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| The Acceptable Sacrifice by Larner | 11 Review(s) |
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| Radbooks | Reviewed Chapter: 69 on 1/19/2006 |
| Oh, this was a good chapter to see what had happened to Lobelia. I fell sad for her... maybe pity would be a better word. The bitterness that she allowed in her life that consumed her and her family and look where it led them all and the Shire. Tragic. Yet there was some hope there at the end for her as she felt appalled by the treatment of the neighbors once she realized what was going on outside of Bad End. Frodo's letter and his compassion brought tears to my eyes. He was so right and yet how many of us would do the same? Not many, I don't think and yet it softened her heart. Nicely done! Sorry I missed a few days here, but I was finishing up the first chapter of my new story and I just got it posted yesterday! :) Author Reply: Yes, we don't see a lot of Lobelia from her point of view. I admit to having been inspired by another story I read in which Lobelia's heart began to be turned by her first look at the actual houses to which the inhabitants of Bagshot Row had been banished. I thought, however, it might have started earlier as she realized she and Lotho were now virtual prisoners, and that seeing the inside of these "houses" was just the icing on the cake, as it were. I agree about Frodo--he's managed to find an honorable way of mourning Lotho's death, which Lobelia has to agree is honest while it doesn't begin to show just what a fool she'd been. Our bitterness consumes not just ourselves, but our families as well; while our blessings do so even moreso. Haven't read your new story yet--am feeling sort of odd, and am having a time kick-starting myself into anything requiring action at the moment. | |
| Bodkin | Reviewed Chapter: 69 on 1/19/2006 |
| Poor Lobelia. Not a very pleasant hobbit - but she never intended the outcomes she faced. She just wanted everyone to admire her and look up to her - and didn't think that the way to get that is by being a better person. I'm glad she gave Bag End back, even if she did seem to take some pleasure in frustrating the greed of her kin. And in taking the coin. Author Reply: You can perhaps introduce compassion into the heart of a Bracegirdle, but taking all the Bracegirdle out of one may be nigh impossible. Couldn't see the old girl giving over all her nature, after all. And she did want recognition and respect, not realizing that true respect is earned, not bought. Glad you approve. | |
| Linda Hoyland | Reviewed Chapter: 69 on 1/18/2006 |
| It is nice that Frodo still observes the standing silence. Poor Lobelia,I feel sorry for her now. Author Reply: I think they'd all observe it, although perhaps quietly much of the time so others didn't notice--save for Pippin. I think he'd observe the Standing Silence openly all the time. After all, he is now a man of Gondor--or a Hobbit of Gondor. And Lobelia deserves pity and even compassion, particularly as she finally let go her avarice and tried to do right by those wronged by Lotho. | |
| Baggins Babe | Reviewed Chapter: 69 on 1/18/2006 |
| What an interesting look at the Troubles through the eyes of Lobelia. She really discovered the truth of the saying 'Be careful what you wish for...' All those years she thought her life would be perfect if she could only have Bag End, and then to find it all falling apart...... Lotho is one of those people with no self-awareness. He is disliked by all, yet it is everyone else's fault! I doubt he would have changed, but I certainly do feel sorry for Lobelia. Yes she was spiteful and grasping, but she was tough and brave when it came to it. I'm glad she gave Bag End back to Frodo, but I'm sorry she was still nasty enough to be glad she'd kept that coin. Author Reply: This story does change point of view fairly often, as you've noted. But Lobelia is one of those characters who catches at the imagination. I was so touched myself in the story when she was amazed she was popular and then when she gave back Bag End and when she left her estate for reparations. It was nice to be able to explore how this all came to be. But, yes, she still found a core of amusement and satisfaction at having possession, no matter for how short a time, of that coin. | |
| Andrea | Reviewed Chapter: 69 on 1/18/2006 |
| A very insightful chapter. I feel sorry for poor old Lobelia. She had a dream of living a perfect life at Bag End. But from the beginning on that was only a dream and far from reality! When she finally decided it was time to talk sense into her son, it was far too late - and she found herself a prisoner in the lockholes instead. "Then a cool, clear light that soothed had come down the passages as Frodo Baggins led searchers down to free those who’d been imprisoned here; and for the third time in her adult life, once Frodo reached her cell, Lobelia Sackville-Baggins saw compassion directed at her in the eyes of those who found her and freed her from her prison." What a beautiful image! A light in dark places and like a reflection of that light Frodo's true compassion for Lobelia. "There was enough Bracegirdle in her to find satisfaction in the thought that Frodo just might be unhappy to have lost this coin." Well, she *is* a Bracegirdle after all, but this time I forgive her ;-) Author Reply: So glad you like the image of Frodo, the Phial of Galadriel in his hand, descending into the tunnels to lead the release of the prisoners, that light healing instead of disquieting. And I have so long been glad that Lobelia did have such a major change of heart. Finding herself popular for the first time since she married must have been overwhelming when she hobbled out carrying her umbrella; and learning her own avarice led to her son's treachery to their land AND his death must have been heartrending. And I'm glad you do forgive her for her feelings about the coin. | |
| French Pony | Reviewed Chapter: 69 on 1/18/2006 |
| A wonderfully detailed look at the course of the Troubles. Lotho emerges here as a fascinating character in the way he grows from being merely unpleasant to being Sharkey's pawn. And yet he never seems to have been really evil -- just stupid and egotistical. I like watching Lobelia's change in station as well. You write her with a great deal of compassion. Author Reply: I am so glad you appear to have liked how this was written. I've always been a bit in awe of the fact that Lobelia did have her change of heart before the end, and tried to do right by those Lotho had wronged. I think she'd realize at the end that a lot of his own shortcomings were due to her raising him to believe that rules and laws didn't pertain to him. I think of her with compassion because she showed herself capable of changing and of grief at the loss of her son. How much Lotho lost, not being able to turn from being one of the bullies of Hobbiton. | |
| Kitty | Reviewed Chapter: 69 on 1/18/2006 |
| Now I feel sorry for Lobelia, and I'd never thought *that* possible! She was a very nasty hobbit, but even she must've been very shocked to see what her dear son had set in motion. And it was impressive that she, after realising what happened, wanted to go and talk to her son to put a stop on this. That she gave Bag End back to Frodo was something I was always impressed, although I never liked her. Lotho, on the other hand, is one for whom I can feel no pity. He may not have expected for things to go *this* far, but he started a lot of it himself and can't blame his ruffians for what he did in the beginning. He called them in, after all. Author Reply: So you, as I've always been, were also moved by Lobelia's repentance and willingness to try to set things straight, starting with giving Bag End back to Frodo and then leaving her estate to them. In her hopeless assault against the ruffians who belittled her so, I always felt she was either totally brainless OR letting the true courage of Hobbits out in the end, recognizing it would most likely achieve nothing but still standing up for herself and her people and, in a way, for Lotho in the end. It's hard to feel too sorry for Lotho, but I find myself remembering an old saying: There's so much good in the worst of us and so much bad in the best of us that it ill behooves any of us to speak ought ill of the rest of us. (That I sort of modernized, as in the original language it is almost incomprehensible any more.) | |
| harrowcat | Reviewed Chapter: 69 on 1/18/2006 |
| Ooh that must have been a hard chapter to write Larner. You have squeezed in such emotional highs and lows. I was finding myself feeling very sorry and sad for Lobelia, cheering that she saw the light about Bag End and thwarted her own gasping relatives, and then you threw in that last line about the coin! Spitefulness, jelousy and vindictiveness are such hard habits to break. Jet sends back the tail waving and raises you a whine! Author Reply: No, this one was actually fairly easy to write, but quite a long one to write--the longest in this story so far. And in spite of all the new understanding and healing Lobelia had known, she still remains--Lobelia. It's hard for a leopard to change ALL its spots, we find. Glad you appreciated it. And Pippin sends a Siamese meow. | |
| Raksha The Demon | Reviewed Chapter: 69 on 1/18/2006 |
| I always thought that Lobelia was one of the more interesting hobbits; so I enjoyed her point of view regarding the last several months and Frodo's compassion towards her for Lotho's death, and her decision to return Bag End to him. Author Reply: Definitely Lobelia Sackville-Baggins is not your typical Hobbit. And I doubt that in the days Frodo wished that a dragon might swoop down on the Shire and shake things up he had any idea it would take the form of Lobelia and Lotho, aided by Saruman and his folk. But Lobelia has managed against all hope to turn herself around, and the Shire will be the better for it. So glad you liked seeing it from her point of view. | |
| Queen Galadriel | Reviewed Chapter: 69 on 1/17/2006 |
| *sigh* Poor Lobelia. I still can't bring myself to pity Lotho very much; he's too crafty-used his intelligence to get the whole Shire into trouble. Maybe he didn't know how bad it would be, but he certainly had a vague idea of what he was doing. But I do pity Lobelia, both for all she went through, and for having that tiny bit of mean spirit left that made her satisfied that Frodo might be unhappy to lose that coin. More unhappy than she knew, I think. :( This ever grows more interesting, and I watch for these updates. God bless, Galadriel Author Reply: It IS hard to feel sorry for Lotho, isn't it? He just did too much damage to himself and everyone else, even, in the end, his beloved mother. As for Lobelia--you are right, both for what she's finally learned and has suffered, and for that small spark of selfishness that still likes to see upset in its wake. So glad I can still keep your interest piqued as long as this story has gone so far. | |