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| Arwen's Heart by Bodkin | 14 Review(s) |
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| perelleth | Reviewed Chapter: 14 on 1/18/2006 |
| I sincerely hope that you ended up liking this chapter, Bodkin, for it is truly well done, with glimpses of hope everywhere. Gimli caring for everyone, the many roles that arwen had to fulfil in her mourning, the wise counsel the twins gave to Aragorn.. and his delicately out of scene pasing.. taht part was very well done. Elrond must have been truly grieved and exhusted when he feared that the gift of men would seem bitter to Arwen in the end... I liked it that you gave her time and that the light came to her, that it was indeed a gift and that it was a liberation. I loved it when she regretted what she would not see, and then realizaing that being free from the ties of Arda was a comforting thing, a part of her new nature...It would bring comfort to Elrond to learn that, Celeborn is still the Wise, isnīt he? ;-) It was beautiful to see her embrace it with such hope, impossible to understand for an elf, as Celeborn states, yet all in all, it was love and hope that led her. Beautifully done, seriously. And the twins going home. Indeed. Go you, bodkin. Author Reply: The bit I'm really not sure about got chopped from this chapter to stand on its own as an epilogue! That way, if people hate it, they can just pretend it's not there! I wanted (probably not very according to the professor) Aragorn's death to be more than 'hey, I'm pretty old, I'm going to choose to die tomorrow', which always seemed to me to be very arbitrary. In my version, choosing to die was about ... picking the best moment. And I really didn't want to show either death - more the dynamics around them. The mourning - well, a new king is acclaimed on the death of the old, but there is then usually a period of deep mourning before business resumes, which I then set at three months. Usually a coronation in the UK doesn't take place until a year or so after the death of the monarch - but we know Arwen died in Lothlorien about a year after Aragorn's death. I don't think Arwen would have left Minas Tirith before then - and I've never thought she could walk out without as much as a toothbrush and a change of underwear. Eldarion would have been right out after her and taking her home to be sedated until her depression wore off! It would take time to convince her family that she knew what she was doing. (And I have always intended that E2, C and G would be with her. They've been promising her, Elrond and each other that for chapters!) Something I thought of in writing Arwen in Lothlorien was Faure's Requiem - that concludes with the beauty of theIn Paradisum. Faure said - and I'm quoting from the words that come with my copy - that he saw death as 'a welcome deliverance, an aspiration towards happiness above, rather than as a painful experience'. Take away the pain and grief associated with an elf accepting the gift of men and you are left with the transcendental joy that I tried to convey as Arwen's experience over her last months - a joy that her brothers, grandfather and Glorfindel were able to see and savour, even if they did not really understand it. And at least the messages they could send to her adar were of hope and happiness. Elrond was right that the gift could have seemed bitter - if she hadn't worked to understand what it might mean. If she had closed her eyes and pushed away the thought, she could have clung desperately to life - but he could have faith in her wisdom. She is, after all, his daughter. And yes. Eventually the twins are going home. They took their time, but now they are ready to leave. Thank you, perelleth. | |
| Jay of Lasgalen | Reviewed Chapter: 14 on 1/18/2006 |
| I think you have achieved the impossible here - you made Arwen's passing something of beauty and joy, rather than her wallowing in grief and loss. It was a good idea to have Aragorn's death off-stage - it would have been too much for your readers to bear. I liked the ending with the twins, and Elrohir patiently waiting for his brother to come to a decision he has already made. There's no question of them being parted, but I think Elladan needed the ultimatum and prod into choosing. Author Reply: Thank you, Jay. This was - not the easiest chapter to write, yet much of it actually antedated the previous one. Looking for a different way to treat an old subject actually led me into presenting her final months - when she has to be alone in Lothlorien - as more of an unfurling to joy than a time of grief and introspection. And I liked the thought of her spirit becoming brighter and brighter and affording consolation to those watching her. Because, of course they were going to be there. I'm not going to have the twins and Celeborn - and Glorfindel - staying and promising to watch over Arwen as long as she needs them and then not have them there in Lothlorien. I wanted, as well, to suggest that Aragorn's death was not so much an arbitrary decision that it was time for him to die, as the culmination of a process - one that would be understood by those close to him. And off-stage. Arwen, too, really. Death bed scenes are not my thing. It took Elladan about 300 years to make up his mind. In a way, all these stories fit into the same world - more or less. And this links in with Partings. Sort of. And Renewal. I have this overall picture of who was doing what, when and why - and with whom - that sort of links all of them. Elladan, I think, is angrier than Elrohir - and I don't think he realised quite how close they both came to following Arwen into the unknown. Or maybe he does, and wishes he had - but came back from the brink for Elrohir. But anyway, I'm glad they sailed in the end. They have to. Otherwise there wouldn't be any Reflections. | |
| Amy | Reviewed Chapter: 14 on 1/18/2006 |
| Beautiful, just beautiful. Tears rolling down my face and everything! No time, must get ready for work, alas! Author Reply: Thank you. It is so difficult with parts like this, where so much of what you have to say is already laid down. I could only manage it by focusing on the more mystical and joyful aspects of Arwen's end - although I think it will be a very, very long time before her brothers and grandfather really understand that side of it. | |
| Imrahoil | Reviewed Chapter: 14 on 1/18/2006 |
| Sniff, so beautiful ... Well done. Author Reply: Thank you. It is not an easy topic to dwell on. The only way I could manage it was to make it a happy ending - of sorts. | |