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| Healing by Bodkin | 12 Review(s) |
|---|---|
| PSW | Reviewed Chapter: Prologue on 8/28/2016 |
| I have always felt sad for the Elves who did not leave gladly, but finally felt just forced to go. It's a sad bit of the tale.... "The world is changing," indeed... | |
| Larner | Reviewed Chapter: Prologue on 9/11/2008 |
| I missed this one, apparently, Bodkin. How poignantly beautiful and grievous. To see the land grow deaf and dumb.... No wonder the Elves faded, those who remained. And I rejoice they were reunited at last. | |
| Edlyn | Reviewed Chapter: Prologue on 1/16/2008 |
| I have not found many fics concerning Celeborn as more than an accessory to Galadriel so it was a wonderful surprise to read of him here. Beautifully written. I liked the inferences of the complicated relationship between Celeborn and Galadriel as well as the reminder that he and Thranduil are kin. Best of all, it is unmistakable that his wounds (whether from memory, loss of loved ones or injuries inflicted by the changing of Middle-earth) will heal. Excellent job! Edlyn | |
| Imhiriel | Reviewed Chapter: Prologue on 9/1/2006 |
| I am glad that love drew you here, my husband, for I was lost without you, but your need for the land was strong and you were bound to it. I do not believe that you would leave willingly. I love it that she accepts his decision, that he acknowledges his love for the land. That she doesn't ask, "What did you wait so long?" but rather, "Why did you not stay longer?", which shows that she would have accepted a still longer separation. She was happy in her choice, Galadriel, and she was not sorry to meet her death. She only resented the time she had to wait to meet Estel again. Her face was filled with joy as she breathed her last. This distinction puts a much better spin on the Tale of A & A, where Arwen seems so weak and regretful of her choice. A beautiful, melancholy, sad story, with a hopeful ending. Their love for each is other is so strong and deep, and what I appreciate the most is that both of them stay strong-willed characters who respect the other equally. Author Reply: I do love C&G. And I think they both had to be immensely strong - and accepting of each other - in order not to wear each other away. (Perhaps that is something Galadriel learned from watching Feanor and Nerdanel ...) Galadriel can be magnanimous about Celeborn's long delay now - for he has sailed at last and they are reunited! I was interested to see that I had Arwen accepting her end with joy (I had forgotten) - because the same thread developed in the story about her! (And I do think that the mere fact that the romantic heroine of the trilogy didn't appear until an Appendix does rather show that she was put in rather as a convenient reward for Aragorn - and that her feelings didn't really matter much.) C&G have had several ages to learn that, if they remain true to themselves and their love for each other, they have to respect each other and allow each other the space to be themselves - and in so doing they have just become stronger. | |
| Haleth | Reviewed Chapter: Prologue on 3/24/2006 |
| Another wonderful story. I've often suspected that the change to the Age of Men would affect Middle-earth in this way; drain the land of its magic and weaken the bond between elves and the earth as the forest looses its self awareness. For the elves, I imagine it would have been as bad or worse than losing a mate to death, for dead elves go to the Halls of Mandos. There was hope they would one day return. It could be said that the elves could retreat to Aman, but for those bound to the earth, streams and forests, it simply wouldn't be the same. The change is echoed in our own world with forests giving way to farms and farms, in turn, being covered by the concrete of the cities. I suppose Tolkien saw the encroachment of the industrialized world upon nature and that is what inspired him. Sadly, it continues to this day. Author Reply: Thank you. The loss of all magic from the world seemed to me a likely reason for Celeborn and Thranduil to call an end to their struggle to hold the forest. They kept the light burning in Lasgalen longer than elsewhere - almost to the point where they could not make it to the sea - but the numbing of the land must have been so painful to them. And you're right - they would have been exiles in Aman, but I hope they would eventually find that the song of the Blessed Realm flowed in their veins and they found themselves at home there. Tolkien does seem to reject the industrialisation and citification of the world - his ideal seems to be the rural bliss of the Shire, where he was able to turn back the changes inflicted by Sharky and Lotho and return it to a harmony with nature. | |
| Ellie | Reviewed Chapter: Prologue on 8/8/2004 |
| "Celeborn stared at the thin line of land on the horizon as it faded from sight. He had not deserted. He had not left Arda: Arda had abandoned him. The final skirmish of the long defeat had not taken place with blades and arrows against the forces of the dark, but had been fought against a numbing indifference to their fate on the road to the Havens. This was now truly the Age of Men." Wow! Very powerful! I could almost feal the fading of the elves and of MIddle Earth. What a wonderful summation of the final departure of the elves and especially of Celeborn. You have a fine gift for Celeborn/Galadriel story telling. Author Reply: Thank you. I do like Celeborn and Galadriel. They challenge each other with such understanding. I couldn't see Celeborn just walking away because he had had enough - not unless he was driven. Same with Thranduil. I am flattered. I hope you continue to enjoy. | |
| daw the minstrel | Reviewed Chapter: Prologue on 4/22/2004 |
| This was exceedingly elfy. I was struck by the image of the land withdrawing itself from the Elves as their time had passed. I've always been a little ambivalent about Arwen's decision to lie down and die. I can see that Aragorn did it in the fullness of his strength, as Tolkien says. I 'm old enough myself to see what that's an attractive idea. But Arwen chose to be with her husband rather than her children. I wonder if that hurt them? Author Reply: Arwen is a very difficult character to get a hold on altogether - she's quite shadowy, I've always felt. As if Tolkien had to have her, but had no real interest in making much of her. I suppose it was more 'romantic' to make her decide to die. To rationalise it, she's still an elf - and elves fade and die from grief. If she had given herself time, then maybe she would have been able to stay with her children, but she must have been very lonely in Gondor, very much an outsider. | |
| Sphinx | Reviewed Chapter: Prologue on 4/22/2004 |
| What a lovely, lovely story. I cannot help but admire the ease with which you shifted between timelines, and still managed to keep the emotion. I suppose I shall have to let him go, the Woodland King said. We both know that you cannot keep what will not be held. Oh, there is such poignancy in that. Very well-written. :) | |
| Ladybird | Reviewed Chapter: Prologue on 4/21/2004 |
| That was very good, I loved the flashbacks and her reaction to them. It's rare for authors to address this particular topic, so many goodbye scenes for them but not too many on the other side. Well Done, especially as its hard to imagine what it could have been like with all the possiblities bitterness, joy, anger or all of them together. Can we expect any more in this delightful series-a meeting of the family perhaps, his and hers. It would be really interesting for them to all meet as it is never made clear if Galadriel ever met his parents and what they thought of her, though it is possible that Finarfin met Celeborn in the War of the Wrath. Author Reply: It' fascinating to visualise the indomitable Galadriel and unflappable Celeborn in the role of junior members of their families. If I ever feel I know their parents well enough, then . . . | |
| Feather | Reviewed Chapter: Prologue on 4/21/2004 |
| This was brilliant-even better than letters from home. I espeically loved the reasons why he eventually left and adored the new trees welcoming him, fantastic. Author Reply: Thank you | |