Regina
· 22 December 2007
· Chapter 6: The Colour of Rain
Wow, Ariel, I finally return to fanfic after my long, strange trip away & find this excellent story waiting for me! I really enjoyed the different take on this group of characters, particularly Lalia. You're much nicer than I am--to me she's just a bitch. You've made her far more complicated, & that's a good thing.
Am tempted to ask when an update might be in the offing, but considering my track record for slow posting, I'd better not. :-)
A good job indeed!
Author's reply
I've had this story in my head for a great while but hadn't written it down, partly because I had so many other ideas but also because so many other people had great interpretations of these characters and events too.
Your request for an update comes at a fortuitous time, actually. I've had some spare time lately and have been pondering this story because, as you might know, I can't stand an unfinished fic.
Lalia - indeed. That's how most people see her, but I've never met anyone who was simply 'evil' (well, Cheney comes close, but I digress). There has to be a reason for what is perceived of as 'evil' and I've always thought that Lalia could not possibly be simply a bitch. In this story, I will be giving her a very powerful reason for being thoroughly ruthless - and it will be seen in later chapters - and I've given Pearl a reason, and a nature, for being just as embittered and ruthless in return. It should turn out to be an interesting story - or at least it will if I get off my butt and finish it.
Nice to see you around again. Hope things are going well.
Inkling
· 3 December 2006
· Chapter 6: The Colour of Rain
Well my dear, I’ve been waiting with great anticipation for the appearance of Lalia and she did not disappoint! You do write the best villains…because they’re not all bad! Just like Dody’s stepmother in “Fear,” Lalia is shrewd, interesting, memorable…a complex, “real” character. If you look at things from her point of view, she’s not really a villain at all! Brava!
As for Pearl, I feel for her, because I was that young and foolish once…boy, the one-sided fantasies we can create in our own minds!
Ps—you’re missing a word: “Memory had not recalled the velvet clarity of his voice”
Author's reply
Ooo! Good catch! Amazing what the mind fills in - LOL!
And thank YOU! *bows* Villians who are complex and believable are ever so much more fun to write too! It also makes the hero's task more impressive when he/she defeats them. Hehee! I hope I can continue to delight you with this.
White Gull
· 2 December 2006
· Chapter 6: The Colour of Rain
The feel of his kiss had been burned into her mind and heart. The touch of his hand, the warmth of his skin, the hungry purpose with which he moved; nothing had ever felt so magical or perfect or so utterly right. She had built a fortress on that memory and it had cradled her spirit for many years.
Plucked straight from my soul. Beautiful chapter, Ariel, and I hope (selfishly) that the next one's not as long in coming.
WG
Author's reply
LOL! Me too! At least I haven't got any elections coming up to take my focus away. Thanks for letting me know you liked it.
Larner
· 29 November 2006
· Chapter 6: The Colour of Rain
Poor lass--in love with a dream--a dream in part stolen by the Ring he carried, fastened to the fine chain attached to his belt.
Author's reply
Bingo. She's certainly set herself up for some serious heartache and it's not going to get any easier for her in the immediate future. I hope you don't mind a bit of angst coming up.
Larner
· 29 November 2006
· Chapter 4: A Long Appointed Meeting
And how much of his reaction is the effect of the Ring? It's already taking hold of him, I suspect.
I truly feel for Pearl in this situation.
Author's reply
Considering how quickly it started affecting Bilbo, I thought it credible to have Frodo already starting to feel its pull. Poor young Pearl just hasn't got a chance against it. :( Thanks for reading and I hope you can enjoy this piece as much as I have enjoyed yours!
mechtild
· 28 November 2006
· Chapter 6: The Colour of Rain
Wow, Ariel. That was a chapter worth waiting for! I feel as though you have woven it through with "flavours" of the larger Lord of the Rings, giving it extra resonance. Just a few notes will follow. I could talk more (of course), but will settle for just these.
I loved the physical set-up of your into., all the back tunnel/secret back way/private stair details in the beginning, the transitional space between Bag End's interior and the tiny cave of Pearl's room. It worked for me as narrative, but it also appealed to my imagination, an appreciator of all scenes, in Tolkien and the tales of others, of winding ways dimly lit hinting vaguely at dangers unnamed (bodily or psychological).
I loved the way you described how Pearl loved the inky, intimate, anonymous dark. I could empathize with Pearl's pleasure in it, yet I trembled for her, because its appeal linked her in my mind to the other hobbit who suffered unrequitedly for the lost object of his desire, Gollum/Smeagol under the Misty Mountains.
I loved how you let us "feel" Lalia's presence with Pearl before you let her be seen. As she rolled into the light, squat and indomitable in the wooden chair - you even let Pearl compare her to a spider - and, yes, I was thinking of Shelob. But Pearl received no paralyzing jab in the neck, thank heaven, so your story will live to continue. Goody, goody! Nice work on Pearl's realisation that she loved the real Frodo (whom she had just left) better than the one she had imagined.
You have made Pearl a heroine I can both feel for and root for -- someone to identify with emotionally, yet enjoy watching as she ventures forth in the tale as a person completely different from me. Huzzah!
I have one writing note about a usage that snagged me out of the story for a moment, very tiny. (You know how I'm such a picky thing.)
She had built a fortress on that memory and it had cradled her spirit for many years.
Since you have compared her construct to a fortress, perhaps that memory could "protect" or "shelter" or "fortify" her spirit for many years? "Cradle" doesn't go with the image of "fortress" for me.
~ Mechtild
Author's reply
You write the most delicious and satisfying reviews, you know. They are a full meal unto themselves - wholesome and nutritious, but no calories! Seriously, I could live off them!
I am going to take your advice on that note of usage - I think you are right about it - it flows much better with a word like 'shelter' in there instead of cradle. Good call.
I love that you saw the Gollum hints in this. It wasn't entirely intentional, but when I noticed that parallel, it made sense and so I embellished it a little. Pearl is being emotionally abused and, in a very real sense, so was Gollum. The ring is also linked to both, though only slightly in Pearl's case. I could definitely see the reaction to such long term mental battering to be returning to the place of the hobbit's ancestors' safety - the dark of the tunnels.
I am so glad you can identify and sympathize with Pearl! I love writing strong, credible women because, quite frankly, there AREN'T a lot of them in fanfic! Novice writers often don't know how to avoid making Mary Sues, and then they get slapped back so hard for writing them that many never attempt to write a sympathetic female character again! Seriously, once you get the hang of it, it's no harder writing a sympathetic female than it is a sympathetic male… maybe even easier because we should, in theory, understand them better. *grin*
Poor little Pearl is and has unfortunately been having a 7 year reality check– and her last shield of escapism is now shattered. I've imagined her hiding behind the duck targets at the carnival as they've been systematically shot down and now she's facing the rifle barrel. The next chapter and the one that follows will show some of what Pearl's had to deal with over the years… Lalia is one of those people who's not obviously cruel, but she squeezes people in intricate ways – forcing them to do her bidding by clever manipulation. She's formidable – and a challenge to write. I have to make her manipulative and ruthless, but not too petty or overtly cruel. She's a good businesswoman out to grow her 'company' no matter who she has to run over in the process.
There I go, babbling… I am glad you like it and I hope you continue to. Please feel free to send up any other suggestions you may have. I am open to them and love to free-associate/bang plot points out with thoughtful readers like yourself. Thanks for the feedback!
Grey Wonderer
· 27 November 2006
· Chapter 6: The Colour of Rain
So, he has broken her heart and now she is under Lilia's thumb again. I wonder what she will do next? I also wonder if Frodo will make any effort at all to see her and see how she is. Pearl lives a very cold life at the moment. She has too much spirit for that to continue. I am still enjoying this and I am wondering exactly where it is all going now.
Author's reply
Well, she certainly has too much spirit for it to continue - and when you squeeze a spirit like hers in too many ways, it lashes back... sometimes in ways that no one expects...
But fret not - Frodo is not so heartless that he doesn't know something is very wrong with his cousin. The ring may be keeping him from considering her advances, but she's still kin and he's still Frodo. And since Bilbo's gone, someone has to stand up to Lalia. Muahahahaaaa!
Grey Wonderer
· 27 November 2006
· Chapter 4: A Long Appointed Meeting
Must have missed out on this chapter while my internet was down. Interesting. Pearl never actually did say why she was there but Frodo assumed. I wonder if he was right or if it was something more? I liked the farmer and his concern that things be done 'proper'. Reminded me a bit of what Sam might have said had he been around when Pearl arrived. Still enjoying this one and on to read more.
Author's reply
Well, because of the nature of their last real 'talk', he can sort of guess - and she does confirm his suspicions pretty clearly by her reaction. I actually thought him speaking outright and turning her down came out rather cold but when I took out the dialog, the scene seemed to work. At least I hoped it did. *grin* Pearl is now old enough and, maybe, wise enough not to misinterpret things so hugely anymore. Call this the last part of a very rude awakening. Poor Pearl...
lovethosehobbits
· 27 November 2006
· Chapter 6: The Colour of Rain
*sob* Poor Pearl! I love this fic even tho' I'm not usually into het, I started reading it because you always write a winner, and this is no exception. I am excited to see what you come up with next! *rubs hands together*
Author's reply
LOL! Well, I'm not so sure this could be classified as 'het' but I'm glad you're reading. I've heard other people say they aren't into such fics as well, but I always find that a good story can make any genre enjoyable. As long as the premise is credible and the characters rich and the disbelief suspended, anything is possible. I'll try to keep all those balls in the air for the duration!
Cuthalion
· 27 November 2006
· Chapter 6: The Colour of Rain
At their cousin's eleventy-first birthday, she had drunk in the sight of his elegantly noble face, the soft, mahogany brown curls, and eyes so clear and bright in the sunlight, they shone as if they glowed, but last evening, his scent, native and intimate, had bound her heart as surely as that springtime kiss so long ago; tobacco and leather, books and something indefinable and mysterious. It lingered in her memory like a sweet and forbidden song.
*smiles* Wonderful, Ariel. Poor Pearl - to long for someone who will never fulill her dreams! And Laila is truly frightening - brilliant characterization, though. A most interesting old dragon. Or should I say toad?
Mona
Author's reply
She's been a blast to write and I hope she will end up on the page as rich and fully developed as she is in my mind. Villians are such fun to write.... Muhahahaha!
SurgicalSteel
· 27 November 2006
· Chapter 6: The Colour of Rain
Oh, my, that was well done. I had a feeling, though, as Pearl was sneaking back in, that her way back in was too easy and that Lalia was going to be there waiting for her - sly old fox, that one is.
Hard to face the reality of that first hearbreak, though, and harder when your heart's been broken by someone you've fantasized about for several *years.*
Author's reply
Hard to face the reality of that first hearbreak, though, and harder when your heart's been broken by someone you've fantasized about for several *years.*
Bingo. You just SO got where I was going with this. For this fic, I kind of looked at Frodo as Pearl's 'fandom', and to have the object of her desire be made real (like the movies were to many of us) only to realize that reality only went so far and she could never really have what she really desired. *sigh*
Lalia is a really FUN character to write. I adore creating really good villians, you know, the kind that you love to hate but that you end up kind of liking them? I hope Lalia will come out to be that kind. She's not really cruel, just ruthless - and determined to get what she wants in any way possible. Muhahahaha...
Lily
· 27 November 2006
· Chapter 6: The Colour of Rain
I like what you did with this. Yes, this bit of added emotion was just what I was missing earlier. Nicely done!
Author's reply
I am blessed to have exceptional betas for this story - even if you don't consider yourself one of them. I appreciate your feedback and use it, along with the excellent advice of my official beta for this story. I think it makes for a stronger tale when I do and that is my goal.
So, yes, thank YOU!
White Gull
· 2 October 2006
· Chapter 4: A Long Appointed Meeting
I was just rereading chapter four, and had to comment on something mentioned in passing...about the strange look the farmer gave Frodo when Frodo thanked him for helping to guard his cousin's virtue. I wonder why the strange look?! :)
WG
Author's reply
Did I ever answer this?
Well, it's actually a hint that the farmer isn't so convinced of Mr. Baggins' propriety that he wouldn't gab about the event to his neighbors. Rumors of this visit have to reach Great Smials and I had to have some hint that the farmer would gossip! ;)
Lily
· 24 September 2006
· Chapter 4: A Long Appointed Meeting
It's amazing what you did to this chapter. Especially the ending adds a lot to Frodo's character. Great job, dear!
Author's reply
I am very glad you found it convincing. Now I have to make sure that the rest of the story is too!
lovethosehobbits
· 22 September 2006
· Chapter 4: A Long Appointed Meeting
So sad the Fro' wouldn't listen to her problem and then discuss it with her, when it was so obviously tearing her apart. Knowing you, my dearest of friends, eventually he *will* speak with her again, but I feel sad for both of them for now.
Well written and captivating, as usual. Can't wait for the next chapter.
tree
Author's reply
Well, you'll have to wait a teensy bit longer, I am afraid. I've been betaing like mad and actually *gasp* working! My demonstration sale is finally cut and I have been doing a lot of work trying to get it into shape to serve its purpose. Keep an eye on my LJ - I'm sure to have a big write up on it (with pictures).
Mechtild
· 20 September 2006
· Chapter 4: A Long Appointed Meeting
More and more intriguing! I still didn't find out any more about Pearl, but believe me, I'm prepared to be patient!
This was a splendid chapter for having a look at Frodo, settled and seemingly content as a bachelor, but almost priggish about it, as if jealously guarding it, even though he has only just come of age. Odd behaviour for Mr. Unconventional Baggins.
The way you are working with the Ring is very leading. I had read in an old draft for LotR that Tolkien thought one of the signs of the Ring working on Bilbo was restlessness, an inability to settle down to anything, including his life in the Shire, as time went on. It's almost as if Frodo has already grown restless - but unable to settle down to *himself* -- or to whatever may be his real wants or satistfactions in life.
I very much appreciated your little moment of self-revelation when Frodo allowed himself to admit that in the case of Pearl, it was he that she wanted, not marriage. Perhaps he has forgotten that anyone could want him for himself, rather than for what he can offer (in a worldly way). Well, life will teach him a few things, I am betting (and hoping).
I look forward to the next chapter!
Author's reply
Odd behaviour for Mr. Unconventional Baggins.
You know, I don't think it is, not for book Frodo, at least.
Tolkien said one of the most unconventional things about both Bilbo and Frodo was their bachelorhood, and both keep the Ring. I don't think it too far fetched to believe It had something to do with that aspect of their lives.
It's almost as if Frodo has already grown restless - but unable to settle down to *himself* -- or to whatever may be his real wants or satistfactions in life.
Indeed, though at first he is lulled into the illusion that he is contented 'being THE Mr. Baggins of Bag End'. The Ring is courting him at that point, cementing its solitary hold on him while he remains oblivious of it's effect. Well, oblivious save for wondering why he doesn't even want to consider Pearl. Even then, if it weren't for her forward behavior in this chapter, he might not even have wondered about his current lack of interest.
The Ring's influence has to remain subtle enough through these 17 years for Frodo to not have 'really' recognized it, but there have to 'hints' both for the reader and to cause Frodo's increasing restlessness. Remember the strange things Bilbo reported It doing? But even he never attributed those things to the Ring. I somehow doubt Frodo would either, at least not until Gandalf's visit in the spring of 1418.
Perhaps he has forgotten that anyone could want him for himself, rather than for what he can offer (in a worldly way).
I am afraid 'Frodo as the sought after bachelor' is my own invention entirely, but considering his generally accepted appearance, how could it be otherwise? hehheeh. People who are highly sought after do sometimes forget that someone can like them for themselves (or so I have heard). Thankfully, he does learn otherwise, as the good Professor shows us. :)
Author Reply: Odd behaviour for Mr. Unconventional Baggins.
You know, I don't think it is, not for book Frodo, at least.
Tolkien said one of the most unconventional things about both Bilbo and Frodo was their bachelorhood, and both keep the Ring. I don't think it too far fetched to believe It had something to do with that aspect of their lives.
It's almost as if Frodo has already grown restless - but unable to settle down to *himself* -- or to whatever may be his real wants or satistfactions in life.
Indeed, though at first he is lulled into the illusion that he is contented 'being THE Mr. Baggins of Bag End'. The Ring is courting him at that point, cementing its solitary hold on him while he remains oblivious of its effect. Well, oblivious save for wondering why he doesn't even want to consider Pearl. Even then, if it weren't for her forward behavior in this chapter, he might not even have wondered about his current lack of interest.
The Ring's influence has to remain subtle enough through these 17 years for Frodo to not have 'really' recognized it, but there have to 'hints' both for the reader and to cause Frodo's increasing restlessness. Remember the strange things Bilbo reported It doing? But even he never attributed those things to the Ring. I somehow doubt Frodo would either, at least not until Gandalf's visit in the spring of 1418.
Perhaps he has forgotten that anyone could want him for himself, rather than for what he can offer (in a worldly way).
I am afraid 'Frodo as the sought after bachelor' is my own invention entirely, but considering his generally accepted appearance, how could it be otherwise? hehheeh. People who are highly sought after do sometimes forget that someone can like them for themselves (or so I have heard). Thankfully, he does learn otherwise, as the good Professor shows us. :)
Mechtild
· 19 September 2006
· Chapter 3: The Easy Pupil
You did a wonderful job portraying Frodo's mix of complacent self-confidence, able to behave himself a nearly-undressed beautiful 'tween who is suddenly all over him, yet unable to admit his own desires, desires which have been called forth since he saw her climbing the tree in her underclothes. You have shown him a principled person, but perhaps too proud of it. That he should dissemble to himself ("I'm just doing this to teach her a good lesson"!)about his own weakening resolve is highly plausible and most...human.
I am intrigued by Pearl, though. So suddenly enamoured! From tomboy to lover in so many paragraphs. Is she really so volatile, or is this part of some larger design in the fic? If she really were an unaffected, guileless twenty-year-old hobbit-lass, she could *not* have led Frodo to this place already knowing she wanted him. If she had already wanted him, taking off her clothes and climbing a tree above him wearing her shift would be an act of seduction. I am betting this is not the Pearl you are portraying. She really is the wild, heedless girl she seems, but who very suddenly went from ignorance to full-blown, purposeful desire in a brief exchange. I would love to hear about this transformation from her point of view.
Looking forward to the next chapter!
Author's reply
*blush* Well, I am drawing from my own experiences here. I was MOST volatile at 14 - swinging from one extreme to the other in a mad rush of unfamiliar emotions I had no idea how to control.
Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately), dealing with Lalia will make Pearl much more careful and cautious of other people. When the only one you can trust is yourself, you learn to control yourself or else. :(
Mechtild
· 19 September 2006
· Chapter 2: Innocence
You're doing a really nice job with establishing Pearl as a bit of a wild thing; she seems tamed only by her desire for her beloved father's good opinion of her. This seems very true-to-life for a few children I have known.
Your establishment of place has been splendid from chapter one, but this section treated me to a look at the rest of the scenery at the foot of the Green Hill country. I have loved my hike (run?) through it, following Frodo following Pearl.
Your Frodo is very easy to imagine from his book self, although we haven't seen much of his humour yet. But duty visits and being run ragged by a taciturn 'tween are not much inducement to witty remarks and general cheer.
Pearl really is most undomesticated, pulling her clothes off in front of a lad who must seem nearly a grown-up in comparison. She's a new adolescent; he's an established Older Lad (he even seems to think he's pretty grown-up, Mr. Bachelor-of-the-month and all, no?). I like so well the picture of her climbing heedless through the tree in her underclothes. Frodo, unable to decide if he is piqued or amused by her antics, makes me wonder. He sees her attractions, but seems concerned more for propriety, worried about what might be the consequences of this sort of behaviour, should she treat other lads to it. I am guessing Pearl's guileless charms will win him over.
Author's reply
*Makes mental note to remember his humor...*
Pearl IS most undomesticated - almost militantly so. She is at a very rebellious stage in her life (about 14 in human years), fighting against being subjugated to a society that she doesn't easily fit in to, and against a mother who is trying to force her to fit. She will grow up and into a better relationship with her family, but at this stage, though she hears more of what they tell her than she'd like to admit, she's going to do things her way no matter what.
Mechtild
· 19 September 2006
· Chapter 1: Spring
This was a splendid opening chapter, Ariel. Your story-telling skills have never been better. I was brought in immediately into a world completely Tolkien-like, yet concerning a part of the Shire I never have visited in canon.
You intrigue me about Lalia. Will she be the 100% bad'un she sounds in "Letters", or will we learn more about her, that she's got a good side in there somewhere, or, at least, how she became such a curmudgeon? If she really is that wicked a person, I fear for Pearl.
All of the characters you have created seem just right: Paladin, Eglantine, your Bilbo. Pearl is just spoken about, but you have made us ready for her entrance. You are letting Frodo hang back, which is good for me. I am such a Frodo-gawper, if he were heavily featured in the opening chapter, I might have missed half of this great stuff!
Author's reply
Well, I don't want to make Lalia all bad - how dull - but I intend to make her credible and make her actions defensible from her POV, but chilling from ours. She's a powerful woman who is growing older and her son has no heirs. She is needs to find an heir (preferably of HER blood) to pass on her power to, but she is running out of time.
LOL! I'm a bit of a Frodo fancier myself, as you know. ;) I have written so many chapters from his POV because I like him and because I want build up anticipation for the chapters from Pearl's POV. I think, from your other responses, I have managed that!
Mechtild
· 19 September 2006
· Chapter 0: Prologue
Wonderfully mouthwatering intro., Ariel. I love reading that letter, sort of like a really juicy "tell-all" about life in Hollywood, except it's life in the Shire.
Very much looking forward to your story!
Author's reply
I sincerely hope I don't disappoint. I've taken chances with fic before, but this one feels more 'dicey' to me. It's such a complex plotline, fluid and interwoven, that I keep feeling like I have bit off more than I can chew! Hopefully with your unfallable guidance, I can keep the thing on track! Thank you for another of your wonderful reviews.
Inkling
· 19 September 2006
· Chapter 4: A Long Appointed Meeting
Well! Frodo is behaving rather badly, isn't he? The scene at his door is very atmospheric...reminds me of something out of "Letter from an Unknown Woman" with Joan Fontaine and Louis Jourdan (have you seen it? Great flick!)
Author's reply
Hmmm... sounds like a film I would like, but I haven't seen it yet! (makes note for Netflix).
Frodo's a bit put out, yes, but it's mainly the ring causing him to do it. I had hoped I had gotten that across effectively, but I might have been too subtle. His behavior is going to bother him though, and that, along with what Paladin tells him, will spur him to play detective and come to Pearl's aid after all! ;)
White Gull
· 19 September 2006
· Chapter 4: A Long Appointed Meeting
Guess I'll leave a review here, as well as on your lj. I knew this fic would have angst, but didn't expect my confusion. I certainly didn't expect Frodo to jump into bed with Pearl, but I did expect more compassion. 1401, was that the date? Bilbo's been gone 3 months? I can't blame Frodo's reaction on the ring, then. I've always imagined that Frodo & Pearl's paths crossed quite often, being the relatives they were. I can adjust my thinking on that, but it takes a bit more to get used to the idea that Frodo took Pearl's vow so lightly. I suppose it goes along with the rather cavalier attitude he had at the beginning, what with teaching her a lesson, and all. Poor Pearl. To be so broken I wonder if she's "pushed" Lailia down the stairs. You are a master story weaver, Ariel, so I'm looking forward to Frodo's redemption. Odd to say that, considering the grip of the ring will certainly be stronger in the coming chapters! You have your work cut out for you! :) But, you are up to the task.
WG
Author's reply
Why could you not blame Frodo's reaction on the ring? Bilbo may have just left, but didn't the ring have an effect on him almost the moment he found it in Gollum's cave? Remember how cagey he was to the dwarves concerning the way he actually got it? And the fact that he kept the ring a secret from his companions for so long? I think it would be affecting Frodo, at least in some subtle way, as soon as it came to him, and possibly even before that while Bilbo had it in the same house.
Anyway, I am assuming that. ;) It is necessary for Frodo to be so abrupt with her now so that he will feel compelled to investigate what is really going on in Great Smials!
SurgicalSteel
· 19 September 2006
· Chapter 4: A Long Appointed Meeting
Well. That was certainly interesting - now you've got me curious. What made Pearl so desperate that she'd come to Frodo alone, insist that he not let anyone else into the smial - and leave before morning when she realized he wasn't interested in marrying her? Curious, and looking forward to more!
Author's reply
You are absolutely right. And in the next chapter you will learn what has made Pearl so desperate that she would come to Frodo in such a way, after not speaking to him for years, despite the way her family and former friends have come to view her. She's been fighting a lonely battle thinking Frodo would someday give her a way to escape, but it is (and always was) a battle she can only win by defeating Lalia.
*rubs hands eagerly*
Cuthalion
· 19 September 2006
· Chapter 4: A Long Appointed Meeting
Oh dear - poor Pearl. I like the social structure you portray here, and the most understandable doubts that make Frodo react as he does, at least in the beginning. And the effect of the ring on his heart and soul (and I guess a good part of his attitude towards the desperate, stubborn damsel is caused by the influence of the ring) is frightening and saddening at the same time... a kind of sneaking change of his character.
Again, poor Peaarl. But poor Frodo, too.
Author's reply
Indeed. He's already feeling its effects but doesn't realize it, and there's no way Pearl can understand why he's so absolute in turning her down. Poor Pearl and poor Frodo - they are both victims of the ring's evil power already.
Larner
· 18 September 2006
· Chapter 3: The Easy Pupil
What a vow to accept from her, and I'm glad he has, for it may keep her from simply tumbling to the next lad who responds to her beauty. And she could do worse....
Author's reply
Well, he probably shouldn't have, but he's barely more than a kid himself here. I figure 26 to be the human equivalent of 17, and I know I wasn't always making good decisions at 17.
And yes, she could do a lot worse. ;)