Lothlorien (FOTR) by Hildie

With Gandalf gone our remaining 8 members are having to decide the course of their journey for themselves alone for the first time. I always find this part of the book to be distressing, I think I'm channelling some of their emotions possibly. I always feel a bit lost and unsure. I know Aragorn is quite capable to make decisions, especially since he and Gandalf often discussed directions and all, but still... he was GANDALF!

I thought it very touching that Gimli wanted Frodo to see Kheled-zaram and that he still wanted to look. He even admitted that there was no good left in Moria, a land he so wanted to be as the dwarves of old had hoped. Poor fellow, what a disappointment and what a tragedy to happen to someone he cared about there. Very sad all round! I remember wondering what type trouble they could possibly get themselves into after Moria, and now we have a chapter called Lothlorien. What is Lothlorien, or who is it? It is very intriguing!

I think that they are completely right in trying to get as far away as possible before the dark. I know that they were hoping that they'd scared the orcs badly enough that they wouldn't follow to seek vengence, but even in the last chapter they mentioned the fact that there were orcs from Mordor. Those orcs would surely follow Frodo on their own evil errand even if the Moria orcs didn't seek to destroy the invaders of their new home. And as we've all learned many times over those orcs definitely prefer to travel at night, and are nearly tireless in pursuit! How are they ever going to be able to get away from them as tired, exhausted, depressed and injured as the party is... Lothlorien must be their only choice.

At last the company finally finds out about the mithril shirt that Frodo is wearing. I found Gimli's reaction very cool. It's always quite impressive that Thorin would have given something worth so much to Bilbo, he must truly have cared for the hold Hobbit. It's just another flashback to The Hobbit and the events there. I always enjoy those.

We see Boromir's reaction here and hear that Aragorn and Legolas are saying the opposite. I know that I would definitely trust Aragorn and Legolas over Boromir (he's a turd), he seems to disagree with wise decisions fairly often actually (remember the Council of Elrond when he wished to use the ring in Minas Tirith? How great Gondor was yadayada...).

So now we see that Frodo really had been hearing feet, and now we're seeing eyes. It's obvious who it is to me through the writing now and I honestly can't remember if I could tell who it was the first time I read it. I'm just wondering, Beck can you tell who it is on a first time reading? I know you'll know who it is from the films but from the descriptions did you suspect who was following etc? I'd like to know a first time readers opinion here, that would interest me greatly actually.

Nimrodel sounds beautiful. I've always loved streams and creeks. I love the sound of running water and it always makes me smile. If the weather is warm enough and I can I always enjoy walking in the stream and playing in the water. I know I'd have loved the sound of Nimrodel. Legolas' song is very pretty, I wish I knew what melody Tolkien had in mind for it. It is, as most elven stories are, very mournful and sad. They often don't get happy endings do they... look at Beren and Luthien as well (Beck if you're interested in reading the rest of the Beren and Luthien story the full one is in The Sil).

I thought the tree thing was cool, the talans or flets I mean. I have to say I'd agree with the hobbits about not really enjoying sleeping at heights without some sort of rail to stop them from rolling over, though if I were tired enough that wouldn't cause me to stay awake!

This chapter is where we really start to see (other than Legolas in the snow of course) the gracefulness of the elves and the fact that they are so much more than human with their movements. Here we also see the beginnings of the problems between the Dwarves and the Elves. It doesn't carry on, and doesn't last long, but it does give the reader something to wonder about.

Just a side note, the talan and the screen sound very much like the platforms that some turkey and deer hunters use now in the US. Totally off topic I know, but still, since I'm familiar with that particular type of platform it is easier to imagine exactly what the talans in the book may look like and what the screen would look like as well.

I don't know how the hobbits can sleep through everything (except Frodo that is). I'm sure that if I'd heard the orcs, especially knowing that I was on the run, I would have been awake with sword drawn ready for the worst. The elven word Yrch is very descriptive to me, I thought that was brilliant when the elf warned Frodo. Again we see the creature at the bottom of the tree. Eek! What it is? At least Halidar has seen it too. I think that those descriptions always manage to creep me out.

The rope bridge across the river and the elven dress/costumes/clothes I've always loved. What great descriptions. I thought it was cool that Pippin was so good at going across. I've crossed those type bridges myself and I remember always thinking, wouldn't it be wonderful if I was going to Lothlorien now! Truthfully, they're not that hard to cross. Have either of you ever tried one? I reckon I could do it with only two ropes, but I was still making sure to hold both though I didn't have to grip or push on them to keep my balance. I'd love to see what the elven ropes feel like, I think they sound cool.

ARGH! They were going to blindfold Gimli only. I thought that was pretty crappy considering I thought that Elrond had said that he sent messengers to those that were friends. Obviously in his message he would have said who was in the company etc.; It made me mad on Gimli's behalf to be honest. I thought it was good when Aragorn said that they would all have to be blindfolded to be fair. He is a good leader. At least they didn't have to remain blindfolded very long, that's a plus.

The ending of this chapter is awesome as well. One of my most favorite descriptions and sayings in this chapter is "As soon as he set foot upon the far bank of the Silverloade a strange feeling had come upon him, and it deepened as he walked nito the Naith: it seemed to him taht he had stepped over a bridge of time into a corner of the Elder Days, and was now walking in a world that was no more. In Rivendell there was memory of ancient things; in Lorien the ancient things still lived on in the waking world." Isn't that amazing.

I love Cerin Amroth. I have a place of my own that reminds me of the flowered hillside where Aragorn was walking. It brings tears to my eyes to be quite honest. Also there is the very last sentence in this chapter... it makes you think about why it was so endearing to Aragorn, it also always brings a complete lump to my throat and a tear to my eye. In fact S asked me about what I was reading because she noticed my emotional state. Yes, I'm a big softie.

All in all, I thought this was an excellent chapter. While not as action packed as the Moria chapters it still manages to convey strong emotions and give enough action that it's pace was going quite quickly. Very interesting reading excellent descriptions. I can't wait for the next Chapter either. Galadriel is, and has always been one of my favorite characters ever, and I have a little known fact for you... I was nearly named after her, my father loved the name. Happy Reading!