same thing with Earendil's Tale - and it just seems more appropriate to stick with actual text where possible, but it is difficult at times, when what is said doesn't seem to be exactly in character with the person as you see him/her. Aragorn in the Appendix just seems so overly mature for a 20 year old who has just learned some rather scary things about himself. I reckon that, if Arwen wasn't as strong and compassionate and insightful as her parents and grandparents, she might well not have been there to meet Aragorn. She could so easily have sailed with her naneth and nobody would have been surprised. And just think what might have happened then! Gilraen would have illustrated personal sacrifice, I think, in a very feminine way - and possibly the rewards of bowing to fate. Estel is still so young! Arwen is not about to fall in his arms - but I think she is aware of the machinations of fate - and Elrond, of course, knows even as he doesn't want to know. Celeborn and Galadriel - it must be tempting sometimes to abandon responsibility and be selfish. But they just can't - too much depends on their honesty and application to duty. Which, of course, they have all passed on to Aragorn and Arwen. | |