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A Place for Gandalf by Dreamflower	2 Review(s)
Larner	Reviewed Chapter: 3 on 8/9/2008
Melancholia over his parents--I can see it, although I don't think that would be as strong as many write it. I know how my brother responded to our father's death when we were little, from what Mom, he, and other relatives have told me of the time. It will be devastating for Merry, but I agree--well worth it for the satisfaction of getting Lobelia where she lives! Heh! Author Reply: For my Frodo, it was very strong the first two years--until Merry came along. After that, as long as he remained in Buckland, it was more or less seasonal--reaching its worst during the spring between the dates of his parents' deaths and his mother's birthday a few weeks later. The rest of the time, he was mostly a pretty normal child, though unexpected reminders of his loss would sometimes give him a twinge. Once he moved to Bag End, and his springs were filled with visits from Merry and Pippin to occupy his time, he had less time to remember and brood, and few reminders of his tragic loss to trigger his melancholy. Poor Merry! Frodo's seeming desertion was the major trauma of his young life, I think.

Gryffinjack	Reviewed Chapter: 3 on 10/12/2005
I thought that Frodo always visited Bag End in Rethe, since that was his most difficult month due to the deaths of his parents. My heart goes out to Saradoc and Esmerelda, first for having to worry every time their almost-son goes near the river in a melancholy mood, fearing that he will try to rejoin his parents, and then for having to give him up to someone else, even though they know it is in his best interests. Their pain must have been nigh unbearable, and exceeded only by the pain of Frodo's Merry-lad. Merry is quite the responsible and intelligent young hobbit-lad to realise how Frodo was feeling near the river and to know that it was important to report it to his parents. I'm glad you gave him those traits which he demonstrated on the quest later on. I also have been thinking of your comment that Merry is the "linchpin" amongst the cousins and find that I agree. Certainly, he is in the middle as far as his age. Without him, I think the age difference between Frodo and Pippin would have been to great to cross. It also seems that Merry understands both Frodo and Pippin better than anyone else does and that they both respond to him better than anyone else, although Pippin always listens to his cousin Frodo. I can see that the closeness in age between Merry and Sam would also make it much easier for Sam to approach Merry if anything is amiss with Frodo, especially considering how often Merry is at Bag End. But I digress. I love the way Merry-lad calls his favourite cousin "Fro." The poor lad will be crushed when Frodo leaves. Author Reply: Do you know, you are the first to catch that? It should have been Astron instead of Thrimmidge. My idea is that his parents drowned the last day of Rethe, and so he always leaves Buckland prior to that date, although he might not necessarily arrive until two or three days later, depending on how he journeys. And the most difficult time for him to endure are the days between 30 Rethe, and his mother's birthday in the middle of Astron. (I can't believe I never caught that in all this time! Thanks ever so, I'll go in and fix it ASAP!) I'm glad you like my reasoning about their relationships. I put a lot of thought into it; you might say the intricacies of their friendships are an obsession of mine.

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