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| Flickers on the Water by Soledad | 12 Review(s) |
|---|---|
| Dika | Reviewed Chapter: 10 on 3/15/2006 |
| I hope you would write more about Feanor's sons. But, you know, almost everybody (and you, it seems) thinks that their Oath was something they COULD abandon. It was not, they could no more stop trying to get Silmarils back than a person who is falling down can stop in midair. Why doesn't anybody writes that both Doriath and Sirion fell because their leaders didn't return a stolen property to its lawfull owners? Feanarioni held back while Beren and Luthien lived - but after their death neither their son nor his daughter had the right to keep the Stone. They were asked nicely, several times, they refused. And yet Elwing doesn't feel guilty, not in any fanfic I have read at least. Not for the deaths, not for abandoning her children. She HAD to save the Silmaril. Not the city, not her sons. And nowhere she feels that she is at fault. I bet she didn't tell Earendil all the details. I am not saying the brothers were not at fault, they were. But most of all they were tragic. And two eldest most of all. I think Maedhros couldn't forgive himself that he didn't stop his brothers from taking the Oath. Author Reply: Oh, I'm not that smitten with Elwing, either. In fact, I'm even more mad at her than I'm at the Fëanorians. She's one of the very few Tolkien characters I'll never understand. | |
| Dika | Reviewed Chapter: 9 on 3/15/2006 |
| Fine story. I like it that you don't picture Feanarioni as monsters. Just one small thing: Maedhros had only ONE hand. Author Reply: Yeah, I know he only had one hand. Apparently, I got carried away with the dramatics. *blinks sheepishly* Sorry... | |
| demeter d | Reviewed Chapter: 9 on 3/15/2006 |
| Beautifully short, to the point. Well done. I do indeed believe that saving and loving those children had to have been good for Maglor. I will continue to follow this work with much interest. Best Wishes. | |
| Bodkin | Reviewed Chapter: 10 on 3/12/2006 |
| Elros looked at him, eyes dark and serious. “And you believe the keeping of your Oath would not?” Very wise, Elros. And I only wish you could get through to him. But he is too damaged to imagine any other way. It's as if letting go of the oath would make him unravel. | |
| demeter d | Reviewed Chapter: 10 on 3/11/2006 |
| Even for the love of his foster sons, Maglor could not abandon his oath.Although, I am sure the conseguences of trying to keep it displeased the Valar far more than breaking it. Lovely look into Elros's mind. Earendil, after all, made many voyages, he was not often home. The whole story makes me think of many I have known whose parents were in Military jobs, or very busy elected offices. Children too often are neglected. Annnnnnd, it seems in character for Elrond to be looking out to Sea. Throughput his long life, the Sea was often a source of loss. A well portrayed moment. | |
| Bodkin | Reviewed Chapter: 9 on 3/9/2006 |
| I'm so glad Maglor put his foot down! Feanor is responsible for a lot - and the mess he made of his sons' lives is high on the list. (And Maedhros and Maglor somehow seem more tragic than the brothers C... And as if they have more character than the brothers A...) | |
| demeter d | Reviewed Chapter: 8 on 3/6/2006 |
| Greetings, Soledad. I have read the Trilogy and Hobbit, and am now in The Silmarilion. I have not yet read anything of The History of Middle Earth, or The Lost Tales, so I am sure that there is a lot of background and detail for these characters that I have not uncovered yet. But I have decided one thing about Tolkien and women. I believe he respected and loved women, but I believe his loss of his own mother affected him for the rest of his life. I definitely believe that it colored the way he wrote about women and especially mothers. Just look at the number of characters who have lost their mothers before we join the main action of their stories. Aragorn was grown up when Gilraen died, it is true, but she died before she could see the fullfillment of her hopes for him. Frodo loses both of his parents just on the brink of adulthood, much like Tolkein himself. Legolas and Gimli's mothers we do not see or hear about, but from what I have read of Tolkien Legolas's seems to have been gone a long time ago. And of course there is poor Celebrian. Actually Elwing reminds me a bit of her. She also did not die, but circumstances she could not control or handle caused her to think she could not remain with her children. I think Tolkien just felt the loss of his own mother so much, that everything he wrote about women has a biiter-sweet quality. I enjoyed reading this piece. Author Reply: I think you're on something with what you said about Tolkien and women. This is an aspect in his writing that has always bothered me very much. | |
| Bodkin | Reviewed Chapter: 8 on 2/28/2006 |
| Poor twins. What hope can they have had of survival? Wretched Silmarils. Far more trouble than they were worth. | |
| Shemyaza | Reviewed Chapter: 7 on 10/3/2005 |
| I find myself in agreement with your take on this. I think Elwing was as obsessed with the Silmaril as everyone else. She had watched her kin and friends die for it, she left her two small children to what she must have realised was almost certain death for it. Although Tolkien almost eulogises her for her choice and gives her an 'out', I find her actions rather outrageous. Granted there are some women who don't seem to have those fierce maternal feelings, but they're the exception rather than the rule. The majority of women/mothers would protect their offspring against all else and would both fight fiercely and sacrifice themselves in order to save them. Elwing doesn't ever come over to me as a strong character. She seems like a rather silly woman. Her abandonment of her children for a jewel, even if it did hold the light of the two trees, makes me want to slap her silly. In reality both Elrond and Elros would have felt terrified and then betrayed once they were older and realised what their mother had done. I honestly don't think that Tolkien himself gave much credence to the passion and ferocity of a mother protecting her children. I think he knew very little, perhaps nothing at all, about the nature of women. Author Reply: Thank you. This was a topic that has been bothering me for quite some time - I was so mad at Elwing! One day, I might write a story about the topic from Elrond's POV. By the way, can it be that I know you from the old GAFF board? The Invisionfree one? If yes, I'm happy to have found you again. | |
| Bodkin | Reviewed Chapter: 7 on 10/2/2005 |
| Wretched Silmarils. Addictive - and over-valued. Author Reply: I can't agree more. | |