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| Duty Bound by Bodkin | 22 Review(s) |
|---|---|
| Pipkin Sweetgrass | Reviewed Chapter: Epilogue 2 on 12/1/2010 |
| This was most beautifully rendered and very moving. You've done so very well with it...thank you so much for such a wonderful tale. | |
| Pipkin Sweetgrass | Reviewed Chapter: Epilogue 2 on 1/3/2007 |
| Bravo, my dear! I wept. And I am not a weeper! This was just fantastic. I expect I'll nominate this for an award next year. If this is posted at ff.net, I can put it in my archive. And it should be archived, in honor of the tale and the teller. Again, Bravo! Author Reply: Thank you, Pipkin. I am glad you enjoyed the story. I was suddenly impelled to write about Boromir - remarkable in itself, as he doesn't usually take centre stage - and it was a great experience. I'm afraid I don't do ff.net - I landed up here first and never got round to ff. But I am honoured that you feel this story is worth archiving. Thank you again. | |
| Soledad | Reviewed Chapter: Epilogue 2 on 12/24/2006 |
| I've felt it was only fair that I finally checked out your stories, after all the loving support you've given me in the recent years. :) Anyway, I'm glad I finally have the time to do some reading, and that I found this story. It's sad, wonderful, touching and so very believable. Aranged marriages aren't a pleasant thing, and yet they might have grown close, after all, would tragedy not strike. I liked your Imrahil very much, although your Denethor gave me the creeps. The only thing I missed was an explanation why Emeldís' mother never left her tower. Not that it would make any difference, I'm just as sucker for such little details. *g* Wonderful story! Author Reply: Thank you! It's great to have you visit - I'm glad you found it enjoyable! It just seemed suddenly so unlikely to me that Denethor - in the position that confronted him - wouldn't have wanted to ensure his family line. And he is the kind of man who, despite not having married until he was older, wouldn't necessarily see that as a reason for not marrying off his sons. He has rather a tendency, I think, to be absolutely certain that he knows best. Moreover, arranged marriages - or at least encouraged marriages - would probably have been quite likely in a society like Gondor. Preserving the bloodlines, making alliances, keeping a tight hold on property and power are all integral in aristocratic societies. Denethor is ... not evil ... but, perhaps, on the point of becoming enmeshed in the rather personality-changing toils of the Palantir. Which is why, on Emeldis's death, he didn't get round to arranging further marriages for his sons. And I do like Imrahil! It always feels very easy to portray him positively! I didn't get round to explaining why Emeldis's mother never left her tower - although it is in my head! And what happened was this ... There was a fire - caused by a candle catching the bed curtains, perhaps - and Emeldis's brother died and her mother was burned, suffering facial injuries. She adores her children while they are babies, but, once they get old enough to react to her injuries, she pushes them away. It is hard for her family - but they do their best to care for her and stand between her and the world. It didn't develop into more than an outline - but that's it! Denethor wasn't bothered - an accident is not going to affect the family bloodlines and Emeldis's parents are undeniably fertile. /and fertility can be a problem in some old, rich families, since they have a passion for marrying heiresses - and heiresses, by definition, tend to come from small families and lack brothers to inherit their parents' wealth. So that's the background! | |
| elliska | Reviewed Chapter: Epilogue 2 on 11/22/2006 |
| Oh Bodkin, this was really sad. Emeldís was a great character, poor thing. You created a mystery around her that really pulled me in. I couldn't help feeling for her and Boromir--so clueless in deeling with all that was put upon them, but trying nonetheless. Of course, we knew something bad had to have happened to her and the child, but even expecting it, that was so sad. And the framing conversation with the Fellowship really underlined the sadness. Poor Boromir. I don't suppose I could convince to to make one of your famous happy endings as an epilogue for this. Its so sad! Great story! Author Reply: Thank you, elliska. But I think the happy ultimate outcome can be left to the imagination of the reader. Because it would be there for them all. No matter that the ring did its best to corrupt him - ultimately it failed and he died defending the defenceless. (Relatively defenceless, anyway.) And maybe his love of and desire to protect Emeldis and the child - and his failure - helped him see people as individuals to be shielded rather than just being concerned with the state of Gondor. It is sad - it had to be sad. There's no way that Boromir can have had a wife and a dozen children waiting for him at home. But maybe he cared more for the hobbits because of that little one who didn't grow up to ride and spar with him. | |
| Redheredh | Reviewed Chapter: Epilogue 2 on 11/19/2006 |
| A gentle closure was needed after such a story. I like Boromir's nod to Aragorn. Author Reply: It is now some years past - fifteen or so, I reckon. Long enough for the worst of the sting to ease, if not long enough to forget. Two men here - who share an understanding (no matter what) that perhaps does not touch the other races. | |
| SurgicalSteel | Reviewed Chapter: Epilogue 2 on 11/19/2006 |
| An entirely plausible scenario - and utterly heartbreaking. Well done. Author Reply: Thank you! Poor Boromir - he would have made an excellent husband and father. I feel he had a carefully hidden soft streak that would have made him much loved by his children. But it couldn't happen. | |
| Linda Hoyland | Reviewed Chapter: Epilogue 2 on 11/19/2006 |
| A very touching story, I eagerly await each chapter and hope you will tell us next about Faramir through Boromir's eyes. Author Reply: Thank you, Linda. This was just a short tale and I don't have any plans at the moment to have Boromir talk about his brother. It would be an interesting perspective, though, as we seem more often to see Faramir talking about his older brother. Maybe an idea will strike one day! | |
| mirthor | Reviewed Chapter: Epilogue 2 on 11/18/2006 |
| Thanks for sharing. I liked this tale about my favorite character, and it was written well. Author Reply: Thank you. I don't usually writed about Boromir, although I am very fond of him as a character. This arrived complete in my head, though, and wouldn't leave me alone until I finished it. I am happy you liked it. | |
| Pearl Took | Reviewed Chapter: Epilogue 2 on 11/18/2006 |
| A truely elegant story, Bodkin. Beautiful. Author Reply: Thank you - I am pleased you liked it! | |
| meckinock | Reviewed Chapter: Epilogue 2 on 11/18/2006 |
| This was a very intriguing exploration of Boromir, Bodkin; lending shadow and depth to his character. It's very sad though to contemplate how little he has left of "later." Like Aragorn, he has deferred happiness in favor of duty, but for him there isn't to be any. Author Reply: Poor Boromir. He was clearly a loving character - Faramir's devotion to him speaks well of him - and he is beautifully poetic about his love for his city. I think he would have made a good husband and father - but I am particularly surprised that Denethor didn't insist on an early marriage for him. The lack of heirs to the Stewardship plays (politically) into the hands of the northern heir of Isildur. If Boromir had half a dozen sons raised to rule and defend Gondor, odds on at least two of them would have opposed the return of any king and civil war would have ensued. It's only because there is one calm and self-effacing Faramir that Aragorn is able to become king so smoothly. Denethor must have become far too absorbed in the Palantir if he forgot something that basic! No wives = no children = the end of many a noble house. Both Boromir and Aragorn put their duty ahead of their own needs - and it's just luck (and authorial decision) that Aragorn's boat comes in - while Boromir's elven craft drifts out to sea. | |