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| A Small and Passing Thing by Lindelea | 2 Review(s) |
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| Larner | Reviewed Chapter: 24 on 4/22/2023 |
| I bet she did. First a wonderful bath and repast, and now more reunions. Glad Merry's finally been seen to and is resting. Author Reply: One thing Estella's learned over the past months of the Occupation and her life as a lad, hiding amongst the back-country Tooks, is resilience. It will stand her to good stead when she's Merry's wife and becomes the Mistress of a Great Hole. Thanks! | |
| FantasyFan | Reviewed Chapter: 24 on 10/11/2003 |
| I find Paladin interesting in the opening scene. Does he assume Pippin is injured because the hobbit he sees is taller than normal? I don't think so, since he's not seen Merry and Pippin much since they returned, and there hasn't been time for him to adjust his mental picture of his son. (Plus, Merry is being carried which would not emphasize his height.) Paladin has borne fear and grief for Pippin for a year, and it seems he's still worried about him, down deep. Of course, his concern only comes out when it would be impossible for Pippin to see it. As the outland-Tooks stand in the courtyard, I would expect Twig to take a bit of the lead. Hardy knows who she is now, and its not the first time Estella had been to the Smials. Why doesn't she? But regardless of her unfamiliarity, Chrysanthemum manages to say just the right things. Tooks are still smarting from their special treatment by the ruffians. The servants are sympathetic, but it seems that it is still a greater status to be a servant in the Smials than a rustic Took from the outlands. No wonder Diamond had troubles to overcome when she first arrived. Estella's got to start to make her adjustments. Etiquette and protocol, gossip and judgement. On the other hand, comforts and family, and release of the stress of keeping up this particular long play-acting. You can almost see her, in the last few lines, start to transform the memories of the past months into a story to be told on long winter nights, though I think she's play-acting for Ferdi too, in a different way. I don't think it's going to be quite as easy for her as it sounds here. Oh, by the way, I see you've abandoned the use of (she) as a pronoun. That seemed kind of awkward in the previous chapter where you used it, since we knew (if no one else did) that she was a she. Although, her status was awkward too. Would it have been confusing to just put 'he' where other people interacted with her as a boy, and 'she' where it was interior dialog? There's a bit of bitter foreshadowing when Rosemary says that Ferdi cannot see well following the blow of the ruffian's club. Another injury that will never quite heal, although there will be a respite of years before another ruffian's blow repeats the trauma and makes it permanent. It's saddening to read this at the same time as the chapter you just posted in Truth, where Ferdi lets down the clever facade for a moment with Nell, and we see the pain his blindness causes him. Author Reply: Very astute observation regarding Paladin. He has an underlying worry for Pippin, but he can't really show it. Estella has thoroughly immersed herself in Twig's identity, and she's a little disoriented when they arrive at the Smials. She's wearing Twig's clothing, and distracted with worry for Merry, and everyone around her is treating her like a lad, and so she continues, quite naturally, in that role. I think the first time the role starts to slip (or at least, to fit less comfortably) is when Rudi enters the scene and calls her by her "real" name. As far as adjusting, she has a fairly long decompression (in-between period?) while staying at the Cottons', where she's not Twig but also not-quite-Estella (but rather Tilly). I think that helps her make the transition more smoothly than an abrupt return to "Estella" would have been. I'm sorry we never got the chance to talk further about Ferdi's later blindness. It was not caused by a physical injury but rather was based on an account I read of a WWI soldier who suffered traumatic (I'm not sure if "psychosomatic" is the proper term in this context?) blindness for 12 years before suddenly and unexpectedly regaining his sight. Thanks again for your insightful comments! | |