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| Relapse by Periantari | 2 Review(s) |
|---|---|
| Larner | Reviewed Chapter: 3 on 4/17/2024 |
| Action can help in times of grief, but only in moderation, as I learned after the death of my spouse. So many now care for Faramir's welfare. Author Reply: It's always tough to lose family and it takes time to grief. Yes, i want everyone to care for Faramir esp. since he lost those closest to him. | |
| Lindelea | Reviewed Chapter: 3 on 4/9/2024 |
| Stealing a dinner break to read a chapter. (Food for the imagination as well as the body.) Poor Faramir. Any reminder of his fever dreams has got to be awful. Give the man athelas, for crying out loud! Your descriptions of Denethor remind me why I have almost felt a compulsion to describe him as "healed" in the Halls of Mandos, able to see everything clearly, regret his past actions that harmed others, find clarity, learn from his review of his life as a lesson set for him by a compassionate, benevolent Ilúvatar before his ultimate departure from Arda and Eä. Why would he take his own life like that? Alas, poor Denethor. He was dealing with powers beyond his human capacity. As a parallel topic, Frodo claimed the Ring in the end... He's only remembered as a hero because the Ring went into the Fire (and not as a result of that hobbit's act of will; there was probably no way he'd be able to consciously throw the Ring into the Fire; thus, the story sets up Pity as the ultimate saving force). He's remembered because the Quest succeeded, and the Dark Lord was defeated. In his Letters, JRRT mentions that Frodo believed he had failed. (If I were able to argue with Frodo, I'd point out that his struggle paved the way for the Ring to go into the Fire. Without Frodo, ME would have fallen to darkness. He got the Ring all the way to the Fire... opening the door for Fate to carry it the rest of the way. More or less.) Oh dear, hidden bottles. Not a good sign. I also remember from a lecture dim in my memory that alcohol amplifies whatever you're feeling. If you're depressed, alcohol is likely to deepen the depression. Or something like that. Adding insult to injury, using alcohol to sleep actually disrupts the sleep cycle. An Éowyn-Faramir support group? Sounds effective. Hah. Coffee has much the same effect on me; I can power through all kinds of tasks with its help. Unfortunately, though, I've reached the point in life where it keeps me up at night. Bummer. Author Reply: Denethor is a complex character and it's easy to dismiss him as cold and not understanding of his sons but i think he was not like that at all-- movies did him a disservice but books were more three dimensional even though Tolkien didn't seem to hold him in a positive light either when it had to do with politics. I think the palantir really overthrew his mind and grief made him think unclearly at the end. He did care about Faramir at the end but Faramir would never know that unfortunately even though we can say from other characters that Denethor did care. It is interesting how to write more about how Faramir thought about his father's death. Regarding Frodo, glad you mention his letters because in Letter 246 Tolkien does say Frodo has failed but he did not fail as being a vessel to bring the Ring to Mount Doom and his only contract to everyone was to bring as far as he could. And he did that. I must quote my favorite part of favorite letter. “Frodo undertook his quest out of love—to save the world he knew from disaster at his own expense, if he could; and also in complete humility, acknowledging that he was wholly inadequate to the task. His real contract was only to do what he could, to try to find a way, and to go as far on the road as his strength of mind and body allowed. He did that .” ~Letter #246, Letters of JRR Tolkien I do think depression and PTSD makes you think unclearly on what can "make you feel better" so i do think alcohol and other substance abuse could be a real thing here... i love coffee too and drink it as much as i am allowed. haha thanks for your thoughts! | |